Environment and Sustainability

University of Surrey

Environment and sustainability degrees are growing in popularity in both the UK and rest of the world. With our degree in sustainability you'll gain the interdisciplinary skills to tackle the challenges faced by individuals, companies and society in implementing sustainable development. Can multinational businesses combine long-term sustainability with profitability? Will the transition to clean energy be defeated by a lack of suitable infrastructure and the policy to implement it? Addressing the challenges facing sustainable development from an interdisciplinary perspective is a key focus of this BSc. This course is run by our internationally renowned Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES) and the Institute for Sustainability, and in partnership with the new Surrey CIFAL – a United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) training centre recently established at the University of Surrey. You can also take the opportunity to get industry-ready with our award-winning Professional Training placements. Professor Gary Kass, Vice-President, Institution of Environmental Sciences, and Former Deputy Chief Scientist, Natural England, says: "This course is vital for anyone who wishes to develop the knowledge skills and mindsets necessary to make progress on sustainable development."

In Year 1, modules will focus on core environmental science, climate change, environmental economics, sustainable development and research methods. There is also a residential fieldwork module focused on the sustainable regeneration of environments and communities. In Years 2 and 3, the focus is on developing interdisciplinary perspectives and skills, so you’ll take a range of modules in other subject areas, including law, politics and psychology. You’ll also take modules taught by the Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES) to continue to develop your core sustainability knowledge and research skills before undertaking a dissertation. For your dissertation you’ll conduct in-depth research into a specific environment or sustainability problem under the guidance of a dissertation supervisor. With modules drawn from across the University and core CES teaching staff from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds, this course will give you the skill set needed to tackle the complex sustainability challenges of the twenty-first century.