MSc in Sustainability Science, Policy and Society

Are you passionate about sustainable development? Would you like to ensure that the resources that we now have will still be available for future generations? And can you see yourself developing strategies to steer governments and businesses towards sustainable behavior? Then the master’s program Sustainability Science, Policy and Society is the perfect program for you!

The world needs professionals capable of tackling today's sustainability challenges. This interdisciplinary master's program focuses on factors affecting sustainability, such as global dynamics, policy, governance, and law. You will also learn how to design, conduct and evaluate sustainability assessments. Based on your personal interest, this master's program allows you to specialize in:

• Policy
• Business

Fast facts

• 1-year, full-time master's, taught in English
• Specialization in Policy or Business
• An interdisciplinary approach and an international context
• You'll work on an actual case for real clients
• Weekly: 10-12 hours classes, 25-30 hours group work/individual study
• Starts in September

Why this program?

The world needs professionals who are able to recognize, analyze and respond to sustainability challenges. This requires the ability to design, conduct and evaluate sustainability assessments in collaboration with stakeholders while operating at the interface of science, policy, business, and society. In the Sustainability Science, Policy, and Society program, you'll learn to do just that. You'll be familiarised with the complexity and normativity of sustainable development for policy or business. This master's offers you the opportunity to specialize in Policy or Business.

Interdisciplinary approach

The courses approach sustainability from a number of different angles, such as business, innovation, and governance. The students and staff you’ll encounter will also have diverse cultural and educational backgrounds. This means you will learn to bridge both disciplinary and cultural boundaries, a skill that will be a great asset later on in your career.

Specializations

This master's program offers 2 specializations. All students in this master's program start with the same courses in period 1, before choosing a specialization based on personal interest in periods 2 & 3. In period 4, students of both specializations will re-join for a collaborative integrated sustainability project.

Policy

The policy specialization will deepen your knowledge on sustainable development from the perspective of public policy-making. The courses will introduce multiple policy perspectives of a variety of stakeholders on current sustainability topics, such as climate change, the energy transition, and the SDGs.

This specialization prepares you to be a bridge builder between policy, business, and society, with a strong basis in public problem-solving. The policy specialization will consist of three courses:

• The State, Politics, and International Environmental Law
• Policy for Sustainability Innovation
• Sustainability Governance

Business

The business specialization will deepen your knowledge of the social and environmental impacts of economic activities, and explore what it means for these activities to remain within planetary boundaries

This specialization prepares you to be a bridge builder between business, policy, and society, with a strong basis in sustainable business, which will give you more of an edge in the business world. The business specialization will consist of three courses:

• Challenges of Business in Sustainability Transitions
• Sustainable Business Innovation
• Measuring and Reporting on Corporate Impacts

Courses & curriculum 2022 - 2023

The Sustainability Science, Policy and Society program consists of four elements:

• a scientific base in sustainable development and policy making
• courses in which you will learn how to design, conduct and evaluate sustainability assessment
• a specialization in policy or business
• courses that focus on improving your skills and a master’s thesis on a real-world sustainability issue

(!) Please note that the specializations and curriculum below will be offered from the academic year 2023-2024 onwards.

Core courses

• Sustainable Development
• Sustainability Science
• Sustainability Assessment Skills
  • Basic Modelling
  • Scenario Analysis
  • Participatory methods
  • Multicriteria Analysis
• Methodology for Sustainability Assessment
• Integrated Sustainability Project

Policy specialization

• The State, Politics, and International Environmental Law
• Policy for Sustainability Innovation
• Sustainability Governance

or Business specialization

• Challenges of Business in Sustainability Transitions
• Sustainable Business Innovation
• Measuring and Reporting on Corporate Impacts

Thesis & Academic Skills

• Thesis Research Proposal
• Research Approaches and Methods
• Master thesis

Rankings & recognition

• Sustainability Science and Policy is the #1 'Political Science and Public Administration' master's program in the Netherlands
• Sustainability Science and Policy evaluated as ‘satisfactory’ in NVAO’s accreditation 2018
• UM is the sixth-best Young University in the world?

What will you learn?

• Recognize, analyze, and respond to sustainability challenges.
• Design, conduct and evaluate sustainability assessments, mostly in an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary context.
• Operate at the interface of science, policy, business, and society.

Your future

As a Sustainability Science, Policy, and Society​ student, you'll learn to cope with sustainability challenges from an integrated perspective to support policymaking. Upon graduation, you'll be a well-qualified, interdisciplinary professional in the field of sustainable development. The skills you’ll develop during this master's program will make you capable of contributing to the pursuit of sustainable development in a constructive and critical way.

Job prospects

Sustainability Science, Policy, and Society graduates can look forward to a diverse and challenging career with plenty of job opportunities. In a recent study conducted by Maastricht University, different stakeholders active in sustainability policy-making, such as the business community, non-governmental organizations, international scientific organizations, and other institutions for higher education, indicated that they have a need for graduates in this field.

Career paths

The MSc SSPS program will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and competencies that will enable you to find a position in governmental, non-governmental, or commercial organizations. You could pursue a career as a:

• policymaker
• sustainability coordinator
• analyst of strategic policies
• consultant in sustainability issues
• scientist