Program Overview

In Global Sustainable Development (GSD) we take a critical approach to the dominant discourse of sustainable development. We are committed to understanding as well as challenging existing practice, and want you to join us as we seek innovative, transformative responses to complex global challenges. Based in the School for Cross-faculty Studies, our academic home is a natural place for future transdisciplinary leaders to flourish.

On this course you will work with Warwick’s GSD Department, the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD), and partner departments across the University. Our staff are at the forefront of their fields and share your passion for global sustainable development.

Core modules will support your development as an intellectual leader dedicated to bringing about positive change. They will help to deepen your understanding of the core global challenges we face, and develop your critical and reflective approach, as well as your technical and methodological skills. Your learning will be rooted in critical intellectual enquiry and philosophical understanding, which will support your personal development as a leader of thought and action. In addition, by having a wide range of optional modules, you can tailor the course to your own areas of interest.

In Term Three and the summer, you will have an exciting opportunity to ‘learn by doing’ as you undertake a transdisciplinary capstone project. We will offer you a choice of research, practice, and work-based experiences. Your chosen project will enable you to develop a skillset most suited to your future career goals.

By the end of this course, you will be equipped to play an authentic role in reflective global citizenship. You will also have a defined understanding of what is necessary to act as a leader of positive change. The route you choose upon graduation will be defined by your own interests and aspirations. Your learning from the course will equip you with what you need for a career in applied research, in policy, business, or in third sector activity.

Who is this programme for?
This programme is ideal for you if:

• You have prior experience of GSD
• You are new to this field of study with a first degree and a strong interest in GSD
• You have work and life experience relating to GSD

Skills from this degree
You will learn to:

• Think systemically, recognising connections and interactions between factors, and understand that actions often have many consequences
• Identify and analyse the risk that system complexity can lead to unexpected and novel outcomes, and contribute to the proactive management of this
• Describe complex issues in clear terms and communicate about them effectively and succinctly, both orally and in writing
• Work naturally and consciously, as part of a community of practice, by learning from others in a culture of respect, mutual understanding and empathy, and managing disagreement and conflict through socially non-violent means, even in the context of formal power hierarchies
• Support and foster intellectual leadership by challenging assumptions, critically analysing information and negotiating alternatives to current practices
• Create new and personal knowledge in GSD both through research and self-managed learning