Transform your understanding of the global climate crisis. Explore its systemic roots and develop your skills to catalyse social and environmental change.
This interdisciplinary course is designed to further your understanding of the root causes and effects of worldwide climate and sustainability challenges, and how to devise constructive strategies to counteract them.
You’ll explore how solutions that foster social transformation and advance environmental sustainability can be shaped. This will put you in a strong position to pursue a range of careers in expanding fields like climate policy and environmental sustainability.
Our planet's climate crisis is deeply rooted in social, political, and economic factors. This combination requires transformative and holistic approaches to engage with power, inequality, and social change in an effective way.
During this course, you’ll develop the knowledge and skills needed to respond to these rapidly changing environments. You’ll examine how global systems of capitalism, colonialism, and extractivism have shaped the climate crisis, and delve into the governance mechanisms, policy frameworks, and meaningful climate actions being used in efforts to work towards sustainable and just futures.
By engaging with perspectives from across the social sciences and humanities, you’ll deepen your understanding of the complex questions we face as a global society and learn how to devise effective approaches to counteract them.
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.
Gain key skills
Upon successful completion of this course, you’ll have gained:
- critical knowledge of strategies that address the social, political and policy implications of climate change that you can use to tackle complex challenges from multiple perspectives
- an interdisciplinary understanding of key issues in global environmental change, including the systemic drivers of the climate crisis; the relations between social justice and sustainable futures; and cutting-edge approaches toward driving effective change through policy, governance, education, and climate action
- a well-rounded skill set in areas like research methods, policy analysis, public engagement, advocacy, behaviour change, and socio-environmental interventions
- the ability to engage with diverse communities and policymakers through effective advocacy
Learn from experts in the field
You’ll learn from experts in social and environmental thought, environmental politics and climate governance, international development, environmental psychology, ecological economics, and education for sustainability, as well as staff across the wider Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Their passion, knowledge, experience and research shape their teaching to enhance your learning experience.
Bath is also home to leading interdisciplinary research centres and groups, whose work influences the content of the course. These include:
Choose a consultancy project or dissertation
The course culminates with either a dissertation or consultancy project. Both options allow you to apply your learning to an in-depth piece of work and demonstrate your progress through the course.
If you choose the dissertation, you’ll conduct appropriate research focused on a relevant theoretical or empirical topic that aligns with your interests and aspirations.
The consultancy project is your chance to work on a project with an external organisation which addresses a real-world challenge they are facing.
Working alone or as part of a group, you’ll conduct appropriate research, analyse data (if necessary) and share your solution as a written report and presentation.
You will benefit from our well-established business connections across fields like environmental and sustainability policy and climate advocacy, as well as related sectors, both in the UK and overseas.
Consultancy project numbers are limited each year. You’ll apply for a suitable project with one of our external partners and will receive support from us during this process. If a suitable project can’t be secured, you will complete a dissertation instead.
Find out more about consultancy projects
Graduate prospects
During this course, you’ll develop a well-rounded skillset. You’ll enhance your abilities in areas like research, analysis and communication, while also building career-focused skills suitable for many different professional roles.
This will provide you with an excellent grounding for careers in the expanding field of climate change and environmental sustainability, such as:
- Environmental policy: governmental and non-governmental organisations focused on shaping climate policy
- Sustainability consulting: advisory positions in corporate or public sectors, guiding sustainable practices
- Climate advocacy and communication: campaigning, public awareness, and education roles within NGOs, media, or community organisations
- Research and academia: further research or academic careers, including doctoral studies in humanities and social science, environmental studies, and policy research
Social and environmental justice
Explore key contemporary research, theories and empirical examples of the social and economic dynamics and practices surrounding social and environmental justice. Study mainstream and alternative theories and approaches to social and environmental justice, such as:
Assessment detail
Learning outcomes
By the end of the unit, students should be able:Unit detail
This unit will explore key contemporary research, theories and empirical examples of the social and economic dynamics and practices surrounding social and environmental justice. The unit will cover mainstream and alternative theories and approaches to social and environmental justice such new Marxist approaches to social justice; Decolonial/post-colonial theory; the coloniality of power and cognitive justice; social reproduction approach and feminist critiques.