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This course explores the ways in which scientific, political and cultural practices shape our understanding of the relationship between society and the environment.
About this degree
On this programme, you will look at the social, economic, cultural and political processes that make up our collective environmental and political knowledge.
You will consider how they are communicated with the wider public and incorporated into decision-making.
You will learn a wide range of social science methods alongside personal transferable skills that are essential for anyone interested in social and environmental politics, practices and policy.
Who is this course for?
You will be best suited for the MSc in Environment, Politics and Society if you are already working in the sector and interested in developing training in research practices.
Alternatively, you might be interested in carrying out higher-level work in advance of a PhD or work in the field.
MSc Open Event
Hear more about the course from Dr Eszter Kovács:
- Academic Staff
Dr Eszter Krasznai Kovács (Convenor)
Eszter is an ecologist, lawyer and the Convenor for this course. Her research interests include changing geographies and geopolitics of environmental management, the making of rural development and associated legal regimes, and their effects on livelihoods immediately dependent on resources. She is interested in the processes of transformation and transition in the post-socialist eastern European region as these have affected property relations and natural resource use and access, farming, conservation and thus the sorts of lives possible in rural areas.
Professor Alan Latham
Alan is the convenor for the Social Science Research: Methodologies and Methods (GEOG0082) core module. He is an urban geographer whose research focuses on sociality and urban life, globalisation and the cultural economy of cities, and corporeal mobility.
Professor Jason Dittmer
Jason is the Head of the Geography Department and convenes the Geo-Politics (GEOG0084) core module. His current research is on Gibraltar and the materiality of geopolitics. His most recent books are Diplomatic Material: Affect, assemblage, and foreign policy published in 2017 and Popular Culture, Geopolitics, and Identity, published 2019.
Dr Samuel Randalls
Sam's research interests are at the interface of business, science and the environment, with a particular focus on weather and climate. His recent research focuses on the development of 19th-century weather-related insurance and histories of climate policies.
Professor Jennifer Robinson
Jennifer is active in the Urban Laboratory, a network for Urban Studies with representatives from across UCL. Her research interests include developing a postcolonial critique of urban studies. Her book Ordinary Cities, which looks at how the interplay between urban modernity and development, was published in 2006. It examines the conceptual and practical divide between so-called 'Western' and 'developing' cities.
Professor Alan Ingram
Alan is the convenor for the Social Science Research: Methodologies and Methods (GEOG0082) core module. He is an urban geographer whose research focuses on sociality and urban life, globalisation and the cultural economy of cities, and corporeal mobility.
Professor Chris Brierley
Chris convenes the MSc Climate Change Programme. His research revolves around the use of earth system models to answer questions about past and future climate change. His ongoing work for the Palaeoclimate Model Intercomparison (Climate of the Past, 2020) forms part of the past climate community's contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change's 6th Assessment Report.
Associate Professor Pushpa Arabindoo
Pushpa Arabindoo is a Co-Director of the UCL Urban Laboratory where she leads the priority theme of Wasteland. With an undergraduate degree in Architecture, an MSc in Urban Design and a PhD in Planning, her work assumes an interdisciplinary approach to urban studies, drawing on everything from engineering and natural sciences to humanities and the social sciences. Her research is set in the Indian city of Chennai where she has investigated a range of issues from middle-class activism to subaltern politics and ecological imaginaries around nature, water and waste.
Professor Tariq Jazeel
Tariq convenes the Postcolonial Cultural Geographies (GEOG0100) module and is cofounder and codirector of UCL’s Centre for the Study of South Asia and the Indian Ocean World. His research examines the intersection between critical geography, postcolonial and critical theory, and South Asian studies.
Professor Muki Haklay
Muki is the Co-Director of the Extreme Citizen Science (ExCiteS) group and co-founder of the social enterprise Mapping for Change. His work focuses on participatory mapping, crowdsourced geographic information and citizen science, alongside public access, use and creation of environmental information.
Dr Rory Coulter
Rory joined the UCL Geography Department after completing an ESRC Future Research Leaders project on the rates of homeownership among young people. His research uses longitudinal datasets to analyse the different types of homes and neighbourhoods people move to throughout their lives.
Professor Jan Axmacher
Jan the Convenor of the MSc Conservation programme. His research covers a wide range of issues related to global biodiversity conservation in forested and agricultural landscapes. He is also an Affiliate Professor at the Agricultural University of Iceland.
Testimonials
 Sara Khachatourian |
Kartika Zayad |
Sophie Thorpe
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Funding
Visit the Prospectus for information on Fees:
News from MSc Environment, Politics and Society
 | Professor Henry Wai-chung Yeung Discusses New Book on Theory and Explanation in GeographyWe were very pleased to host a talk by Professor Henry Wai-chung Yeung (National University of Singapore) on his latest book, "Theory and Explanation in Geography." |
 | 60 Seconds with…Emeritus Professor Peter JonesAs Emeritus Professor Peter Jones prepares for his Retirement Lecture on 25 January 2024, we spoke to him about his research into Marine Protected Areas. |
 | Housing Inequality Research: Insights and Policies for a Fairer BritainRory Coulter explains what his research tells us about housing and inequality in Britain, and discusses what housing policies he’d like to see on the table ahead of the 2024 General Election. |
 | Marriage, children and migrationPhD student Yufeng Wu co-authors paper on how family structures of migrants relate to their destinations. |