MSc Ecological Economics

SRUC Scotland's Rural College

This course teaches how to make sustainability and environmental management work through the application of economic principles.

Course overview

This postgraduate course focuses on using the application of economic principles to make sustainability and environmental management work in practice.

Designed to have a real-world focus, the course addresses genuine topical issues and ensures practical application of your knowledge as well the opportunity to experience Ecological Economics first hand.

A major part of that practical application is delivered through a study tour, usually to East Africa.

On completion of the course you'll be able to appreciate the systematic interaction between ecology, social systems and economics, vital for finding solutions to contemporary environmental problems. You'll also be well-equipped to examine and criticise how environmental and social policy is formulated and implemented in developed and developing world economies.

You'll have developed skills linked to your own specific areas of interest in specialist topics of your choosing, as well as some that appear in the top 15 ‘most wanted’ for the environmental sector, like multidisciplinarity, sustainability science and planning, and risk and uncertainty analysis.

The MSc Ecological Economics is awarded by the University of Edinburgh.

What you'll learn

Our approach to teaching and learning is to give students a learning environment that offers many opportunities for hands-on, experiential learning. For this course that includes working with software and data analysis, working in groups, and learning through games and debates, as well as more traditional lectures.

After two semesters of taught courses, you'll begin work on individual dissertations, which you can choose from a wide selection of options to suit your interests and career goals.