Global Sustainability

GEES520
MSc Dissertation 60 credits

This is your chance to take on independent, postgraduate-level research project. You get to choose a topic that excites you, work with expert advisors, and dive deep into cutting-edge methods and analysis. You'll challenge ideas, explore new perspectives, and develop real expertise. In the end, you’ll present your findings in a dissertation and showcase your research - proving just how far you’ve come.

GEES544
Pioneering Global Sustainability 40 credits

Credible policy solutions to global sustainability problems depend on innovation by pioneers. You'll learn directly from the University of Plymouth's own sustainability pioneers, renowned experts whose work focuses on global grand challenges in areas including climate, environmental governance and policy, marine and coastal sustainability, and energy systems and management, as well as communicating sustainability science.

ADA7104E
Low Carbon Material Systems 30 credits

This Module will provide students with technical knowledge and understanding of the emerging low carbon agenda including concepts such as embodied carbon, sustainable supply chains, and circular economies, and will support students’ learning across a range of design, architecture, and built environment subjects.

CRIM747
Global Inequality, Vulnerability and Justice 30 credits

This module engages the student with global issues that relate to crime, deviance and harm. By utilizing an advanced perspective which examines a range of case studies, students will develop critical responses in relation to global power structures and the causation of inequality and vulnerability.

GEES506
Climate Change: Science and Policy 20 credits

This module explores the science and policy of climatic change, including lessons from the past and the relevance of past climates to the global warming debate. We question climate change detection and attribution, feedbacks and uncertainty in climate change. We explore political actions through international political agreements and national policies and adaptation strategies and management of change in the UK

GEES516
Science, Society and Environmental Governance 20 credits

This module provides students, firstly, with a critical understanding of key debates in the principles, ethics and methods of both scientific and societal understandings of environmental issues. Secondly, the module makes a critical examination of the systems of governance and policy-making that have been established to regulate resource management, environmental degradation and nature conservation.

GEES535
Terrestrial Environmental Sensors and Big Data 20 credits

Terrestrial sensor networks are revolutionising the design of urban environments, as well as informing land and catchment management. This module builds upon the semester 1 by providing students with the opportunity to solve real-world questions relating to sustainability challenges using expanded datasets from automated sensors and environmental observations used in current earth and environmental science research.

GEES545
Frontiers in Fieldwork: Unlocking Multidisciplinary Potential 20 credits

Embark on exploration of critical, real-world global sustainability challenges in an exciting field context. Collaborate in teams to tackle issues that synthesise the UN Sustainable Development Goals through a research project of your own creation. Sharpen your existing expertise and develop important field research skills that prepare you to face career challenges beyond university with confidence and innovation.

LAW725
Contemporary Themes in Environmental Law and Policy 30 credits

The module provides a critical insight into contemporary environmental challenges and the legal and policy responses, developed or developing, applied to them. Research-led, and with learning structured around a critical and applied context, the module focuses on the framing of solutions to various global and local environmental issues.

LAW731
International Human Rights Law 30 credits

The module provides a comprehensive overview of the theories and principles of international human rights law. The main international legal frameworks, institutions, and systems that promote and protect human rights worldwide are presented and critically examined. Additionally, the module encourages critical reflection on potential clashes of human rights and differences in their application.

MAEH703
Coastal Cultures: Marine Anthropology in the Age of Climate Change and Mass Extinction 30 credits

Using a range of anthropological theoretical frameworks, this module analyses how coastal communities use the sea - not only as a source of livelihood, but as a key ingredient in the construction of their identity and place in world. Drawing on a range of ethnographic case study from around the world, we study how coastal communities are responding to climate change, climate change scepticism, sea level rise, pollution, and extinction. Through such debates, we examine how anthropology in general and marine ethnography specifically can contribute to the protection and management of endangered human and non-human life-worlds.

MAR515
Management of Coastal Environments 20 credits

Learn how coastal and marine environments are managed in response to rapid environmental and social change. You’ll explore Integrated Coastal Zone Management and examine the interconnected physical, ecological and socio-economic processes shaping coastal systems. Case studies reveal how diverse management strategies are applied to real coastal challenges around the world.

MAR530
Managing Marine Ecosystems 20 credits

Explore and understand threats to marine ecosystems from human activities and how these can be mitigated by management approaches. Using case studies, you’ll examine the role of policies and conservation agreements and develop a critical appreciation of how they are applied in real world examples. This module deepens your understanding of how we protect marine environments while balancing ecological and societal needs.

MAR534
Introduction to Offshore Renewable Energy 20 credits

This module explores a wide range of offshore renewable energy technologies, including wave energy converters, tidal energy, and offshore wind power. You'll learn resource assessment, environmental impact, and the latest industry standards. Key topics include offshore operations, electrical systems, seabed geology, dynamic power cables, and emerging areas like autonomy and hydrogen.

MAR538
Marine Environmental Monitoring 20 credits

Examine how marine data is collected, processed and interpreted across a range of monitoring applications. You’ll explore tools including autonomous platforms and sensors, and learn spatial and time-series analytical techniques. The module prepares you to evaluate environmental conditions and understand the data underpinning research and marine policy decisions.

MAR7003
Sustainable Supply Chain Management 30 credits

Sustainable development and social responsibility are fundamental drivers of supply chain practises around the world. This module provides students with an in-depth examination of such issues across the supply chain, taking into account differing perspectives and underlying drivers. The module provides students with a toolkit to effectively manage sustainable supply chains.

STO7015
Sustainable Project Management 30 credits

Companies worldwide must address their impact on people and the planet to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. This module examines the complexities of managing projects with a sustainability focus, emphasizing green marketing, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable supply chains. It covers relevant project management theory and includes an emphasis on practice-based learning with industrial partners and real-life projects.