Global Prosperity MSc
London, Bloomsbury
This is the programme information for 2025 entry
If you require details of the previous year's programme, Global Prosperity MSc (2024), click here
Global Prosperity MSc takes you to the heart of how to think about prosperity, offering a new approach to understanding and influencing the economies of the world and how they impact on people. The degree challenges current economic and social models that have generated both astonishing levels of wealth as well as deep social and ecological dilemmas. Preparing you for a career as a global leader in policy, entrepreneurship, the third-sector, academia and beyond, you will examine possible solutions to contemporary global challenges and explore how much-needed economic, social and political transformations can be enacted to deliver sustainable prosperity.
Study mode
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
Duration
Programme starts
Applications accepted
Applications open
Applications open
Entry requirements
A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Prospective students must demonstrate commitment to engage with complex global challenges across a range of disciplines. Applicants with significant work experience in government, business, civil society or social entrepreneurship and/or postgraduate training are strongly encouraged to apply.
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The English language level for this programme is: Level 3
UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.
Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.
Equivalent qualifications
Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.
About this degree
Humanity is at a critical moment. Around the world livelihood security and human wellbeing are under threat from a series of intersecting challenges, from climate change to global pandemics, populist politics, toxic environments and declining social solidarity. Global Prosperity MSc is designed to foster a new generation of leaders ready to tackle these global challenges and rethink what global prosperity means and entails in different parts of the world.
Whilst studying Global Prosperity MSc you will draw on theory and practice in plural economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, ecology, history and philosophy, feminism and gender studies, race and decolonisation, creative arts, fashion and design. You will learn how to rethink and redefine the world’s most pressing problems, from wealth inequalities through to unsustainable use of natural resources. Engaging in a range of real-world case studies, you will explore the institutional roots of these challenges and interrogate responses across economics, social science, business, and politics. You will learn to deconstruct current solutions and develop new responses utilising methods to generate innovative solutions that co-design positive and inclusive change. Ultimately, you will develop your critical thinking, creativity, and the confidence to unleash your potential, using these to develop practical solutions and become a key influencer transforming the world around you and shaping the debate on prosperity.
During your degree you will:
- Learn from our world leading academics and researchers pioneering change around the world through strong relationships with governments, businesses, and communities.
- Engage with the tangible changes we have made globally including our Prosperity Co-Labs (PROCOLs) in the UK, Lebanon and Africa, our work with the UK’s House of Commons enquiry on aligning the economic goals with environmental sustainability, and our other fieldwork covering Mexico, Bolivia, Palestine, China, India, South Korea, Turkey, Iran and more.
- Tailor your studies to meet your own interests, by choosing optional modules in some of the most urgent and complex problems the world is currently facing such as finance, economics, China studies, urban development, social theory, environmental science, sustainability, sociology, and more.
- Study in London, a dynamic city ranked Best Student City 2025 by the QS World University Rankings, where we are actively tackling social and economic challenges with local communities and policy makers.
- Be a part of our vibrant Institute for Global Prosperity community, participating in the latest discussions and network with researchers, policy makers, professionals at frequent events.
Who this course is for
Global Prosperity MSc is for students whose intellectual curiosity is excited by creating social, economic and ecological transformations. You may already have a degree or significant real-world experience in business, social entrepreneurship, government or third sector organisations. You may have a background in humanities, natural or social sciences and have skills in both quantitative and qualitative research. We are seeking students from a diverse range of backgrounds ready to use their knowledge and skills to generate impact globally, as part of a dynamic and inclusive community.
What this course will give you
As a multidisciplinary global university with wide resources at its disposal, UCL is the ideal environment in which to study sustainable global prosperity. UCL is ranked the #9 university in the world according to the QS World University Rankings 2025.
UCL’s Institute for Global Prosperity is pioneering research into questions of prosperity and driving forward novel transdisciplinary engagements to deliver new, more prosperous social and economic forms. As a student, you will have the opportunity to engage with our researchers, partners and affiliated fellows with possibilities of developing academic, policy or business-oriented projects. You will have the opportunity to become part of our emerging community, to learn from and participate in our research, and to help shape debates around what a prosperous society should be.
You will graduate with a new worldview of what prosperity means, encompassing ideas around access to basic services, secure livelihoods, a sense of belonging, and the freedom for individuals to develop, and with the creative and practical skills to conduct transdisciplinary and participatory research and co-produce solutions to some of the most urgent global challenges.
