Sustainability and Consultancy MSc

at University of Leeds

You will take nine months of taught classes, followed by approximately three months of independent project work in association with an industry partner.
 

Semester 1

You will take lectures and seminars which lay the theoretical foundation needed for you to gain an in-depth understanding of sustainability topics, beginning with project management. Through lectures and seminars you will learn how to manage both projects and contracts in a sustainability context and will be taught essential skills for a consultant such as managing budgets, dealing with changes in scope of a project, managing activities and developing tasks to successfully deliver a consultancy project.
 

During semester one you will also have the opportunity to choose modules which focus on a broad range of consultancy theoretical topics. These topics may include issues associated with corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, alternative economic models such as ecological economics or challenges faced by climate change in a sustainability setting.
 

Semester 2

During semester two you will apply the knowledge gained in semester one in a more practical way, beginning to think about how these things will work in practice.
 

The focus of the modules you will study will be on embedding sustainability within both projects and a wider organisation. You will approach this idea from two different angles; delivering sustainability on discrete projects and embedding sustainability at an organisational level.
 

Optional modules in this semester will allow you to choose which topic appeals most to you; regulation and planning or issues and cases in corporate responsibility. The former tackles an area in which many consultants often end up, working with developers working on planning big infrastructure projects such as power stations and railways. Whereas the latter will allow you to focus more on CSR and in-company sustainability.
 

Throughout the year you can also take part in personal development workshops and activities including networking with project hosts, helping you secure a successful research project for semester 3.
 

Semester 3

The focus now switches to your individual work in which you will apply the knowledge and skills that you have developed in both semester one and two in a real world scenario. Over 10 weeks you will work with one of our industry partners to deliver a sustainability consultancy project, in which you will carry out some discrete analysis and produce tangible outputs to the client/host organisation.
 

The School will help you to find a partner company through our industry contacts, though you are free to develop your own project with a company of choice should you already have connections or links within industry. For many of our students the links formed through this project work has led to a job after graduating.

Modules

Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Business, Environment and Sustainability   
• Sustainability Consultancy Project    
• Developing and managing environmental projects   
• Managing and Delivering Sustainability through Projects and Organisations    

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in a natural, environmental, physical, geographical, management or social science subject.
 

This course is ideal if you have enthusiasm for environmental debate and concern over the future sustainability of human and environmental systems. You are also likely to benefit from this course if you have a background in other disciplines with relevant work experience in the fields of environment and/or development.
 

Applicants with a 2:2, or equivalent, will be considered on a case by case basis where applicants can demonstrate relevant work experience or aptitude in a relevant specialist field. Graduates from other disciplines and those with professional experience in the sector will also be considered.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component.
 

Fees

• UK: £12,250 (total)
• International: £26,000 (total)
   

Regardless of where in the world you want to live and work there is a need for sustainability expertise, and with increasing legislation from governments and industry’s own desire to remain competitive, this need is only going to become more prominent.
 

Graduates have gone on to a wide variety of careers in sustainability, including areas such as:

• environmental consultancy and planning

• corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility

• sustainability strategy

• environmental and social impact assessments and project financing

• environmental management

• carbon reduction and energy management

• stakeholder management and engagement

• policy development

• project management

• sustainability assessment.

• environmental, social and governance consulting (ESG)