Programme Overview:
- Duration:
- 1 Years
- Attendance:
- Full Time
- Mode of Delivery:
- Face-to-Face
- Next Intake:
- 2023/2024 September
- Contact Name:
- Katie O'Neill
- Contact Number:
- +353 (0)1 716 1781
- Fees:
- Fee Information
Please note the accredited version of this programme, MSc Environmental Policy (W271) is a ‘Specialist Degree’ accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) in the UK and is only available to UCD internal students progressing from UCD’s Planning, Geography and Environmental Policy degree or UCD's City Planning & Environmental Policy degree. All other eligible applicants should apply for the alternative non- accredited version of the programme MSc Environmental Policy (W269).
This one year MSc degree is designed to equip students with essential knowledge about environmental sustainability, and policy and governance frameworks for environmental action, while also developing key professional tools to enable graduates to apply policy-oriented skills creatively in their future careers. The programme takes an international perspective on environmental issues and explores the increasingly complex environmental challenges that societies and governments face across the globe, addressing contemporary environmental debates such as Climate Change, Water Policy, Energy Security and Sustainability, and Urban Resilience. Teaching is focused on areas and skills within environmental policy-making, and an integrated group-project module provides practice-based insights into the policy-making process. Students can enhance their own specialist research interests during the completion of a thesis or internship in the third trimester. Students may gain practical experience in policy analysis, environmental assessment, cost-benefit analysis, public participation, and risk management. Key professional skills for future career development include leadership, problem-solving, communication, media skills, report writing, group work, presentation skills and project management. UCD Environmental Policy has an established international track record as a leading research centre in environmental policy and is in the Top 150 QS World University Rankings by subject area.
Module Information:
Under the "What modules can I take?" section below you will see general module information, for a more detailed description including module selection rules click here.
Curricular information is subject to change
Full Time option suitable for:
Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes
The environment poses some of the most complex and pressing challenges facing individuals, societies and policy-makers across the globe. These challenges range from global to local scale as policy-makers grapple with building more sustainable and resilient societies, while balancing environmental goals with economic and social objectives. The aim of the MSc Environmental Policy is to produce graduates with the professional knowledge, skills and tools necessary to address these pressing issues and to pursue careers in the environmental field where they will contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future. We want to create critical thinkers and evidence-based policy practitioners that are instilled with a strong theoretical understanding and research capability. The interdisciplinary nature of the MSc Environmental Policy programme fosters these values. While having a core focus on environmental policy, it also includes a solid foundation in technical skills and an understanding of sustainable development. The program balances all of these branches of education including core skills (e.g. GIS and Environmental Assessment), core knowledge (e.g. Environmental Economics and European Environmental Policy) and sustainable development tools. The programme fosters a learning environment that draws on the research and expertise of our academic staff, combined with insights from innovative practitioners in the environmental field. The primary teaching space for this programme is the existing facilities in the Planning and Environmental Policy Buildings in UCD Richview, including lecturing and studio facilities. The program provides a blended-learning experience, including traditional lectures but also interactive studio based learning. Assessment includes continuous assessment, unseen exams and evaluation of non-traditional student work (e.g. presentations).
To date, our graduates have been very successful in gaining employment in environment related fields in a diverse range of public, private and NGO organisations. Past graduates are now working for a number of agencies both nationally and internationally including private (e.g. Samsung Electronics; Wisetek; Citi Bank; AWN Consulting; EnvEcon; Irish Water), public bodies (e.g. Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs) and NGO organisations (e.g. Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice; Plant life Economy Foundation; Amazon Environmental Research Institute Brazil; publicpolicy.ie; Global Action plan Ireland), in a range of environmental positions (e.g. environmental consultants; policy officers; researchers; climate officers; environmental justice officers). Our graduates have also gone on to pursue further study (PhDs).
All students undertake 90 credits across a range of modules that help them develop foundational knowledge and skills in policymaking, and equip them to employ these new skills to manage a diverse range of contemporary environmental challenges. In addition to taught modules, students undertake a practice-based studio module, and can also pursue their own specialist interest through completion of a thesis, an internship, or an academic research project.
GradCert Environmental Policy (T312) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 2870
nonEU fee per year - € 9230
GradDip Environmental Policy (T313) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 5850
nonEU fee per year - € 14420
MSc Environmental Policy (W269) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 8610
nonEU fee per year - € 21520
MSc Environmental Policy (W271) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 9810
nonEU fee per year - € 27720
***Fees are subject to change
Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see www.ucd.ie/global/scholarships/
The College of Engineering & Architecture also offer scholarships for non-EU students, for more information see: www.ucd.ie/eacollege/study/noneuscholarships.
This programme is intended for applicants with a degree in any discipline such as social sciences and arts, environmental sciences, law, business studies or engineering.
Graduate Profile - Tiago Reis, Brazil
"I chose the UCD Masters in Environmental Policy because I wanted to make a career shift from running my own small business in logistics to a qualified socio-environmental career. The UCD programme prepared me for that career shift by providing me with the knowledge and important ideas in the field of environmental sciences and policy, and by giving me transferrable skills that later would be invaluable in my professional life as a NGO researcher, project manager and activist. In the Environmental Policy programme, the balance between scientific overview, policy application and the development of transferrable skills really impressed me. I would recommend UCD for other international students because it is a lively university, with an excellent infrastructure, professors and staff. Moreover, Dublin is an awesome place to live, where you can have services and cultural life close by and at the same time the UCD campus is quiet and peaceful to concentrate on studies."
The following entry routes are available:
* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised