Environment, Society and Sustainability University of Cape Town

Overview

The MPhil is an 18-month programme that accepts students from a wide range of disciplines who have achieved above average results in a 4 year degree. It provides education in theory relating to environment, society and sustainability. When qualified, you will join the environmental and geographical scientists who are shaping the future by addressing global and local environmental and developmental challenges.

Aims: To produce graduates with:

• a broad understanding of major environmental issues as well as theoretical ideas underpinning sustainable development.
• the ability to effectively analyse and manage environmental and developmental issues, with emphasis on the southern African situation.

Career opportunities: This interdisciplinary Masters programme attracts a broad range of students of varying ages and with different aspirations. Employment opportunities are found in local, provincial and national government; in parastatals; in the private sector (consulting firms and in industry), and in Non-Governmental Organisations.

The curriculum: The programme duration is 18 months full-time, from February each year to the end of July the following year. Four elective courses are followed by a research project and short dissertation that applies theory and skills relating to the environment, society and sustainability to real life issues. Potential research areas are numerous and include aspects of environmental assessment and management, coastal zone and fisheries co-management, urban environmental management including monitoring and evaluation of water pollution in river systems, understanding and evaluating urban social ecological systems, and initiatives directed towards sustainable communities. This course is convened by Dr Philile Mbatha.

Entrance requirements and selection process: Applicants should have an Honours degree or equivalent 4 year professional degree, preferably with appropriate professional experience.

Aims and Objectives Of The MPhil Programme

The general aims of the Environmental, Society and Sustainability Masters programme are to produce graduates who have:

• a broad understanding of major environmental issues in Africa and around the world, as well as theoretical ideas underpinning sustainable development; and,
• the ability to effectively analyse and manage environmental and developmental issues, with emphasis on the southern African situation.
• The accomplishment of these aims requires exposure to the concepts and methods of a number of disciplines. The MPhil graduate is capable of integrative thinking and of synthesizing elements from diverse disciplines into a cohesive whole.

Specific objectives of the programme are to produce graduates who can:

• understand the intricate linkages within and between biophysical and social systems, and appreciate the principles and requirements that would facilitate the transition to sustainability within these systems;
• communicate within and across the range of disciplines that contribute towards sustainable development;
• respect differing perspectives on issues;
• formulate and implement solutions to problems of sustainable development, through the use of theories, analytical methods and synthesising approaches, and oral presentation and report writing skills; and,
• make meaningful contributions to improving legal/administrative structures and procedures relevant to the environment and sustainable development, primarily in South Africa but also more widely.