MSc Global Development and Environment
- MSc
Overview
Contemporary global challenges demand the linking of environmental issues to the conventional foci of development: health, urbanisation, poverty, food security and migration. They also demand an understanding of how the world's resources of water, energy, land, and minerals are allocated and managed, and how contestations over these distributions play out.
You will be taught by world-class experts from the School of Geographical Sciences, ranked 15th globally for Geography (QS World University Subject Ranking 2026), the MSc in Global Development and Environment is aimed at talented graduates seeking to develop or enhance their expertise in development and environment to address these challenges.
Why study MSc Global Development and Environment?
- Our interdisciplinary training links development and environmental issues.
- We take a global perspective with attention to local contexts and people's agency.
- There are opportunities to join University-wide interdisciplinary research networks and institutes focused on global environmental challenges.
What makes this programme different?
- It combines global sustainable development framing with place-based analysis.
- It emphasises large-scale drivers of environmental consumption alongside local-level agency and justice.
- We have a diverse student intake from varied academic backgrounds, fostering cross-disciplinary learning.
What you will gain from this programme:
- Enhanced expertise in analysing socio-environmental systems and policy implications.
- An ability to critically design, evaluate or influence sustainable development interventions and resource governance.
- Improved research, analytical and project-management skills applicable to academic, NGO, governmental and private sectors.
Relevance in the real world:
- You will develop skills valued by employers needing interdisciplinary insight into socio-environmental risk, policy and governance.
- Meets private sector demand for ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) advisory, sustainability strategy, supply-chain risk analysis, and corporate social responsibility expertise.
- Knowledge and skills taught on this programme are useful for government, NGO and consultancies advising on development projects, environmental impact assessments, and sustainability transitions.
Programme structure
The foundational programme unit is Global Development and Environment: History, Theory, Practice. You will also be required to undertake a policy-focused unit, developing your practical skills by working in small teams to address real-world policy and management challenges facing external clients including public agencies, private organisations and NGOs.
A third core unit, Sustainability, Risk and Resilience in the Urban Age, will introduce you to issues facing our urbanising planet, including migration and global urban governance.
Subject to availability, you will choose three additional units dealing with topics ranging from research methods to postcolonial critique, environmental policy, GIS and remote sensing.
Unit availability can only be confirmed on an annual basis, therefore any choices made by part-time students at the outset of the programme for their second year of study will be provisional.
Visit our programme catalogue for full details of the structure and unit content for our MSc Global Development and Environment.
Please note this master's programme requires group work and regular class presentations.
Entry requirements
You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or an international equivalent in any arts, humanities, social science, science or professional degree (medicine, architecture, planning or engineering). We will also consider applicants with other degree subjects on a case-by-case basis if applicants have completed one undergraduate module with a focus on development or environmental studies.
Relevant development-focused modules include those with titles containing "development" or closely related themes. Modules that explore issues relating to politics, society, economics, governance, inequality, or social change in developing countries or the Global South.
Environmental modules include those with titles containing "environment", as well as modules focused on topics such as agriculture, climate change, conservation, energy and renewable energy systems, environmental policy, forestry, natural resource management, sustainability or water resources.
We will also consider applicants with other degree subjects on a case-by-case basis if they have at least six months paid work experience/internship in a policy-facing role, a government department in the UK or overseas, development or environmental consultancies, multilateral organisations or NGOs.
We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree. Specific module requirements would still apply.
We will also consider your application if your final overall achieved grade is slightly lower than the programme's entry requirement.
If your achieved grade is lower than our entry requirements, your application may be more likely to receive an offer if you have additional relevant work experience or qualifications. If you have at least one of the following, please include your CV (curriculum vitae / résumé) when you apply, showing:
- evidence of relevant work experience (six months paid work experience/internship) in a policy-facing role, a government department in the UK or overseas, development or environmental consultancies, multilateral organisations or NGOs
- a relevant postgraduate qualification.
See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.
Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.
If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level E.
Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.
Fees and funding
- Home: full-time
- £15,000 per year
- Home: part-time (two years)
- £7,500 per year
- Overseas: full-time
- £33,200 per year
Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.
More about tuition fees, living costs and financial support.
Alumni discount
University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Check your eligibility for an alumni discount.
Funding and scholarships
Depending on eligibility, you may be able to apply for various scholarships, awards and bursaries including the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme and University of Bristol's Think Big Postgraduate Scholarship.
Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.
Career prospects
In addition to the University's wide range of career services, the School of Geographical Sciences offers dedicated coaching sessions and workshops to support students' future careers. The School also regularly organises alumni events to help connect current students with past graduates working in various sectors.
Graduates from this programme have secured roles in government, the non-profit sector (for example, World Wide Fund for Nature), multilateral organisations such as the United Nations and World Health Organisation and private companies including development and environmental consultancies, utilising skills developed through the programme, such as:
- sustainability and resilience assessment
- data modelling, analysis, and visualisation
- consultancy and project management
- impact analysis
- global development and climate policy.
What our graduates say about the MSc in Global Development and Environment:
"Theprogramme has given me valuable international exposure and helped me develop the ability to think critically about global development issues." - Sumit, 2026
"I really enjoy how diverse the modules are, some are more technical (e.g. GIS) and some are much more philosophical or involve gaining 'real world' experience." - Annika, 2025
Contact us
- Contact
- Enquiries Team
- Phone
- +44 (0) 117 394 1649
- choosebristol-pg@bristol.ac.uk