The foundation of your career
Depending on your ambitions, a degree in global prosperity can open an array of career opportunities across policy, social and sustainable entrepreneurship, education, government, the third sector, business and academia. Our graduates go on to leadership roles in the public and private sector, working in government and civil service, in sustainability and business, and in the NGO and third sector. This includes a broad range of roles such as ecological consultants, policy officers and social research officers where they show initiative and a drive to make global change. Examples of employers of our graduates include the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, CAB International, SadaPay (a bank transfer app in Pakistan), and universities including UCL and UMass. Some graduates have founded their own businesses and consultancies. Others have continued to PhD research.
Alumni experiences
“My postgraduate studies have been catalytic to facing challenges such as project stagnation and stakeholder participation. I am now the Co-Founder of MUTUO, a consultancy agency with the mission to contribute to promote habitat prosperity through the articulation of actors. I have had experience working with the public, private and NGO sector as a consultant for policy design, programme implementation and research.” - Sebastian Paredes Smith, Co-Founder of MUTUO and Global Prosperity MSc graduate
“Coming to the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity was one of the best decisions I have ever made and has it furnished me with the tools for useful career I was longing for. Immediately after submitting my dissertation, I was offered a small paid role on the implementation team of the world's first global citizens' assembly, having volunteered for it over the summer.” - Johnny Stormonth-Darling, Iswe Foundation and Global Prosperity MSc graduate
“I’ve been honored to collaborate with institutions like the Ministry of Housing, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank Group, the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima and UNESCO.” - Mar Layesca, Co-Founder of MUTUO and Global Prosperity MSc graduate
“Since graduating, I have been working with an International NGO supporting their Neglected Tropical Diseases programmes, looking at initiatives focusing on public health and disabilities. In this role, I also get to take my learnings from the IGP and re-think traditional development practices.” - Ismat Juma, working with an international NGO supporting their Neglected Tropical Diseases programmes and Global Prosperity MSc graduate
Discover more student and alumni stories ►
Employability
As a Global Prosperity MSc graduate you will have an expansive toolkit of employable skills ready to make change across policy, economics, business, environment and third sector, and take the next step in your career. You will be able to think across and between traditional academic disciplines and apply a range of qualitative and quantitative techniques alongside broader strategic and design/prototyping thinking to find innovative solutions to complex challenges. You will gain key transferable skills in teamwork, communication, digital capabilities with particular software, writing for academic and non-specialist audiences, presentation, visual design, creativity, as well as real world problem-solving skills and methods for building engaged and participatory initiatives.
In addition to academic skills and training, the degree also provides you with a unique set of career and skill enhancement sessions. These will be delivered through Writing Labs and Skills and Personal Development sessions. These sessions delivered by both internal specialists and external consultants and include:
- Web-design and blogging
- Writing for the media
- Academic writing
- Presentation skills
- Teamwork and collaboration skills
- Personal Leadership skills
- Mindfulness and study skills
- Career Building
Networking
Studying with us means joining the Institute for Global Prosperity community. We have a global network of alumni, partners and collaborators all making positive change in the world. Through-out the academic year we host careers and alumni events, allowing current students to engage with alumni and to build on this growing network of change makers. We also host a vibrant public events series, giving you the opportunity to network with researchers, policy makers and professionals whilst discussing the latest in prosperity research and engagement. You will also have the chance to meet with the people who work on our research, including our work on Fast Forward 2030, and our Prosperity Co-Labs (PROCOLs) in East London, Kenya and Lebanon.
Teaching and learning
Teaching and learning methods are strongly guided by the UCL connected curriculum and emphasise active research-led learning with students conducting their own research activities, sharing knowledge between each other and learning through peer-to peer activities. Considerable emphasis is placed on the value of a diversity and inclusivity of knowledge and on outward facing knowledge production though connection to communities and practitioners beyond the academy.
Teaching and learning methods/strategies involve:
- Critical engagement with literature through pre-recorded material, live seminars, guest lectures, in-depth discussion and exploring competing ideas.
- Active and engaged learning tasks, including work in groups and pairs.
- Engagement with world leading academics and non- academic practitioners through the departmental Academic Directors Seminars and Practitioner Soundbites.
