2024/25 entry
MSc Climate Change and Sustainability
About this course
This forward-thinking Masters provides a unique opportunity to study climate change looking at innovative and positive strategies for monitoring and managing the impacts from a geography and engineering perspective.
- Engage with the topical issue of climate change and explore solutions to deal with impacts sustainably from both a geography and engineering perspective
- Learn from academic staff who are actively involved in climate change and sustainability research and make links with research organisations and potential employers we work with
- Study in state-of-the-art facilities, including a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab, environmental analysis labs and drone labs
- Learn to use industry-leading, subject-specific software
- Enhance your technical skills using specialist GIS software, such as ArcGIS and QGIS
- Develop specialist remote sensing (RS) software skills in technology, such as ENVI, and industry leading programming software, such as Matlab or Python
- Improve your employment prospects in the fast growing geospatial and environmental science industry and the blossoming green economy market
This Masters will produce graduates who not only understand the physical and societal impacts of climate change and ideas around sustainability, but also have a technical understanding of what is required to solve the problems of the future from an engineering perspective. The programme is taught across LJMUs Faculty of Science and Faculty of Engineering and Technology. This means the programme draws upon expertise across multiple disciplines and provides you with scientific and technical knowledge and skills suitable for a diverse range of employers involved in the interdisciplinary world of climate change and sustainability. This approach is key to moving forward with the challenges of climate change as they are not one-dimensional issues and need knowledge from a range of disciplines and a synthesis of approaches to reach solutions.
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Fees and funding
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students
Fees
The fees quoted at the top of this page cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:
- library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
- access to programme-appropriate software
- library and student IT support
- free on-campus wifi via eduroam
Additional costs
Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:
- accommodation and living expenditure
- books (should you wish to have your own copies)
- printing, photocopying and stationery
- PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
- mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
- field trips (travel and activity costs)
- placements (travel expenses and living costs)
- student visas (international students only)
- study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
- academic conferences (travel costs)
- professional-body membership
- graduation (gown hire etc)
Funding
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages.
Please be aware that the UK’s departure from the EU may affect your tuition fees. Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.
Employability
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
As a graduate from the programme, you will be able to pursue a career within a number of different sectors, including consultancies, local authority planning departments, agriculture, the defence sector, the energy sector and environmental regulatory and management organisations.
There are already many employment opportunities for graduates with GIS and remote sensing (RS) skills – particularly in environmental science where tackling climate change is one of the most important issues for national governments around the world. Graduates from this programme will be able to take advantage of such opportunities as well as employment linked to the growing green economy market.
The student experience
Discover life as a postgraduate student at LJMU.
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Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
This course is currently undergoing its scheduled programme review, which may impact the advertised modules. Programme review is a standard part of the University’s approach to quality assurance and enhancement, enabling us to ensure that our courses remain up to date and maintain their high standard and relevancy.
Once the review is completed, this course website page will be updated to reflect any approved changes to the advertised course. These approved changes will also be communicated to those who apply for the course to ensure they wish to proceed with their application.
Your programme is made up of a number of core modules which are part of the course framework. Some programmes also have optional modules that can be selected to enhance your learning in certain areas and many feature a dissertation, extended report or research project to demonstrate your advanced learning.
Core modules
Dissertation
60 credits
The aim of this module is to enable you to conduct independent scientific research, in an appropriate manner, under the guidance of an academic tutor. It:
- gives you the opportunity to make a major contribution in a chosen subject area through a supervised programme of individual study
- allows you to demonstrate your ability to carry out scientific research and to present findings as a scientific report
Climate Change Impact Monitoring and Management
20 credits
This module uses industry standard remote sensing software (ENVI), geographical information software (ArcGIS/QGIS) and programming software (Matlab/Python) to provide skills in data collection, processing, interpretation and analysis for monitoring the environment and managing impacts. Case studies of monitoring and management in a variety of topics (e.g. wildfires, hurricanes) and using a variety of data (e.g. satellite, drone) will also be taught.
Research Methods
20 credits
This module covers all aspects of how to plan and execute a research project.
