Political Ecology MA

The Earth is faced with unprecedented and interconnected environmental challenges which produce profound inequalities in terms of prosperity, power and justice. Responding to complex problems like these demands both critical thought and action in order to help us to live upon a changing planet. This unique programme in Political Ecology offers the conceptual tools and practical skills to ask and respond to the difficult questions of human-environment relations. You are given a safe space to confront and challenge the status quo through critical thought and debate, crucially helping to drive transformative action for a better and fairer world.

Who is this programme for?

Anyone seeking to address the environmental injustices and unequal power relations that are visible throughout the world today. By doing so, you will become an environmental ‘change-maker’ capable of working in a variety of sectors.

Looking ahead to employability

We develop your skills in:

* Understanding the different ways of analysing, debating and acting in response to diverse environments and development concerns, from local to global scales

* Project management for driving transformative action and change

* Constructing conversations to tackle the world’s most urgent and challenging environmental and developmental questions

What to expect

The MA in Political Ecology focuses on a range of themes, including the politics of resource extraction, water, climate politics and the green economy. To do this, we believe passionately that true learning is about dialogue and critical reflection, and not just lectures. Through a series of core and optional modules, we offer novel approaches to learning and teaching, engaging you in creative classes, both on and off campus. You will develop the necessary means to understand our complex human-environment relations, including how society might address and overcome some of the challenges of living on Earth.

The final phase of your Master’s is a dissertation project. You can choose to work alongside one of our world-leading academics or one of our industry partners on a topic relevant to political ecology.

3 things we would like you to know

* Our master’s is truly unique – the only one in the UK offering a dedicated political ecology perspective

* You will learn by exploring our local environment as a ‘living laboratory’ to critically examine political ecology concerns. We are located near to the Lake District and equidistant between London and Edinburgh

* You will work with and learn from one of the largest political ecology research groups in the UK, who have an international reputation. We are founding members of POLLEN, the world’s most diverse organisation for political ecology