MASc in Global Sustainable Development

Find out more about our Global Sustainable Development Master's degree at Warwick

Page updates

We may have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

P-L801

MASc (Master of Arts and Science)

1 year full-time

29 September 2026

Global Sustainable Development

University of Warwick

Our innovative MASc in Global Sustainable Development is a unique opportunity to join a community of transdisciplinary experts and practitioners with a passion for research and teaching. On this flexible course you will combine academic learning with practical action and applied thinking to tackle problems of global sustainable development.

In Global Sustainable Development (GSD) we take a critical approach to the dominant discourse of sustainable development. We are committed to understanding as well as challenging existing practice, and want you to join us, as we seek innovative, transformative responses to complex global challenges. Based in the School for Cross-faculty StudiesLink opens in a new window, our academic home is a natural place for future transdisciplinary leaders to flourish.

On this course you will work with Warwick’s GSD DepartmentLink opens in a new window, the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD)Link opens in a new window, and partner departments across the University. Our staff are at the forefront of their fields and share your passion for global sustainable development.

Core modules will support your development as an intellectual leader dedicated to bringing about positive change. They will help to deepen your understanding of the core global challenges we face, and develop your critical and reflective approach, as well as your technical and methodological skills. Your learning will be rooted in critical intellectual enquiry and philosophical understanding, which will support your personal development as a leader of thought and action. In addition, by having a broad range of optional modules and flexible capstone project options, you can tailor the course to your own areas of interest.

In Term Three and the summer, you will have an exciting opportunity to ‘learn by doing’ as you undertake a transdisciplinary capstone project. We will offer you a choice of research, practice, and work-based experiences. Your chosen project will enable you to develop a skillset and expertise most suited to your future career goals.

By the end of this course, you will be equipped to play an authentic, ethically-grounded and reflective role in global citizenship. You will also have a defined understanding of what is necessary to act as a leader of positive change. The route you choose upon graduation will be defined by your own interests and aspirations. Your learning from the course will equip you with what you need for a career in applied research, in policy, business, or in third sector activity.

Who is this programme for?

This programme is ideal for you if:

• You have prior experience of studying GSD
• You are new to this field of study with a first degree and a strong interest in GSD
• You have work and life experience relating to GSD

Skills from this degree

You will learn to:

• Think systemically, recognising connections and interactions between factors, and understand that actions often have many consequences
• Identify and analyse the risk that system complexity can lead to unexpected and novel outcomes, and contribute to the proactive management of this
• Describe complex issues in clear terms and communicate about them effectively and succinctly, both verbally and in writing
• Work naturally and consciously, as part of a community of practice, by learning from others in a culture of respect, mutual understanding and empathy, and managing disagreement and conflict through socially non-violent means, even in the context of formal power hierarchies
• Support and foster intellectual leadership by challenging assumptions, critically analysing information and negotiating alternatives to current practices
• Create new and personal knowledge in GSD both through research and self-managed learning

We offer a transdisciplinary approach to learning about problems of global sustainable development. The global challenges we face today do not fit neatly within disciplinary boundaries, instead, requiring integration of different disciplinary perspectives. This is reflected in our range of expert tutors, drawn from a variety of disciplines across the humanities, social sciences and scientific fields.

Transdisciplinarity also requires engagement with non-academic partners, breaking down boundaries between academic thinking and practical application. The capstone projects on this course bring this to the forefront. For instance, you may choose to work with an employer, unifying knowledge from academic and non-academic viewpoints.

We pride ourselves on a pedagogy of problem-based, response-focused learning. You will be taught key course content via interactive lectures and task-guided reading. However, most of your learning will be through the active, authentic and applied student-self-construction of knowledge. This pedagogy allows you to develop applied process skills and academic subject content at the same time.

The capstone modules offer structured and supported opportunities to ‘learn by doing’. This is learning not just by means of authentic tasks that mirror the ‘real-world’, but by offering learning as being a fundamental part of daily, collectively-lived reality.

