How can we assess environmental problems? How do companies and public authorities work to prevent and solve environmental problems? How can different types of actors exert influence and control, and what policies and measures can we employ to drive positive change? If you are interested in questions like these, this programme is for you. The International Master’s Programme in Environmental Management and Policy (EMP) enables graduates to inspire and drive change by developing their abilities to evaluate, design and implement management and policy responses to complex environmental challenges. Distinguished key features are: interdisciplinary learning, the international nature and practically applied studies, with dual focus on environmental policy and environmental management.
The EMP programme revolves around distinguished key features: interdisciplinary learning, its international nature and practically applied studies. The EMP is focused on both environmental policy and environmental management. This is based on our collective experience that decision makers within both these spheres benefit vastly from having such a dual understanding. More and more, we find that many alumni, regardless of their profession or sector, work within the realms of both public policy and corporate management to move the environmental agenda further.
Special features of the programme
Tomorrow’s change starts in the reality of today. Our students are challenged to develop professional skills, knowledge and networks in close collaboration with industry and society – to this end, the EMP is set up to convey a detailed and methodical understanding of technical systems.
Our teaching approach is characterised by a multidisciplinary and multicultural classroom – features that apply to both teachers and students – contributing to a creative atmosphere that pervades the whole of the institute. Our exceptionally engaged alumni network, is globally distributed in a multitude of professional roles; they are contributing to the EMP programme through numerous activities. The EMP typically comprises a class size of around 30 students facilitating a tight on-site community and enabling an interactive, dynamic learning that equips graduates with personal and social skills way beyond the academic theory. Designed to build on the knowledge that students have acquired during the first cycle education, the EMP programme explicitly includes learning activities that encourage the peer-to-peer sharing of experience and perspectives. Thereby, students can take advantage of their diverse collective experience and benefit from this interdisciplinary exchange to great effect.
Programme modules/courses
The programme is set up to offer a variety of opportunities to collaborate with and learn from a range of practitioners; we go to great lengths to enable student groups to visit and study industry sites and engage in projects with external clients.
EMP courses are allocated to five major blocks:
• Courses teaching knowledge and skills fundamental for all sustainability professionals
• Courses related to Corporate Environmental Management
• Courses related to environmental policy at urban, regional, national and international levels
• Elective courses that allow students to choose between going deeper into environmental policy or environmental management, including team-based consulting or an internship
• Capstone courses that allow for a focused specialisation built on applying all preceding learning in the programme to specific tasks and circumstances
Course distribution over the four semesters:
Semester 1: Environmental Science and the Anthropocene, Conceptualisations of Sustainability, Fundamentals of Technical Systems, Fundamentals of Economics and Economic Valuation of Environmental Change, Introduction to Business Management and Corporate Responsibility, Introduction to Policy and Law.
Semester 2: Analytical Methods for Systemic Assessment of Products and Services. Lifecycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Law and Policy in Practice, elective course: Environmental Management and Strategy in Practice – Business Consulting, elective course: Environmental Management and Policy in Practice – Internship.
Semester 3: Environmental Policy Analysis, Sustainability Solutions in Context – Project Course, Research Design Methodology for Interdisciplinary Applied Research and elective courses in Applied Research.
Semester 4: Thesis project.
