Develop the skills and understanding to tackle the global challenges of development, social justice and sustainability.

Whether you are a graduate aiming to make a difference in the world, or a professional wishing to deepen your knowledge and critical thinking, this course is for you.

You will explore the political, economic and social forces that promote and prevent social and environmental justice around the world. These include people’s struggles for wellbeing and sustainability and the visions that inspire them; and the roles of state, society and market actors. Transcending geographical binaries of Global North and South, you will consider areas of complementarity and trade-off between economic development, human wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

This specialist master’s combines skills and knowledge of international development with an in-depth focus on social justice, wellbeing and sustainability. Innovative learning approaches promote investigation of particular cases and issues drawing out connections and contradictions between different actors, analytical perspectives and across global, regional, national, and local scales.

The course provides you with the opportunity to apply what you have learned in a placement leading to a work-based project.

Gain key skills

You will leave the course with:

• a critical understanding of concepts and approaches to social and environmental justice, wellbeing and sustainability, and their strengths and limitations
• practical skills in research, analysis and communication, and an understanding of how these can be applied in working for social justice, wellbeing and sustainability at global and local levels
  
• an appreciation of how integrated perspectives can capture the complex interactions between social and ecological systems
• the ability to explore areas of complementarity and trade-off between economic development, human wellbeing and environmental sustainability
• rich experience gained from working with people from a wide range of disciplinary, professional and national backgrounds

Learning and teaching

You will join the Department of Social & Policy Studies here at Bath. Our staff are all active in this field, research-led, and united in their commitment to finding better solutions to the world’s development problems.

We encourage diversity of intake, in experience, qualifications and interests, to stimulate the richness of experience and learning.

Graduate prospects

This course provides an excellent grounding for careers in social, economic and environmental justice in both global North and global South. It provides the core skills required in a range of policy, communication, advocacy, research and programmatic roles. These may also be used to support social movements, foster corporate social responsibility, promote social enterprise or advance regulatory activities by government or the third sector.

Some recent graduates of this course have gone on to secure roles such as:

• Research and Communications Specialist, Epiphany
• Analyst, Bank of Industry Limited
• Operations and Finance Officer, The Washing Machine Project