MSc Climate Change and International Development
Read climate change and development at a University department that is a world leader in the research and teaching of this topic.
1 year full time Masters in climate change and development
In recent years climate change has held a lead position on the international development agenda and world political stage. The MSc in Climate Change and International Development, the first degree programme of its kind, has been designed to meet the career needs of people working in international development and climate change policy and practice. This new course will cover a range of issues surrounding international and local dimensions, particularly the questions of mitigation and adaptation in resource-poor and vulnerable settings.
Taught by a team of internationally-renowned natural scientists, policy analysts and economists, the Masters course material will draw upon existing and ongoing research and applied work through the School of International Development and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. Its interdisciplinary approach ensures that students will also have the opportunity to collaborate with the School of Environmental Sciences through the science-based units focusing on climate change.
The course will address aspects of the policy process, and include units on dimensions of climate change (CC) and development: International policy frameworks on climate change; Adaptation and Mitigation choices and pathways; Adaptation and National Responses; Linking CC mitigation and development (CDM and beyond); The carbon trade: markets and development; CC and poverty reduction, trade-offs and synergies; Local responses to extreme events and disasters; adaptation and mitigation impacts in Africa; Sectoral responses (e.g. Managing coastal / water resources).
Teaching methods include a range of degree units and activities. Assessment will be by essays, preparation for and participation in seminars and workshops, policy analysis, an examination, reviews, dissertation work and related data analysis and conclusions.
Applicants for the MSc programme should have a good first degree in either the social sciences or science.
Click cover to download the leaflet for the MSc in Climate Change and International Development:
Programme structure and content
Click here to see schematic of programme structure and content (Opens a one-page PDF)
All students must take a total of 180 credits to complete a Masters course. Our in-house DEV courses (i.e not those shared with other Schools) are constituted from 120 credits of taught modules (divided into compulsory and optional units), a 20 credit examination and a 40 credit dissertation. All DEV taught modules carry 20 credits so 120 credits divides into six compulsory and optional taught modules for the year. The list below explains the array of modules available in each Semester.
Our exams are scheduled during the Easter period but please note modules taken in other Schools may have an exam component in the Christmas break or during the May/June assessment period. We advise students to ascertain their semester dates and dates of exams prior to making holiday bookings.
You will receive detailed module outlines with details of lectures and seminars, full readings lists and assessments at the start of the semester.
Compulsory Units
Autumn semester
- Choice from DEV or ENV [eg The Science of Climate Change]
Spring semester
- Choice from DEV
- Choice from DEV or ENV [eg Climate Change: Impacts and Policy]
Optional Units in DEV
Autumn semester
Spring Semester
Notes:
- Optional units may be chosen from the above list - which may change - subject to any pre-requisites and occasional timetable constraints.
- All units carry 20 coursework credits.
- It is advisable to take no more than 3 units each semester; so a total of six for the year, including compulsory units.
- A unit chosen from another school of study at UEA may have its own examination requirement.
- If the timetable allows, and with permission from the convenor, students may audit other modules in the Autumn or Spring semester. This means sitting in on lectures and seminars but not submitting coursework or taking exams.
- DEV aims to video capture its lectures from Autumn 2009 onwards; this will allow students to watch any lecture a few days afterwards.
Student Feedback
Robbie is a British student of UEA's MSc in Climate Change and International Development. Prior to studying his masters course, he studied International Relations, and worked in the NGO sector in the UK campaigning on environmental and humanitarian issues.
"I feel privileged to be one of the first students to graduate from this new course at UEA. It is a testament to DEV and its cutting-edge research that it would be the first in the country (possibly the world) to offer a course specifically tailored to this emerging and hugely important field. I found the staff friendly and approachable; and I was impressed by the interdisciplinary nature of teaching - even being able to take classes from top climate change experts in the School of Environmental Sciences."
Skills training & development practice
The Teaching Team
MSc in Climate Change and International Development is directed by Dr Declan Conway. The Unit on Climate Change Policy for Development will be co-taught by Professor Peter Newell and Declan Conway.
Declan Conway has a PhD from the Climatic Research Unit, UEA. He has extensive research experience on climate change in developed and developing countries with a broad-base of expertise that encompasses detailed knowledge of climate models, scenario generation (including downscaling), impacts assessment and research and applied consultancies on policy and adaptation issues. Declan is currently working on climate vulnerability reduction in Ethiopia (DFID) and acting as scientific adviser on two major Defra projects on climate impacts and adaptation in China and India. He worked with IDS on ORCHID – Piloting climate risk screening for DFID Bangladesh and is closely involved in the Tyndall Centre Phase II Work Programme on International Development and Climate Change.
Peter Newell is Professor of Development Studies. He is a specialist in environment and development and approaches these issues from a background in Politics and International Relations. He has worked on climate politics for 15 years and was recently awarded an ESRC fellowship on ‘The Governance of Clean Development’. He has held positions as James Martin Fellow, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Principal Research Fellow at Warwick University’s Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation, Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, and Associate Professor at FLACSO Argentina. He has also worked in the NGO sector for Climate Network Europe and Friends of the Earth as a researcher and lobbyist. He has conducted consultancy and policy work for UNDP, GEF and the Swedish and UK governments and is a member of the UK Committee of the International Human Dimensions Programme for Global Environmental Change.
To apply on-line, click here
To apply using a word or PDF application form which you can then send by post or email, click here
To find out more contact:
Postgraduate Admissions
School of International Development
University of East Anglia
Norwich NR4 7TJ UK
Email: pgdev.admiss@uea.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 592807 (international)
Fax: +44 (0)1603-451999 (international)
We look forward to hearing from you.