- Grounding core concepts and theories through teaching cases, and application of core concepts through learning- by-doing methods including prototyping and design to explore how theory and practice inform one another.
- Enhancing student participation through flipped-learning methods and regular group assignments and activities.
- Connecting to practice/industry through engagement with entrepreneurial leaders, as well as policymakers and practitioners, through tutorials, guest lectures, site and field trips.
During term time, there are occasional events that will require you to travel between the UCL Bloomsbury and the UCL East campuses.
All modules contain a balance of formative in class exercises and peer-to-peer learning combined with a diversity of summative assessments. The structure of assessments also builds towards the Dissertation, where you are able to develop your own substantial research project and contribution to knowledge.
Assessment types include:
- Individual and group assignments, including personal reflection, video/live presentations;
- Critical essays and reports that involve in depth exploration of key concepts and theories pertaining to module content;
- Blog posts that allow for the articulation of complex ideas in concise and publicly accessible ways.
In terms one and two full-time students can typically expect between 10 and 12 contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials. Outside of this full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments. In term three and the summer period students will be completing their own dissertation research, keeping regular contact with their dissertation supervisors.
Modules
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The Global Prosperity MSc is a one year taught degree that combines a range of class and seminar-based teaching with practical research-based student activities. The course is inter- and trans-disciplinary in approach, and will include contributions from the humanities, physical and social sciences. The degree engages with global challenges using novel collective problem solving, and by examining historical, current, and projected issues in global prosperity through avenues of development, health, demographics, ecology, energy systems, social innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.
The curricula design is balanced around two general teaching and learning themes. These are conceptual/methodological and design/engagement.
The conceptual/methodological theme is weighted to modules taken in the first term to provide fundamental foundations of prosperity thinking:
- Pathways to Prosperity 1: Global Legacies
- Researching and Measuring Global Prosperity
The design/engagement theme is weighted towards the second term of teaching, and involves design thinking and prototyping as well as engagement with practitioners and policymakers:
- Pathways to Prosperity 2: Global Futures
- Collective Problem Solving for Inclusive Prosperity
In Term 1, all students undertake two modules: ‘Pathways to Prosperity 1: Global Legacies’ and ‘Researching and Measuring Global Prosperity’. These modules introduce you to core concepts that examine how we understand current economic, social and environmental challenges. Critical historical analyses of major global trends such as the drive for economic growth, unsustainable consumerism, and sustainable development are accompanied by practical research methods classes that examine how measures of prosperity, wellbeing and progress have been constructed and how alternative measures (both quantitative and qualitative) might be framed through your own engaged and participatory empirical research.
In Term 2, students will critically deconstruct current approaches to global challenges and explore models for enacting positive and inclusive change for livelihoods around the world. The ‘Pathways to Prosperity 2: Global Futures’ module focuses on concepts and theories of social, economic and technological change and develop case studies of ongoing radical transformations driven by actors from across the globe and from a range of positions including entrepreneurs, policy makers, business and civil society. Radical changes discussed may include concepts such as Universal Basic Income/Services, de-growth, sustainability transitions and circular and green economies. The ‘Collective Problem Solving for Inclusive Prosperity’ module will introduce you to a range of practical engagement methods aimed at empowering you to affect change within your future careers, including processes of collective decision making, trans-disciplinary research, decolonising methods, participatory action research and human-centred design.
In Term 3, you will focus a research dissertation of your own choosing on a topic related to Global Prosperity. Dissertations can be both desktop/literature based or involve practical empirical research and may be supervised by an appropriate departmental tutor or an expert from another part of UCL. Dissertations may also be aligned to ongoing IGP research or collaborative partnerships.
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In their first year, part-time students will need to take a minimum of 60 credits of modules. In the second year, you will take the remaining taught modules up to 30 credits, plus the dissertation (90 credits), for a maximum total of 120 credits.
The curricula design is balanced around two general teaching and learning themes. These are conceptual/methodological and design/engagement.
