BSc (Hons) Sustainable Development with a Placement Year

A new generation of graduates is urgently needed if we’re to make the crucial transition to a just and sustainable future. Our BSc in Sustainable Development with a Placement Year prepares you to address pressing environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and food insecurity. You'll explore how environmental issues, such as climate change, are deeply interconnected with social challenges like poverty, inequality, and wellbeing.

You'll discover how sustainable actions need to be based on scientific understanding, as well as environmental justice and inclusiveness. You’ll learn about the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability and develop the creative and critical problem-solving skills needed for major initiatives such as the transition to NetZero carbon futures. As your course progresses, you’ll focus on potential solutions to environmental problems, exploring strategies such as Indigenous knowledge, environmental governance, rights for nature, market-based economic incentives, sustainability standards, and emerging technologies.

Our flexible programme allows you to tailor your studies to your interests, while emphasising team-based, 'real-world' problem-solving through partnerships with regional businesses, charities, and community organisations. In your third year, you’ll undertake a sustainable development work placement in the UK or overseas. In previous years, students have gained valuable experience with organisati