Course description
Programme
This programme is designed for students who are interested in gaining advanced knowledge of contemporary theoretical and conceptual debates concerning relationships between environment, nature, culture and society. Drawing on expertise from across the University, and especially from geography, philosophy, theology, science and technology studies and development studies, the programme provides students with the opportunity to study the environment from a critical, multidisciplinary perspective.
Students will have the opportunity to engage with key topics of both theoretical and practical importance to understanding the environment, such as: human-nature interactions; social and cultural practices which shape environment and nature; philosophical and theological approaches to environment (eg ethical, aesthetic and spiritual values); and debates concerning conservation practice and concepts of nature, wilderness and environment.
Learning Outcomes
Students will develop research skills and generate new knowledge in multidisciplinary studies related to the environment. Students will also develop the ability to assess the importance and implications of geographical, philosophical and other theoretical debates for environmental policy and practice.
How You Will Be Taught
The programme offers a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, essays or projects and a dissertation.
This exciting new programme is designed for students who are interested in gaining advanced knowledge of contemporary theoretical and conceptual debates concerning relationships between environment, nature, culture and society. Drawing on expertise from across the University, and especially from geography, philosophy, theology, science and technology and development studies, the programme provides you with the opportunity to study the environment from a critical, multidisciplinary perspective.
Students will have the opportunity to engage with key topics of both theoretical and practical importance to understanding the environment, such as: human-nature interactions; social and cultural practices which shape environment and nature; philosophical and theological approaches to environment (e.g., ethical, aesthetic and spiritual values); and debates concerning conservation practice and concepts of nature, wilderness and environment.
This programme is situated within the 5* RAE-rated Institute of Geography and has links to other centres of research excellence at Edinburgh, such as the Centre for Environmental Change and Sustainability (CECS), the ESRC Centre for Social and Economic Research on Innovation in Genomics (Innogen), and Science and Technology Studies.
Programme Learning Outcomes
The programme provides advanced level multidisciplinary knowledge and understanding of key concepts and theoretical approaches concerning interactions between environment, nature, culture and society, especially:
* Nature-society and nature-human interactions
* Philosophical approaches to environmental values (environmental ethics and environmental aesthetics)
* Environmental issues and movements, social and environmental justice and development
* Theoretical debates concerning conservation practice and concepts of nature, wilderness and environment
* Landscapes and nature modified through social and cultural practices
* Traditions and contemporary debates with regard to governing nature, environmental policy, land-use designation and global governance.
The outcomes given are specifically what you can learn from the core courses of the taught element of the programme, and from the dissertation. Elective courses allow you to learn more in related areas, and/or to develop an informal stream or pathway within the programme by choosing courses relating to a particular area and a relevant dissertation topic.
Programme Structure
The programme starts in September each year and lasts twelve months for the MSc, and nine months for the Diploma. The programme consists of:
* a taught component during the Autumn and Spring Semesters (September to April);
* a 4 month individual research project, written up as a dissertation (May to August).
Taught Component
The taught component consists of six courses in total, including one compulsory course in the Autumn Semester and one in the Spring Semester.
Compulsory courses (40 credits in total)
-Nature and Society
-Values and the Environment
-Elective courses (80 credits in total)
Four other courses are selected from a wide range of electives. The following courses are recommended:
-Culture, Ethics and Environment
-Cultural Landscapes
-Philosophy and the Environment
-Environment, Risk and Governance
-Historical Geographies of Geographical Knowledge
-Geographies of the Senses
-Society and Development
-International Development
-Foundations of Ecological Economics
-Sociology of Environment and Risk
-Genetics, Nature and Society
-The Evolution and Dynamics of Biotechnology
-Ecology, Ethics and Spirit
-Ethics in a Technological Society
-GIS and Society
-Principles of GIS
-Research Design in Human Geography
-Methodological Debates in Human Geography
-Philosophy of Conservation (externally run week-long field course to the Isle of Rum in Scotland; additional course fee required)
Please note that the timetabling of elective courses varies from year to year. Applicants should be aware that not all elective courses run in any given year, and because some elective courses are timetabled by other Schools within the University, not all course combinations will be possible. Successful applicants will be advised of the precise timetabling on arrival in Edinburgh.
Dissertation (60 credits)
Each student conducts an individual research project/dissertation on a subject chosen in consultation with the Programme Director. Every effort is made to accommodate the student's own interests when defining dissertation topics.
Programme requirements
MSc:
1. Equivalent of essays or project work not totalling more than 18,000 words.
2. Dissertation: 12,000 words.
3. Progression to dissertation: 50% in core courses; 50% overall minimum.
Diploma:
A diploma will be available for candidates who choose not to submit a dissertation, or for those whose performance in the course work is deemed, in accordance with University regulations, insufficient for progression to the submission of a dissertation.