The conceptual/methodological theme is made of modules that provide fundamental foundations of prosperity thinking:- Pathways to Prosperity 1: Global Legacies
- Researching and Measuring Global Prosperity
The design/engagement theme is made of modules involving design thinking and prototyping as well as engagement with practitioners and policymakers:
- Pathways to Prosperity 2: Global Futures
- Collective Problem Solving for Inclusive Prosperity
Apart from the compulsory modules, 30 credits of optional/elective modules will be distributed across the 2 years. The distribution of compulsory and elective/optional modules should be discussed with the programme director ahead of initial enrolment.
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Students undertaking modular/flexible study may choose to organise the distribution of their modules flexibly across the five years provided they complete 180 credits by the end of year five.
The curricula design is balanced around two general teaching and learning themes. These are conceptual/methodological and design/engagement.
The conceptual/methodological theme is made of modules that provide fundamental foundations of prosperity thinking:- Pathways to Prosperity 1: Global Legacies
- Researching and Measuring Global Prosperity
The design/engagement theme is made of modules involving design thinking and prototyping as well as engagement with practitioners and policymakers:
- Pathways to Prosperity 2: Global Futures
- Collective Problem Solving for Inclusive Prosperity
Apart from the compulsory modules, 30 credits of optional/elective modules will be distributed across the programme. The distribution of compulsory and elective/optional modules should be discussed with the programme director and/or personal tutor ahead of each year's enrolment process.
Modular/flexible students are expected to have completed the majority of their taught modules before undertaking their dissertation.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Global Prosperity.
Fieldwork
Short, half-day field trips are a component of some of our modules. Fieldwork related to your dissertation is encouraged and may take place in the UK or elsewhere in the world. However, risk and ethical considerations will need to be discussed with the Programme Leader and fully approved according to UCL regulations and the circumstances at the time.
Accessibility
Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.
Fees and funding
Fees for this course
| Fee description | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition fees (2025/26) | £20,500 | £10,250 |
| Tuition fees (2025/26) | £33,000 | £16,500 |
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.
Additional costs
For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.
For flexible/modular offer holders a £500 fee deposit will be charged.
Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.
You may need to spend a minimal amount (i.e. £20) on local transport for short field visits in London. The degree requires occasional travel between our Bloomsbury and UCL East campuses depending on optional module choices and for ad hoc events.
If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc on this course, please email the Programme Administration team at igp@ucl.ac.uk.
UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.
Funding your studies
Any additional funding available from the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity and the Built Environment Faculty Office websites.
As a student affiliated with The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, depending on your eligibility you can apply to The Bartlett Promise Scholarship which aims to enable students from backgrounds underrepresented in the built environment to pursue master's studies. Please see the UK Master's scholarship and Sub-Saharan Africa Master's scholarship pages for more information on eligibility criteria, selection process and FAQs.
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
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Bartlett Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Masters Scholarship
Deadline: 28 March 2025Value: Fees, stipend and other allowances (Duration of programme)Criteria Based on financial needEligibility: EU, OverseasBartlett Promise UK Master's Scholarship
Deadline: 31 May 2025Value: Tuition fees plus £15,864 maintenance/yr (Duration of programme)Criteria Based on financial needEligibility: UKCommonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme (CSSS)
Deadline: 12 December 2024Value: Full fees, flights, stipend, and other allowances (1 year)Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial needEligibility: EU, Overseas
Next steps
Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.
There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.
Your application must consist of both a personal statement and a CV.
We place considerable emphasis on your personal statement and how you have tailored this for your application to the Global Prosperity MSc. This is not a standard business, economics or development studies degree. The programme aims to address major challenges in our current social, economic and environmental conditions, and prospective students are encouraged to consider how they would work to contribute to addressing such challenges. We particularly value personal statements that outline a clear vision for transformative change and directly explain how the degree programme will help you realise the changes you would like to see happen. We also encourage students to explain how their past experiences have directly led them to this degree programme and to outline how the skills and knowledge they have acquired will help them to realise their goals for transformation.
When we assess your personal statement we would like to learn:
- Why you want to study Global Prosperity at graduate level.
- Why you want to study Global Prosperity at UCL Institute for Global Prosperity and UCL.
- What particularly attracts you to this programme.
- How your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme.
- How you can make a unique contribution to our innovative academic community.
- How you see this degree programme leading to a future transformative career.
Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate how your reasons for applying to the programme match what the programme will deliver. We advise applicants to upload any supporting documents related to research, work experience, extracurricular activities or other projects mentioned in the personal statement or CV.
Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.
Choose your programme
Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.
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