Climate Change From a Scientific and Human Perspective
20 credits
This module provides information on the physical basis of climate change, as well as an introduction to climate change impacts (atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial, biosphere) and social and political responses, including the concepts of mitigation, adaptation and sustainability.
Sustainable Environmental Management
20 credits
This module provides knowledge and understanding of sustainable environmental management techniques with case studies on a variety of topics in terrestrial and ocean settings. It will also provide background context to sustainable environmental management techniques through material on local, national and international policies/strategies for environmental management.
Sustainable Energy Management
20 credits
This module provides knowledge and understanding of energy sources and management of production and consumption of energy in an efficient and sustainable way. It will allow students to critically evaluate energy efficient and sustainable design in the construction of buildings and how this can contribute to management of energy supply. It will also provide legal and institutional framework context in this area.
Sustainable Infrastructure
20 credits
This module will help you develop an understanding of the operation, design and management of infrastructure in both the Developing World and the Developed World. From this you will develop the capability for critical assessment of the sustainability of infrastructure in a wide variety of situations.
Teaching
An insight into teaching on your course
Study hours
Students will receive on average 12 hours per week of taught sessions and will be expected to spend around 3-4 hours of private study for every hour of taught sessions.
Teaching methods
Taught sessions will include lectures, practical's, workshops, tutorials and seminars and some off-site teaching on day fieldwork trips.
Applied learning
The whole programme is focused towards applying knowledge to help provide solutions to the issues our world is facing in terms of climate change and sustainability. It is a very practical-based programme and features case studies and assessments using up-to-date research, technology and industry leading software.
Teaching and learning will take place at LJMU and at UK field locations on fieldwork trips. Research projects may involve data collection in other locations, subject to agreement with the academic advisor.
Assessment
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
A wide variety of standard and non-standard assessment types are used. This includes assessments involving: case studies, GIS/remote sensing practical, executive and data analysis reports; informal written science communication tasks and scientific research posters; portfolios including informal video science communication task, a scientific research project proposal, oral and video presentations and programming code; and more traditional essays and exams. Experimental research and design skills are assessed particularly in the dissertation write-up as well as in some of the portfolio work.
Course tutors
Our staff are committed to the highest standards of teaching and learning
Dr Lee Bradley
Programme Leader
Dr Bradley has a BSc (Hons) in Geography and PhD in Physical Geography. His research area is Quaternary Science and his research focuses on the use of fossil pollen and dinoflagellate cysts to reconstruct past environments. He has worked on diverse projects, ranging from reconstructing the history of European Beech from sites in Germany and Scandinavia to exploring how the Black Sea has changed over the past 11,700 years. Dr Bradley joined LJMU as a lecturer in 2022 and is passionate about developing students’ practical skills – whether this is on fieldwork, analysing samples in the laboratory or exploring data using GIS software.
Working with students as they progress through their degree gives me a great sense of satisfaction as they prepare for careers with the potential to make a difference to the challenges we face in the future.
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School facilities
What you can expect from your School
You will study at the Byrom Street site in the university's City Campus in the heart of Liverpool. You will have access to first class teaching facilities, laboratories and study areas. The Avril Robarts Library is within easy walking distance and here you'll find all the information you need to support your studies.
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
Undergraduate degree
The minimum qualification for entry is a good first degree (2.2 Hons) in geography, environmental science or related field. Applicants who do not meet the normal entry requirement but have a good first degree in another numerate, physical science or engineering discipline and professional experience will be considered on their individual merits in relation to the proposed programme. Professional experience, publications, written reports, CPD activities and other suitable evidence of accomplishment will be taken into account.
International requirements
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IELTS
- a minimum 6.5 IELTS (with a minimum of 6.0 in each category).
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Other international requirements
Equivalent international qualifications will be considered, plus a minimum 6.5 IELTS (with a minimum of 6.0 in each category).
Further information
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Extra Requirements
You will need to:
- demonstrate sufficient knowledge to embark on the programme
- display the potential to develop high level research skills
- demonstrate the ability and commitment to work at postgraduate level
Application and selection
Securing your place at LJMU
To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU online application form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.
The University reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the University. Where this does happen, the University operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.