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Global Development at UEA
Find out more about studying Global Development at UEA, and browse our other courses.
Find out moreMSc Environment and Global Development with a Placement Year
Key details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Science
- Course Length
- 1 year
- Course Start Date
- January 2027
Course options
Other Start Dates
Gain a competitive edge with a placement year
This course is also available with an integrated placement year, giving you the opportunity to gain valuable UK industry experience alongside your master's degree
Other Start Dates
1st
UEA is ranked 1st overall for research quality in Development Studies
Times Higher Education REF 2021Course Overview
Why MSc Environment and Global Development with a Placement Year at UEA?
Our course provides an advanced understanding of the serious global environmental challenges that define our times: climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, waste and pollution, amongst others. We seek to understand the politics of environmental governance and identify equitable pathways to sustainability and resilience.
Why Choose UEA
- Expert teaching: Taught by international experts in political ecology and environmental justice
- Climate expertise: The campus is a centre of expertise in Climate change (Tyndall Centre) and the school of environmental science
- Leading development studies: You’ll graduate with a degree from the UK’s top-ranked Development Studies department (THE REF Analysis 2021)
What is MSc Environment and Global Development with a Placement Year at UEA?
The first-term core modules provide grounding in all the major aspects of global environmental change. In the second term, core modules focus on understanding sustainability policies and technical assessments. There are options to specialise in various specific aspects
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What is Global Development?
Learn how global development is understood and its effects on communities, with a focus on Nairobi, Kenya, in this free, online course. Thro...
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Our Research - 1st in the UK for Development Studies
The School of Global Development is globally recognized for research excellence and ranked first in development studies (Times Higher REF An...
Placement Year
Enhance your Master's degree with a placement year and graduate with valuable professional experience alongside your academic qualification.
Your placement takes place during your second year and is an integral part of the course. Before starting your placement, you'll continue to develop your professional skills through a structured employability programme, including dedicated support to help you secure a role that aligns with your career ambitions.
Placements are typically paid and last between eight and ten months with a UK organisation. UEA works in partnership with an award-winning placement provider, giving you access to personalised careers guidance, employer connections, application support, interview preparation and recruitment opportunities to help you secure a high-quality placement.
While you'll receive extensive support throughout the process, securing a suitable placement is your responsibility. By engaging fully with the employability programme and taking advantage of the support available, you'll maximise your opportunities to secure a role.
If you're unable to secure a placement, or don't meet the academic requirements to undertake one, you'll instead complete three structured industry projects with different UK organisations through one of UEA's placement partners. Available in a range of flexible formats, these projects provide the opportunity to gain practical experience, work on real business challenges and build your professional portfolio across multiple organisations.
Whichever route you take, you'll graduate with practical, career-focused experience that will enhance your CV, develop your professional network and strengthen your prospects in an increasingly competitive graduate job market.
Find out more about the Postgraduate Placement Year(opens in a new window).
Careers
Career Pathways
With an MSc in Environment and Global Development with a Placement Year, you could launch a career in:
- International environmental agencies (UNEP, IUCN and so on)
- Local non-governmental organisations and advocacy groups
- Higher research (PhD)
- Private sector companies – e.g. supporting sustainability policies
- Social enterprises
Career Support
The School of Global Development offers a dedicated extracurricular professional skills programme, designed to enhance your employability on graduation.
Also, you’ll receive support from UEA’s bespoke Career Central(opens in a new window). Our team of specialists will provide opportunities for volunteering and internships as well as advice on strengthening your CV or mentoring throughout the process of job application.
After the Course
Previous graduates from the School of Global Development have gone on to work for the British High Commission in Ghana, British Civil Service, CARE International, European Union, Overseas Development Institute, Oxfam, Save the Children International, UNITAR in Japan, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF and WaterAid.
Upon completing your MSc, you can pursue a variety of potential careers both in and beyond global development.
Depending on your degree outcome, you'll also be well qualified to enter a PhD programme with a view to continuing an academic career both in the UK and overseas.
Study and Modules
Structure
You’ll be provided with a solid understanding of environmental change and thoroughly analyse a range of environmental and development problems.
You’ll review key contributions to major policy fields in environment and development. You’ll do this in a series of reading seminars, covering agriculture and biotechnology, climate change, conservation, fisheries, forestry, water management, and other fields.
You’ll explore how sustainable development can be achieved by protecting the environment while promoting development that particularly benefits the poorest. Often those who benefit least from development projects are most vulnerable to the costs of development, such as pollution of rivers and loss of land, yet they have little say in development decisions. You’ll be introduced to important tools and frameworks used by researchers, government agencies, businesses, and non-governmental organisations for managing environmental and natural resources for sustainable development.
