MSc Global Development (Environment and Climate Change)

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £14,700
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

• Learn more about - student finance options for UK students .
• Learn more about - fees and finance for international students .
• Graduates of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University can receive a 10% discount on their master's degree tuition fees as part of our Manchester Alumni Loyalty Discount scheme.

The unit aims to provide:

•  A critical understanding of key theories on environment, climate change and development
• An overview of the implications of environmental concerns and natural resource management (including climate change) on development policy and practice
• An understanding of the interlinkages between climate change adaptation and mitigation

An opportunity for students to develop their range of competencies in transferable areas, including research, analysis, team-work and both written and verbal forms of communication

After the completion of this module, you will be able to:

Provide a comprehensive overview of key theories, debates, and conceptual frameworks in the political ecology of development, critically examining how power, inequality, and historical legacies shape environmental governance and resource management.

Foster the application of theoretical insights to empirical case studies, enabling students to analyze real-world environmental and development challenges while developing transferable analytical skills essential for further academic inquiry and professional engagement.

Enhance students’ critical and analytical capacities by equipping them with the tools to interrogate sustainability and development policies, preparing them to engage with complex global issues in both academic and professional contexts. 

Assess the implications of environmental challenges, including climate change, on development policies and practices, identifying tensions between economic growth, sustainability, and social justice.

Develop and apply research, analytical, and communication skills to engage with complex environmental issues, demonstrating the ability to synthesize multiple perspectives in both written and verbal formats.

Collaborate and formulate interdisciplinary responses to environmental and development challenges, integrating insights from political ecology to propose equitable and sustainable solutions. 

Teaching and learning will occur mainly through weekly online lectures and materials and weekly large group workshops or small group tutorials in which students apply and discuss concepts learned in class. VLE is used strategically as the hub of the course to share course information, resources and support communication with and amongst students, as well as to foster student engagement (e.g. extracurricular events, info about departmental lectures etc.) 

Explain key theoretical debates on environment and development and their effect on policy and practice in developing countries.

Explain the contested role of knowledge production in sustainable development  

Critically assess decision-making and policies proposed to achieve sustainable development.

Describe how a changing global environment impacts development. 

Critically evaluate key theories on environment, climate change, and development, applying them to contemporary case studies in the Global South.

Analyse and compare central debates in political ecology, with a focus on how power, inequality, and historical legacies shape environmental governance and resource management.

Assess the implications of environmental challenges, including climate change, on development policies and practices, identifying tensions between economic growth, sustainability, and social justice.

Develop and apply research, analytical, and communication skills to engage with complex environmental issues, demonstrating the ability to synthesize multiple perspectives in both written and verbal formats. 

Demonstrate critical thinking, reflection, self-awareness and independent learning  

Undertake both team-based and independent work to deadlines

Develop, articulate and sustain logical, structured and reasoned arguments supported by evidence in both written and oral contexts 

Summative feedback via VLE within 3 weeks of submission. 

Adams, W. (2019) Green Development (4th ed.). London: Routledge.

Adger, W. N., Lorenzoni, I. and O'Brien, K. L. (2009). Adapting to Climate Change: Thresholds, Values and Governance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  

Asiyanbi, A., & Massarella, K. (2020). Transformation is what you expect, models are what you get: REDD+ and models in conservation and development. Journal of Political Ecology, 27(1), 476-495.

Beymer-Farris, Betsy A & Bassett, Thomas J 2012 ‘The REDD menace: Resurgent protectionism in Tanzania's mangrove forests’ Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions-Part A 22/2:332–341

Brooks, N., Grist, N. and Brown, K. (2009) Development Futures in the Context of Climate Change: Challenging the Present and Learning from the Past. Development Policy Review, 27 (6), pp. 741-765.

Dresner, S. (2008). The Principles of Sustainability (2nd Ed.). London: Earthscan, London.

Eriksen et al. (2021) Adaptation interventions and their effect on vulnerability in developing countries: help, hindrance or irrelevance? World Development 141: 105383.

Fletcher, R., & Rammelt, C. (2017). Decoupling: a key fantasy of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. *Globalizations*, 14(3), 450-467.

Kashwan, P., V. Duffy, R., Massé, F., Asiyanbi, A. P., & Marijnen, E. (2021). From Racialized Neocolonial Global Conservation to an Inclusive and Regenerative Conservation. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 63(4), 4-19.

Leach, M. and Mearns R. (1996) The Lie of the Land. Oxford: James Currey.

O'Brien K. and Selboe, E. (eds.) (2014) The Adaptive Challenge of Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Perreault, T., Bridge, G. & McCarthy, J. (eds.) (2015) The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology, London, Routledge.  

Robbins, P (2020) Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction (3rd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.

Scheyvens, R., Banks, G., Hughes, E., 2016. The Private Sector and the SDGs: The Need to Move Beyond “Business as Usual.” Sustainable Development 24, 371–382. Sultana, F. (2014). Gendering climate change: Geographical insights. The Professional Geographer, 66(3), 372-381.  

Tanner, T. and Horn-Phathanothai, L (2014) Climate Change and Development. Abington: Routledge.  

Weldemichel, T. G. (2020). Othering pastoralists, state violence, and the remaking of boundaries in Tanzania’s militarised wildlife conservation sector. Antipode, 52(5), 1496-1518.