The Institute for Global Sustainable Development

On this course you will benefit from expertise in Warwick’s Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD). IGSD provides a focal point for Warwick’s sustainable development research, contributing towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but still challenging of them. Researchers in IGSD will contribute to our taught modules via guest lectures. They will also, where appropriate, be available to supervise the capstone projects in Term Three and the summer.

Class sizes will vary with around 15-25 students in core modules and fewer in optional core GSD modules. Class sizes for optional modules in GSD will be small, typically with around 10 students. In other departments, optional module class sizes will vary according to the size and nature of their postgraduate programmes.

In the first term you will have 8-10 hours of contact time each week which will comprise of lectures, seminars and practical sessions.

In Term Two your contact hours will vary depending on which options are selected. Each of the 10 CAT GSD optional core modules offer two contact hours per week in the form of seminars and/or practical sessions.

The form and number of contact hours on the Capstone modules in Term 3 and the Summer will depend on the particular capstone project you’re enrolled on. All students will primarily work independently on these projects. Students on Research Projects can expect individualised support from an academic supervisor within the GSD division. Students on Practice-Based Projects will be supported through workshops and meetings run by a member of staff in GSD. Students on the Workplace Project will be working full-time with an external organisation, but will be supported through workshops and check-ins with a member of academic staff and/or the Employability and Placements Manager.

The core modules on this course will be assessed in a variety of ways including essays, presentations, and research project plans. The assessments are designed to help you develop the skills for research, analysis, and communicating your work with others. For example, you will have opportunities to write articles and prepare a short documentary communicating scientific research to wider audiences.

All assessments in modules offered by the School for Cross-faculty Studies link to practical applications.

Reading lists

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platformLink opens in a new window. 

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue. 

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). Find out more about our requirements.Link opens in a new window

We encourage applications from students with diverse backgrounds, from the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. We particularly welcome students with experience of interdisciplinary study.

In certain circumstances, we will consider applicants with a lower second-class honours degree, or a normal degree (and their equivalents). This is particularly the case for applicants with relevant professional experience which can be explicitly and directly related to our curriculum.

To find out more about how to apply please visit the GSD website.Link opens in a new window

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

All applicants need to provide a Statement of Interest. This should be 1-2 pages long in content, with an extra page for cited references.

Your statement should include:

• Your motivation for applying for this specific degree at Warwick
• How your educational background has prepared you for rigorous postgraduate study in this subject area
• How obtaining this degree will fit into your future plans
• What you hope to get from studying this course and your expectations
• You may also wish to include details about your personal/work/voluntary experiences if they relate to the degree programme
• Explicit discussion of knowledge, concepts, theories, frameworks, and general literature, with which you are familiar and believe can be applied to the subject area, referenced using appropriate tools of scholarship

Cited references

You should provide a list of any cited references, appropriately formatted. These should be included on an extra page, following your statement.

Term One

Optional modules

The number of optional modules you take will vary depending on how many of the above optional core modules you select. Your optional modules will be offered by the GSD Department and partner departments and you will have the opportunity to specialise in thematic learning. Optional modules could include:

Please note, optional modules are subject to availability and offerings may change each year to keep your learning experience current and up-to-date. You will also need to discuss your optional module choices with your personal tutor and receive approval from the Director of Graduate Studies in GSD. Other optional modules may be available across other departments.

Read more about our optional modules on the GSD website.Link opens in a new window

The number of optional modules you take will vary depending on how many of the above optional core modules you select. Your optional modules will be offered by the GSD Department with IGSD, and partner departments. You will specialise in thematic learning, for example: 

• Socially Engaged Performance: Interventions and Provocations 
• Resource Fictions: Studies in World Literature 
• World Literature in the Anthropocene 
• Popular Movements and Sustainable Change
• Sustainable Urbanisation: from Risk to Resilience
• Urban Resilience, Disaster and Data 

Habitability in the Universe

• Education for Sustainable Development 
• Design Thinking for Social Impact 

Please note, optional modules are subject to availability and offerings may change each year to keep your learning experience current and up-to-date. You will also need to discuss your optional module choices with your personal tutor and receive approval from the Director of Graduate Studies in GSD. Other optional modules may be available across other departments.