Program Overview
The Sustainable Development at University of St Andrews is a MA programme in Humanities over 48 months, delivered On-campus. This programme equips graduates with advanced knowledge and practical skills for professional and academic careers in the field.
Students gain a rigorous grounding in both the theoretical foundations and applied dimensions of humanities. The programme combines coursework, research components, and practical projects that develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and specialist expertise relevant to industry and research needs.
Graduates of the Sustainable Development programme are well-prepared for careers in academia, industry, government, and the private sector across United Kingdom and internationally. The programme provides an internationally recognised qualification within the Bologna higher education framework.
Key Program Features
- Duration: 48 months
- Language of instruction: English
- Study mode: On-campus
- English requirement: IELTS 7
- Tuition: GBP 17,040 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
- Location: St Andrews, United Kingdom
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Sustainable Development programme are prepared for diverse careers in humanities:
- Researcher / Academic
- Cultural Programme Manager
- Editor / Writer
- Translator / Interpreter
- Museum Curator
- Communications Specialist
Program Curriculum
In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours), you will take required modules in sustainable development alongside modules in at least one other subject.
Typically, you will take one sustainable development module per semester for your first 3 semesters and two in your 4th semester. For Honours level (your third and fourth years), you choose from a range of Honours modules.
Course information may change. Module information and course content, teaching and assessment may change each year and after you have accepted your offer to study at the University of St Andrews. We display the most up-to-date information possible, but this could be from a previous academic year. For the latest module information, see the module catalogue.
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Students will take the following compulsory first-year modules:
- Sustainable Development: tackling global challenges: This module considers the contemporary challenges that we face at global and local scales.
- Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges & Opportunities: offers detailed investigation of a selection of core issues in sustainable development - and how these issues are addressed by key players.
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Students will take the following compulsory second-year modules:
- Securing sustainable solutions: This module critically explores how to secure sustainable solutions for all, whilst achieving human security and environmental integrity.
- Changing Natures: This module develops an appreciation of the diverse ways that natures are known, protected and changed.
- Sustainable Scotland: draws on Scotland’s unique landscapes, patterns of urbanisation, and the geography of population to examine interrelated issues of land use and social inequalities to the broader questions of sustainability here in Scotland.
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If you decide to take sustainable development in your third and fourth years, you choose from a wide variety of advanced options, modules previously offered include:
- Building sustainable, inclusive and just cities
- Extractive Environments
- Global Health Disparities
- Governance for Sustainability
- Green Politics: theory and practice
- Home and Energy Geographies
- The Blue Economy and Maritime Security Intersections and Interdependence
- The Nature of Political Ecology
- Transitioning to Sustainability: Community, Nature and Gov
Admission Requirements
Academic Requirements
You need the following GPA score:
Applicants for graduate programs must have the equivalent of a bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s degree with a minimum GPA equivalent to Upper Second Class on the UK Honour scale. Admitted applicants typically have an undergraduate GPA of or better on the UK Honour scale. No exam grade should be lower than 4.5 (European grade scale) or D (American grade scale).
Your GPA (Grade Point Average) is calculated using the grades that you received in each course, and is determined by the points assigned to each grade (e.g. for the US grading scale from A-F).
A good 2.1 UK Honours Degree (or overseas equivalent). If first language is not English, an IELTS 7.0/TOEFL 100IB score is required.
English Proficiency: IELTS 7 or equivalent.
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
GBP 17,040 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
Tuition fees: GBP 17,040 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
IELTS requirement: 7
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Contact University of St Andrews directly for scholarship, grant, and financial aid information for this programme. Many European universities offer merit-based and need-based funding for international and domestic students.
About University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
St Andrews, United Kingdom
The University of St Andrews, founded in 1413, is Scotland’s oldest university and one of the most prestigious institutions in the United Kingdom. Located in the historic coastal town of St...
University Profile- Start Date September 2026
- Language English
- Duration 48 months