Course: MRes Sustainability and Adaptation

Masters in Research Sustainability and Adaptation

Examine the causes and urgency of climate change, what actions are needed and – crucially – what solutions we have already, on our MSc in Sustainability and Adaptation. 

This course uses the concepts of sustainability and adaptation transformation to frame an analysis of environmental and climate change policy and its implications for society on an international, national, local and individual level. With a wide range of modules, the course offers a holistic view of sustainability and the opportunity to explore a wide variety of topics in depth related to sustainability and adaptation.

Some of the topics you’ll study include:

• Sustainability thinking and adaptation transformation planning
• Acute resilience pathways for cities and communities
• Environmental politics and social and economic systems
• Sustainable design of buildings and environmentally responsive materials and resources
• Transformational change
• Risk and vulnerability assessment and adaptive capacity
• Land use and food security
• Restoration ecology, environmental assessments and ecosystem services, including waste and water
• Energy provision and energy flows in buildings

How is the course taught?

When studying this course as an MSc you will need to study two introductory core modules, plus choose five optional taught modules before undertaking a dissertation. Depending on your pathway through the course, you will also complete the 15-credit Applied Research Design module in the year prior to starting your dissertation. Please click on the descriptions below for information about each module.

What qualification will you receive?

Successful completion of the programme MRes Sustainability and Adaptation at the Centre for Alternative Technology leads to the award of Master of Science (MSc) by UEL. 

Modules include

• Introduction to Sustainability and Adaptation
• Sustainability and Adaptation Concepts in Practice 
• Applied Research Design
• MRes Dissertation Module
• Introduction to Politics and Economics of the Environment
• Energy Flows in Buildings
• Cities and Communities
• Energy Provision
• Sustainable Materials in the Built Environment
• Food Production and Consumption
• Communicating Transformational Social Change
• Restoration Ecology
• International Zero CO2 Energy

Why study at CAT?

Studying at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is a truly unique experience. For over 50 years CAT has been at the forefront of the environmental movement, pioneering low-carbon living and renewable technology. At the Graduate School of the Environment (GSE), students benefit from our extensive practical and academic knowledge, graduating with the skills needed to become leading players in the sustainability sector. Find out more about our facilities here.

Hands-on learning

At CAT, hands-on learning takes place side by side with academic study and research. Residential on-site block learning weeks are taught at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), an inspiring learning environment. Nestled in a disused slate quarry on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, CAT is a living laboratory for practical, sustainable solutions. It contains some of the most innovative and renowned environmentally conscious buildings in the country, as well as one of the most diverse range of installed renewable technologies, on site water and sewage treatment, sustainably managed woodland and acres of organic gardens.

Flexibility

Taught over two years full-time or three years part time, students will study taught modules over the first 12 months and then move onto a 120 credit extended research Dissertation module where you will learn how to lead and manage your own research project on a sustainability-related, discipline-relevant topic of your particular interest, and write an extended dissertation on the findings.

Our taught modules are taught in blocks taken either with an intensive residential stay of five or six nights at the centre, or completely by distance learning. Students are free to choose between these teaching modes for every module. There is a choice of modules, each 8 weeks long, taken over one year or two, followed by a dissertation. It is a masters degree designed to give you the best possible experience whilst also meshing neatly with the pressures of modern professional and family life.

Immersive learning environment

Optional residential module weeks include lectures, seminars, group work and practicals. Applied work tends to dominate later in the week once we have laid the theoretical groundwork. These module weeks provide a truly immersive environment to escape daily life and apply yourself to new learning. Many eminent experts give guest lectures or hold seminars during these modules, as it is a course which seeks to draw on the expertise and learning of the whole environmental sector.

This course is created and delivered by CAT and is validated by the University of East London.