Corporate Environmental Management MSc – 2023 entry

Key information

Start date: September 2023

Study mode and duration
Full-time: 1 year (maximum course length)*
Part-time: 5 years (maximum course length)*

Why choose this course

Our MSc is run by the Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES), a leading hub for environmental and sustainability-related research and postgraduate teaching. CES is an interdisciplinary research and teaching centre, seeking to resolve environmental sustainability problems within corporations.

This course will prepare you to meet the challenges being faced by the corporate world, as a future environmental and sustainability professional.

Five reasons to study for a masters in environment and sustainability at Surrey

What you will study

From carbon footprints to the design of revolutionary environmentally friendly products, our MSc covers all aspects of managing environmental and sustainability strategy in organisations.

We’ll provide you with a solid understanding of issues crucial to the sustainable development debate. You’ll also consider the views of stakeholders, such as business groups, environmentalists, government agencies and development institutions.

You’ll evaluate existing frameworks, inquire into environmental issues in organisations and industries, and develop sensitive business practices, preparing you for any corporate-focused environmental career.

Guest speakers participating in our course from leading organisations include:

  • Aviva Investors
  • Forum for the Future
  • NHS Sustainable Development Unit
  • Keller
  • Climate Action
  • Ikea.

This MSc provides a route to the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment graduate membership.

Please be aware: the course content and modules listed for this course are subject to change for the 2023/24 academic year, whilst we undertake a curriculum design review. Please contact the programme leader if you have any queries about the course.

Course length

This course is normally completed in one year on a full-time basis or between 2-5 years when completed on a part-time basis.

Academics

Several high-profile guest lecturers assist with the teaching of some of the modules. We make maximum use of guest lecturers, drawing on the practical skills and experience of major experts from government and industry to complement the theoretical components of the modules offered.

The extensive expertise of CES academics and researchers is also drawn upon in modules.

Professor Tim Jackson, adviser to the government and international bodies and author of the seminal book, Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet, lectures on some CES modules.

Industrial placement

Some full-time students complete an industrial placement as one of their elective modules. This enables you to spend 6-12 weeks working for a company or a non-governmental organisation, doing the type of work you’ll aim to find after graduation.

Examples of organisations where recent industrial placements have taken place include:

  • AECOM
  • Diocese of London
  • GAP
  • LC Energy
  • Minimise Solutions
  • NUS
  • Portsmouth City Council
  • The Radisson
  • Solar Aid.

Study and work abroad

There may be opportunities to acquire valuable experience by working or conducting research abroad during your degree or shortly afterwards. It is possible to do this in the summer period with an Erasmus+ grant or Turing Scheme working on your dissertation or as a recent graduate. In order to qualify your Erasmus+ traineeship must be a minimum of two months. Turing Scheme grants are available to support placements of between four weeks to 12-months.

Professional recognition

MSc - Institution of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA).
Accredited by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) for the purpose of eligibility to apply for graduate membership

Careers and graduate prospects

We offer careers information, advice and guidance to all students whilst studying with us, which is extended to our alumni for three years after leaving the University. Our graduates have lifetime access to Surrey Pathfinder, our online portal for appointment and events bookings, jobs, placements and interactive development tools.

Graduates of this course go on to pursue a diverse range of careers. You’ll help to implement sustainable development and deal with the real environmental challenges facing humanity.

You could go on to work as an energy efficiency officer for a local government, an environmental officer in a multinational chemical company, or a sustainability adviser for a national television or radio station.

Equally, you could become an environmental consultant for an engineering consultancy or a programme officer with a sustainability charity.

Our graduates also use the research skills they develop to pursue PhDs.

93 per cent of our environment and sustainability postgraduate students go on to employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes survey 2022, HESA).

Academic year structure

Both full-time and part-time students must complete five compulsory modules and four elective modules by the end of their MSc. The dissertation forms one of the compulsory modules.

You can start this MSc at the beginning of either the first semester in September or the second semester in February. The academic year begins with induction week when students are introduced to the University and full-time students choose their elective modules. If you’re a part-time student, you can enrol in modules closer to the time you wish to take a module.

During semester two, you’ll begin to focus on your dissertation, with a series of seminar events held to help you refine your ideas and make a start. You’re free to choose your own dissertation topic. Most choose topics related to issues or ideas encountered in the taught modules, or in a professional context, which relates to environment or sustainability. You’ll be allocated a dissertation supervisor to help guide you through the dissertation process.

Modules

Modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that modules may be subject to teaching availability, student demand and/or class size caps.

The University operates a credit framework for all taught programmes based on a 15-credit tariff. Modules can be either 15, 30, 45, 75 and 120 credits, and additionally for some masters dissertations, 90 credits.

