Environmental Policy

Societies, governments, and businesses across the globe are faced with increasingly complex environmental challenges, in areas such as climate change and adaptation and local environmental quality in our cities and regions. The UCD MSc in Environmental Policy arms graduates with the capacity to develop environmental policy choices, analyse them critically, and to provide guidance in regard to their implementation and evaluation. The programme introduces graduates to research-based economic and environmental tools and insights to enable graduates to be effective change management leaders and management leaders and environmental and sustainability experts in both the public and private sectors.



UCD Environmental Policy has an established international track record as a leading research centre in environmental policy and is in the Top 150 QS World University Rankings by subject area. Students may also chose to undertake either a thesis, an internship, or an academic research project during the Summer trimester.



Also for professionals who want to balance their passion for the environment while advancing their career this programme is offered as a two-year part-time degree (W580). The part-time program is scheduled to be completed over two years with one or two modules (10 credits per module) per semester. Part-time students join the full-time students for the classes and hence can meet two cohorts of the full-time MSc programme.



What Will I Learn?

• Acknowledge the spatial consequences of policy approaches, and recognize the importance of fairness in environmental policy processes and outcomes.

• Apply their professional knowledge using tools and transferable skills to generate integrated and evidence-based responses to environmental challenges, including climate change, to achieve a more resilient and sustainable future.

• Communicate effectively verbally, graphically and through written documents and to communicate concepts, knowledge and conclusions to peers, specialist and non-specialist audiences within an interdisciplinary environment.

• Demonstrate effective research, policy analysis tools and evaluation skills and the ability to develop evidence-based policy proposals.

• On successful completion of the programme students should be able to: Appreciate environmental policy research, develop skills as autonomous researchers, and recognize the value of research as an input into improved policy making and policy implementation.

• Understand how environmental policy is operationalised within the wider political, institutional and legal frameworks, and understand the social, economic and political context that informs approaches to achieve sustainable development.

• Understand the challenges and responsibilities of assessing tradeoffs in their response to environmental challenges and be open to critically assessing, debating and reflecting on these, and acting in the interests of the common good.

• Work effectively both on their own and as part of a team in an interdisciplinary context.



NFQ Level: 9 (90 credits)

Level: Graduate Taught

Award: Master of Science

Stage 1 Core Modules

ENVP40100: Environmental Economics & Climate Policy

ENVP40180: European Environmental Policy

ENVP40240: Environment and Development

ENVP40040: Tools for Sust Development

ENVP40170: Research for Environmental Pol

ENVP40190: Applications of Enviro Policy



Stage 1 Options - A)1 of:

ALL students MUST initially select the module ENVP40030 Environmental Policy Thesis. During the Autumn Trimester, those students interested in pursuing an Internship will be expected to prepare their CV and seek Professional Work Experience opportunities from prospective employers under the guidance of the Internship Module Coordinator and the Programme Director. In the event that a student is successful in securing a suitable Professional Work Experience placement, subject to gaining approval of the Internship Module Coordinator, the student will be re-registered to ENVP40160 Internship - Research Project by the Programme Office.



ENVP40030: Environmental Policy Thesis

ENVP40160: Internship - Research Project

Entry Requirements

This programme is intended for applicants with a degree in any discipline such as social sciences and arts, environmental sciences, law, business studies or engineering.

• An honours undergraduate degree (NFQ Level 8) with a minimum upper second class honours or international equivalence is required

• Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0 in each element), or equivalent.

• Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the English language requirements, may enter the programme upon successful completion of UCD’s Pre-Sessional or International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information http://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/

• These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes.



You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme.



Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page (https://tinyurl.com/2ae2ffax) for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Delivery: On Campus

W269: 1 year full-time

W580 2 years part-time

W269: MSc in Environmental Policy

Master of Science

Full-Time: Commencing September 2025



W580: MSc in Environmental Policy

Master of Science

Part-Time: Commencing September 2025



Graduate Taught

Career & Graduate Study Opportunities

To date, our graduates have been very successful in gaining employment in environment related fields in a diverse range of public, private and NGO organisations. Past graduates are now working for a number of agencies both nationally and internationally including private (e.g. Samsung Electronics; Wisetek; Citi Bank; AWN Consulting; EnvEcon; Irish Water), public bodies (e.g. Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs) and NGO organisations (e.g. Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice; Plant life Economy Foundation; Amazon Environmental Research Institute Brazil; publicpolicy.ie; Global Action plan Ireland), in a range of environmental positions (e.g. environmental consultants; policy officers; researchers; climate officers; environmental justice officers). Our graduates have also gone on to pursue further study (PhDs).