Sustainability and Behaviour Change

Overview

It is becoming clear that major systemic, political and societal changes are necessary to move towards true sustainability to address the serious consequences of environmental and climatic change. This Master’s degree tackles these themes through a combination of academic study, discussion and hands-on practical work. We give our MSc students the knowledge, skills and experience needed to develop a career in the environmental sector and make an impact. The programme draws on our expert staff and a wide selection of academics and specialist guest lecturers; people who have made exceptional contributions to environmental thinking and action.

Taught at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), which pioneered sustainability practice and theory in the UK, explore behaviour change through case studies from across the world and learn about the skills required to facilitate the necessary behavioural changes through successful communication and engagement strategies. Students will be able to choose modules which will focus on cities, governance structures and policy, and interventions at community and individual level, and in which they will examine the role of public perceptions of environmental risk management and attitudes to behaviour change and transformational social change.

Our MSc programme is taught either by distance learning or through residential blocks in one of the most imaginative environmental buildings in the UK, or in a mixture of the two.

Successful completion of the programme MSc Sustainability and Behaviour Change at the Centre for Alternative Technology leads to the award of Master of Science (MSc) by LJMU. The programme is also available to study as a Postgraduate Certificate and as a Postgraduate Diploma.

Studying at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is a truly unique experience. For the past 40 years CAT has been at the forefront of the environmental movement, pioneering low-carbon living and renewable technology. At the Graduate School of the Environment (GSE), students benefit from our extensive practical and academic knowledge, graduating with the skills needed to become leading players in the sustainability sector. Find out more about our facilities here.

At CAT, hands-on learning takes place side by side with academic study. Residential on-site block learning weeks are taught at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), an inspiring learning environment. Nestled in a disused slate quarry on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, CAT is a living laboratory for practical, sustainable solutions. It contains some of the most innovative and renowned environmentally conscious buildings in the country, as well as one of the most diverse range of installed renewable technologies, on site water and sewage treatment, sustainably managed woodland and acres of organic gardens.

It is a flexible degree, taught in blocks taken either with an intensive residential stay of five or six nights at the centre, or by distance learning. MSc students are free to choose between these teaching modes for every module. There is a choice of modules, each 8 weeks long, taken over one year or two – meaning the degree can be part time. It is a masters degree designed to give you the best possible experience whilst also meshing neatly with the pressures of modern professional and family life.

Optional residential module weeks include lectures, seminars, group work and practicals. Applied work tends to dominate later in the week once we have laid the theoretical groundwork. These module weeks provide a truly immersive environment to escape daily life and apply yourself to new learning. Many eminent experts give guest lectures or hold seminars during these modules, as it is a course which seeks to draw on the expertise and learning of the whole environmental sector.

Accreditation

This course is created and delivered by CAT and validated by the Liverpool John Moores University.