You’ll learn to critique and apply a range of the most widely used tools. Examples that have been covered previously include:
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Livelihoods Analysis
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Climate Vulnerability Assessment
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Geographical Information Systems
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Participatory Decision-making
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Scenarios Methods.
You’ll be taught through workshops and practical sessions, lectures, and study visits within Norfolk. There's an emphasis on putting concepts and tools into practice and understanding how environmental assessments guide management actions. Both individual and team projects will be important. You’ll gain confidence and skills in applying and critiquing the leading tools and frameworks used by sustainable development professionals.
Understanding global environmental change provides you with an interdisciplinary introduction to environmental change, and its relationships with development. You’ll gain a critical understanding of social constructions of cause-and-effect relationships in environment and development issues, including an understanding of scientific assessments.
A range of optional seminars and workshops are also offered during your Master’s programme for the teaching and strengthening of your skills. Sessions to support learning – particularly essay and dissertation writing – occur throughout the year. Development practice training is also provided.
You’ll have the option to either research a dissertation or take part in a development work placement.
During your first year, you'll take part in a structured employability programme designed to help you secure and succeed in a professional placement. You'll develop the knowledge, skills and confidence employers value through practical workshops, personalisedguidance and career development activities.
You'll receive support with CV writing, interview preparation, LinkedIn optimisation and job search strategies, alongside one-to-one coaching to help you identify opportunities, strengthen your applications and prepare for recruitment processes. Sessions are delivered through a blend of online and in-person activities, giving you flexibility while ensuring regular opportunities to engage with careers specialists.
You'll need to engage fully with the employability programme to progress to the placement year, making the most of the support available to prepare for the next stage of your course.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 40)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 40)Optional C Modules
(Credits: 40)Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Structure
During your second year, you'll focus on securing and completing your placement. You'll receive dedicated support throughout an intensive placement search, including personalised careers guidance, employer engagement opportunities and workshops that help you refine your applications, prepare for interviews and reflect on your progress.
If you secure a placement, you'll spend eight to ten months working with a UK organisation, gaining valuable industry experience while applying the knowledge and skills you've developed during your studies. Throughout your placement, you'll reflect on your professional development and the skills you've gained in a real-world working environment.
If you're unable to secure an industry placement, you'll instead complete three structured industry projects with different UK organisations through one of UEA's placement partners. These projects provide the opportunity to work on real business challenges across multiple organisations, ensuring you still graduate with meaningful professional experience.
At the end of your placement or industry projects, you'll complete a reflective assessment demonstrating your professional development, sector knowledge and career readiness. By the time you graduate, you'll have enhanced your career confidence, strengthened your CV, expanded your professional network and be well prepared for the next stage of your career, whether in the UK or internationally.
Compulsory Modules
Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
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Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
Teaching methods include mainly lectures and seminars. Your lectures will include a range of interactive tasks and activities. The creative use of technology is also widespread, for example through visual representation of empirical evidence in international development (e.g. through statistical programs). Other examples include the use of online reading materials and lecture screencasts.
Through seminar group work and presentations, you’ll also be able to develop transferable skills such as articulating an argument both orally and in writing and presenting academic information in a lucid and cogent manner.
Assessment
We use a diverse range of assessment formats including essays, policy briefs, tests and exams, or individual and group presentations.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
Degree classification
Bachelors degree - 2.2
Degree Subject
Social Science
- Additional Entry Requirements
Applicants should normally have a good undergraduate degree from a recognised higher education institution. The University will also take into account the employment experience of applicants where relevant.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
Degree classification
UK Bachelors degree - 2.2 or equivalent
Degree Subject
Social Science
- Additional Entry Requirements
Applicants should normally have a good undergraduate degree from a recognised higher education institution. The University will also take into account the employment experience of applicants where relevant.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
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IELTS: 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in each component).
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies(opens in a new window) for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not meet the English language requirements for this course, our UEA International Study Centre offers a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the required English skills.
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- UEA International Study Centre
If you do not meet the academic requirements for this course, you may be able to study the International Pre-Masters programme offered by our partner UEA International Study Centre. This programme guarantees progression to selected Master's degrees if students achieve the appropriate grade. For more details, please click here:
International Pre-Masters in Business, Economics and Social Sciences
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2026/27 are:
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UK Students: £11,400
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International Students: £23,850
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
If you choose to take this course with a placement year, your tuition fees for the first year will be as shown above. An additional fee of £3,500 will apply for the placement year (see our FAQs page for further details).
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships(opens in a new window); please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees(opens in a new window) for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
How to apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form(opens in a new window).
Further information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying, please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk(opens in a new window)
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students(opens in a new window) section of our website.