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Overview
Our Climate Change: Environment, Science and Policy MSc interdisciplinary programme provides an opportunity to explore key issues relating to climate and environmental change at an advanced level. You will explore a wide range of critical topics, focusing on human influences on the Earth’s climate and environment, and their societal consequences.
This MSc is unique because it’s flexible and allows you to study climate change from a policy or science pathway - and choose from an interdisciplinary list of optional modules to deepen your knowledge. You can choose to take the science pathway and concentrate your studies on the physical science aspects, such as forecasting climate change and its impacts. If you opt for the policy pathway, you’ll focus on the societal aspects, such as policymaking, adaptation and communication.
This flexibility allows you to specialise while still studying modules from the other pathway. By drawing on social, natural, and environmental science approaches, you’ll learn how to critically analyse and interpret scientific evidence related to climate change, its distributional impacts across the globe, and the responses of nation-states, businesses, and other key stakeholders.
You’ll join an alumni network boasting graduates working in consultancy, NGOs, governments and further academic research.
Key benefits
- Learn about how the potential future impacts and consequences of environmental change can be studied, including changes to the climate, carbon cycle, hydrology and land use.
- Bring your understanding of climate and environmental change issues up-to-date, focusing on the human influences and societal consequences of climate change.
- Master your ability to address complex research and policy questions with newly developed interdisciplinary skills. Gain the skills needed to critically evaluate and analyse environmental change research, the implications of the science, and the range of possible policy responses.
- Develop your understanding of what policymakers and society need from scientific research to respond to global and regional environmental changes.
- Learn about the nature uncertainties involved in future climate projections.
- Take an optional internship module to help you take the first steps towards employment in a relevant vocational field.
I have had the chance to meet some fantastic people from across the globe - lecturers, staff and my peers - which has been incredible, and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone goes on to do afterwards!
IsobelClimate Change: Environment, Science and Policy MSc
Course essentials
This Climate Change: Environment, Science and Policy MSc is unique because it approaches climate change from both a science and policy perspective, which means you’ll learn more about the relationship between applied physical science and its policy-relevance.
Our MSc is the only degree programme where you can choose to study climate change with a science or policy perspective or opt for a more comprehensive understanding of both disciplines. With a wide range of modules to choose from, this Climate Change: Environment, Science and Policy MSc is a rare opportunity to get truly interdisciplinary teaching from world-leading researchers.
You’ll complete compulsory modules including the Fundamentals of Climate Change and Researching Climate Change, before choosing from modules covering Policy, Environmental Sciences and more, to develop your interdisciplinary outlook. You’ll get the chance to learn from researchers who have, and are currently, contributing to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as staff providing expert advice to the UK Government on pressing policy matters.
You’ll also have the freedom to pick optional modules from across all our Geography programmes, including the Internship (Environment and Society) module, where students gain hands-on experience of formulating and implementing actions on behalf of an environmental actor. Students can also take one module outside Geography such as the Energy Transitions and Green Technology.
You’ll be taught by physical and social scientists, and gain an in-depth understanding of the scientific and policy basis of a series of global environmental change issues.
Key Information
Course type:
Master's
Delivery mode:
In person
Study mode:
Full time / Part time
Duration:
One year full-time, two years part-time, September to September
Credit value:
UK 180 / ECTS 90
Application status:
Open
Start date:
September 2026
Administrative bodies
Awarding body
King's College London and Affiliates
Regulating body
Application closing date guidance
Base campuses
Waterloo Campus
Our Waterloo campus is home to the Florence Nightingale Faculty Nursing & Midwifery, and a vibrant hub for health, social science, and law students. Located moments from the iconic landmarks of South Bank and just a short walk to the Stand campus.