MA Sustainable Development

Overview & facilities

The Sustainable Development Masters at Middlesex in London will provide you with the theoretical and conceptual frameworks necessary to interpret the process of change in developing countries. We recognises the need to balance short-term economic gains for individuals and governments with the long-term needs of the environment and society.

We have incorporated opportunities for work experience into the Sustainable Development Masters, which can be used as a conversion course if you have no background in development studies or to enhance understanding if you have relevant academic or work experience.

Based at our Hendon campus in London, you will benefit from our excellent student facilities, including the Sheppard Library, which provides an effective and innovative learning environment for all our students.

Download the course flyer

Content & modules

You will learn to assess the potential of interventions for long-term development. Links between the community and global institutions are explored as key elements in understanding the development process. Understanding sustainability, which is increasingly incorporated into policy-making at all levels, is a central theme of the course. Policy analysis is a core skill acquired and developed during the programme.

This programme will be based at our flagship Hendon campus from September 2008.

Full-time students will attend classes on three or four days a week; part-time students on one or two days a week.

Reports, presentations, group work, essays, exams, research papers, seminars and workshops. The dissertation is assessed through a 15,000-word report.

Modules

• Year 1

  Applied Research Methods (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This module provides a postgraduate introduction to research methods and enables students to develop skills which are relevant to their research project. Students develop a research project as part of their work within the module and, in order to complete this, will develop skills of evaluation in both quantitative and qualitative areas. The module also enhances critical appreciation of research; and ensures students are able to apply relevant approaches and methods to their own area of study through designing and undertaking a research project at masters level.

  Approaches to Development: Theory and Practice (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  The module aims to develop understanding of the processes of development through examining how notions of development have changed over time paying particular attention to changing conceptualisations of development and who defines these or constructs our development knowledge . The issue of women s status and gender inequality is used as an example throughout the module to highlight changing conceptualisations around what and who are included in development agendas and what this means for the development of these individuals. Specific attention is paid to more recent policy initiatives particularly those promoted by the International Financial Institutions and through examination of these initiatives the module aims to develop a student s ability to critically evaluate policy and the policy formulation process, including critical deconstruction of the alternative development thinking that seeks to challenge the dominant neo liberal development paradigm.

  Disaster Mitigation in the Development Context (30 Credits) - Optional

  Many feel that the World, and particularly the so called Third World is becoming a more dangerous place as the number and severity of natural events, such as the Boxing day Tsunami of 2005, appear to have increased in recent years. The module begins by critically examining this contention and reflecting on how present development and disaster policy initiatives are tackling the issue. Rather than examining how nature produces such hazards, the module aims to highlight how these hazardous events become disasters through examination of their root causes, their relationship with existing development process and their differentiated impact on the human population. The module goes on to develop understanding of what happens after an event like a hurricane, focussing on often marginalised aspects of disasters, such as the psychosocial impact on those who survive and secondary disasters that follow such as gender based violence. The module aims to highlight how disasters are as much political, social and economic events as they are natural occurrences and to facilitate the development of the related skills necessary to help mitigate the impact of potentially disastrous events in the future.

  Dissertation Masters (60 Credits) - Compulsory

  Aims to enable students to investigate in depth a research question related to the programme of study. Allow students to apply the theory and skills developed in the programme to a topic in policy analysis, project evaluation or professional practice. Enable students to demonstrate mastery of the process skills involved in undertaking a sustained investigation.

  Flood Risk Management (30 Credits) - Optional

  This module introduces students to three key dimensions of Flood Risk Management: 1 The physical basis of flood generation and flood frequency in the context of changing climatic and societal futures , and the global variation in flooding of differing causalities and frequencies; 2 Governance and Policies: the national and international policy and institutional context of Flood Risk Management, both in the UK and in other development contexts; 3 Solutions, Challenges and Approaches: delivering flood risk management to societies in a range of cultural and physical settings.

  Global Environmental Issues, Policies and Institutions (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This module examines the concept of sustainable development and sustainable environmental management within the context of global and national environmental issues, and critically examines the national and international policies designed to address these issues. Using a range of geographically and developmentally diverse case studies, students will be introduced to the wide range of contemporary environmental issues relevant to sustainable use of the environment. The course will also examine environmental conservation and management policies and investigate the constraints faced by institutions, at various levels, in addressing global and national problems through local actions. The module will also examine various approaches to managing change and policy implementation through the critical examination of the project cycle from a government and NGO perspective.

  Globalisation (30 Credits) - Optional

  This module considers the implications for International Relations of forces of globalisation, both economic and cultural. It analyses the rise of international organisations, transnational politics and issues of global importance, and explores the theoretical debate surrounding these developments.

  Integrated Learning and Work (30 Credits) - Optional

  This practical experience module provides the means for students to link academic work with real world work experience related to the specific degree pathway they have chosen to follow. The aim is to enable the student to conceptualise the meaning of theory and policy decisions within the wider world context. This module also aims to develop and embed specific key skills which will facilitate career paths and employment in their chosen speciality. It is envisaged that the student will reflect and analyse areas of knowledge relevant to the placement learning experience and develop personal knowledge through review of learning. This learning experience provides students with the opportunity to enhance their skills of self-expression, communication, self-reliance, cooperation and team working within an area of work related to their chosen pathway.

  Migration and Citizenship (30 Credits) - Optional

  The module aims to develop an understanding of contemporary processes of and policies towards migration in Britain and Europe in the context of global economic, social and political changes. It also seeks to develop student s critical analysis of concepts such as community, integration and citizenship and to apply these to their own study of a migrant group or organisation.

  Sustainable Tourism Management (30 Credits) - Optional

  This module aims to provide a critical understanding of the various dimensions of sustainable tourism in both the developed and the developing world. It will critically review the concept of balance between environmental, social and economic components of sustainable tourism and develop an understanding of the opportunities and constraints associated with sustainable tourism. The module also aims to provide students with a critical evaluation of the implementation and utilisation of a range of management tools that can be deployed in sustainable tourism initiatives. In addition the module will develop students critical awareness of the role of sustainable tourism in achieving sustainable development in different world regions.

Entry & applying

We welcome applications from graduates with a good honours degree, or equivalent qualification, in an appropriate subject. We also consider candidates with other relevant qualifications and individuals with a minimum of three years' work experience. Those without formal qualifications need to demonstrate relevant work experience and the ability to study at postgraduate level.

Qualifications accepted

For a comprehensive list of qualifications accepted by Middlesex, see further information under entry requirements

English language requirements

You must have competence in English language and we normally require Grade C GCSE or an equivalent qualification. The most common English Language requirements for international students are IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL (paper based) 575 or TOEFL (internet based) 90 with specified minimum scores for each component. For details of other equivalent English language requirements that Middlesex accepts see international entry requirements

Applying

Applications for postgraduate study should be made directly to the university. You will need to fill in an application form and return it to the appropriate admissions office. UK and EU students should apply directly to the London office. Non-EU international students can apply to our international admissions office in London, or use our network of regional offices across the world to assist you with your application. Apply now

Fees & funding

The tuition fee for MA Sustainable Development for the academic year 2012/13 is as follows:

UK/EU Students

Full-time students: £6,000
Part-time students: £50 per taught credit 

Find out about our flexible payment plans for UK/EU students, and how they can help you spread the cost of your course.

International Students

Full-time students: £10,600
Part-time students: £93 per taught credit

Careers & placements

Graduates from this course have succeeded in finding employment in government ministries, non-governmental organisations (both local and international), education and other public sector agencies.