The structure of our programmes follows clear educational aims that are tailored to each programme. These are all outlined in the programme specifications which include further details such as the learning outcomes:

Timetable

Each module on this course is taught on an intensive modular basis. There is pre-reading to do for each module and, on occasion, a pre-module assessment, followed by the intensive teaching week where there are several hours of classes each day from Monday to Friday for one week. Post-module coursework is to be completed over the four-week period after the intensive week. View our Code of practice for the scheduling of teaching and assessment (PDF).

Contact hours

Contact hours can vary across our modules. Full details of the contact hours for each module are available from the University of Surrey's module catalogue. See the modules section for more information.

Entry requirements

A minimum of a 2:2 UK honours degree, or a recognised equivalent international qualification.

Relevant work experience may also be considered.

Do I meet the requirements for this course?

We require you to submit a full application so that we can formally assess whether you meet the criteria published. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide an outcome based on an enquiry (via email, webform enquiry, phone or live chat).

International entry requirements by country

English language requirements

IELTS Academic: 6.5 overall with 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in each other element.

View the other English language qualifications that we accept.

If you do not currently meet the level required for your programme, we offer intensive pre-sessional English language courses, designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.

Credit transfer

The University of Surrey recognises that many students enter their higher education course with valuable knowledge and skills developed through a range of professional, vocational and community contexts. If your experience exceeds the typical requirements for entry to the programme, a process called recognition of prior learning (RPL) may allow you to enter your course at a point appropriate to your previous learning and experience. If you can demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes for specific modules through your previous learning, it may be possible to exempt you from those modules, and for you to be awarded credit based on your previous qualifications/experience. There are restrictions on RPL for some courses and fees may be payable for certain claims.

In some cases, prior knowledge and skills may allow applicants to join the start of a course without meeting the formal entry requirements.

Please see our code transfer and recognition of prior learning guide (PDF) and recognition of prior learning and prior credit web page for further information. Please email Admissions (admissions@surrey.ac.uk) with any queries.

Fees per year

Start date: September 2023

Full-time - 1 year

UK
£10,900
Overseas
£23,900

Part-time - 5 years

UK
£1,200
Overseas
£2,700

Please note:

  • *The dissertation module is charged as a 15-credit module for fee purposes
  • These fees apply to students commencing study in the academic year 2023-24 only. Fees for new starters are reviewed annually
  • If you are on an unstructured self-paced part-time course, the fee shown is per 15 credits for the 2023-24 academic year
  • Annual fees will increase by 4% for each subsequent year of study, rounded up to the nearest £100, subject to any overriding applicable legislative requirements.

View the list of fees for all postgraduate taught courses.

Payment schedule

  • Students in receipt of a tuition fee loan: Will have their fees paid by the Student Loans Company in line with their schedule
  • International students, or UK/EU students who have not taken out a tuition fee loan: Are required to pay their fees either in full at the beginning of the programme or in two instalments as follows:
    • 50% payable 10 days after the invoice date (expected to be early October of each academic year)
    • 50% in January of the same academic year.

The exact date(s) will be detailed on invoices. Students on certain part-time programmes, where fees are paid on a modular or stage basis, are not eligible to pay their fees by instalment.

  • If you are sponsored: You will provide us with valid sponsorship information that covers the period of your study.

Additional costs

There may be associated costs with this course:

  • Commuting (local travel expenses): Unable to specify amount - Potential travel costs for the dissertation if the student’s topic requires travel to case study sites.

Funding

You may be able to borrow money to help pay your tuition fees and support you with your living costs. Find out more about postgraduate student finance.

Admission information

Our postgraduate admissions policy* provides the basis for admissions practice across the University and gives a framework for how we encourage, consider applications and admit students. You can also read our postgraduate applicant guidance.

Terms and conditions

When you accept an offer of a place at the University of Surrey, you are agreeing to comply with our Charter, Statutes, Ordinances, Policies, Regulations and our terms and conditions. These terms and conditions are provided in two stages: first when we make an offer and second when students who have accepted their offers register to study at the University. View our offer terms and conditions and our registration terms and conditions (PDF) for the 2022/2023 academic year as a guide as to what to expect.

Please note: the offer terms and conditions and registration terms and conditions which you will be asked to agree to may be different from those detailed in the examples. Our offer terms and conditions will generally be available in the September of the calendar year prior to the year in which you begin your studies. Our registration terms and conditions will be available at the start of each academic year and will vary to take into account specifics of your course and changes for the specific academic year.

Disclaimer

This online prospectus has been prepared and published in advance of the academic year to which it applies. The University of Surrey has used its reasonable efforts to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publishing but changes (for example, to course content or additional costs) may occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of the course. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply for a course with us. Read our full disclaimer.

Course location and contact details

Campus location

Stag Hill

Stag Hill is the University's main campus and where the majority of our courses are taught. 

University of Surrey Admissions

Contact Admissions Team

Address

University of Surrey
Guildford
Surrey GU2 7XH