Environmental Policy
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.
| Award Name | Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 9 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 9 NFQ |
Duration
1 year full-time or 2 Years Part Time
Entry Requirements
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
Careers / Further progression
Career & Graduate Study Opportunity
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).
Further information
Next Intake: 2024/2025 September.
GradCert Environmental Policy (T312) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 3010
nonEU fee per year - € 9690
GradDip Environmental Policy (T313) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 6140
nonEU fee per year - € 15140
MSc Environmental Policy (W269) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 9300
nonEU fee per year - € 22600
MSc Environmental Policy (W271) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 10300
nonEU fee per year - € 29100
MSc Environmental Policy (W580) Part Time
EU fee per year - € 4520
nonEU fee per year - € 11300
***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/
How to apply?
The following entry routes are available:
MSc Environmental Policy (Accredited) FT (W271)
Duration 1 Years
Attend Full Time
Deadline Rolling*
MSc Environmental Policy FT (W269)
Duration 1 Years
Attend Full Time
Deadline Rolling*
* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised
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).
Societies, governments, and businesses across the globe are faced with increasingly complex environmental challenges, in areas such as climate change and adaptation and local environmental quality in our cities and regions. The UCD MSc in Environmental Policy arms graduates with the capacity to develop environmental policy choices, analyse them critically, and to provide guidance in regard to their implementation and evaluation. The programme introduces graduates to research-based economic and environmental tools and insights to enable graduates to be effective change management leaders and management leaders and environmental and sustainability experts in both the public and private sectors.
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. Students may also chose to undertake either a thesis, an internship, or an academic research project during the Summer trimester.
Also for professionals who want to balance their passion for the environment while advancing their career this programme is offered as a two-year part-time degree (W580). The part-time program is scheduled to be completed over two years with one or two modules (10 credits per module) per semester. Part-time students join the full-time students for the classes and hence can meet two cohorts of the full-time MSc programme.
Who should apply?
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
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.
Stage 1 - Core
Tools for Sust Development ENVP40040
Environmental Economics & Climate Policy ENVP40100
Research for Environmental Pol ENVP40170
European Environmental Policy ENVP40180
Applications of Enviro Policy ENVP40190
Environment and Development ENVP40240
Stage 1 Options
Environmental Policy ThesisENVP40030
Internship - Research ProjectENVP40160
Programme Outcomes
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.
Contact Name: Katie O'Neill
Contact Number: +353 (0)1 716 1781