Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No

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).

• Acknowledge the spatial consequences of policy approaches, and recognize the importance of fairness in environmental policy processes and outcomes.
• Apply their professional knowledge using tools and transferable skills to generate integrated and evidence-based responses to environmental challenges, including climate change, to achieve a more resilient and sustainable future.
• Communicate effectively verbally, graphically and through written documents and to communicate concepts, knowledge and conclusions to peers, specialist and non-specialist audiences within an interdisciplinary environment.
• Demonstrate effective research, policy analysis tools and evaluation skills and the ability to develop evidence-based policy proposals.
• On successful completion of the programme students should be able to: Appreciate environmental policy research, develop skills as autonomous researchers, and recognize the value of research as an input into improved policy making and policy implementation.
• Understand how environmental policy is operationalised within the wider political, institutional and legal frameworks, and understand the social, economic and political context that informs approaches to achieve sustainable development.
• Understand the challenges and responsibilities of assessing tradeoffs in their response to environmental challenges and be open to critically assessing, debating and reflecting on these, and acting in the interests of the common good.
• Work effectively both on their own and as part of a team in an interdisciplinary context.

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).

View All Modules Here

This section links to general module information, for a more detailed description including module selection rules click here.

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. 

Part-time students have 4 trimesters to complete the 6 taught modules and complete their Thesis/internship/Research Project in the summer of the second year. 

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

MSc Environmental Policy (W580) Part Time
EU          fee per year - € 4305
nonEU    fee per year - € 10760

***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/

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.

• An honours undergraduate degree (NFQ Level 8) with a minimum upper second class honours or international equivalence is required
• Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0 in each element), or equivalent.
• Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the  English language requirements, may enter the programme upon  successful completion of UCD’s Pre-Sessional or International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information http://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/ 
• These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes 

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."

• MRUP FT
• MA Geopolitics & the Global Economy FT
• MSc Urban Design & Planning FT
• MSc Environmental Science FT

The following entry routes are available:

* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised