28 Master Programs in Environmental Studies in Netherlands for 2024

The global challenges with respect to the environment and sustainability are huge and can only be addressed in an interdisciplinary approach. Since it is impossible to address all these issues equally in a Master's degree program, specialization is essential.

Industrial Ecology offers talented students from around the world the opportunity to enhance their expertise and work on the grand challenge to achieve global prosperity.

Master Of River Delta Development (MSc). The Master’s program River Delta Development (MSc) trains students to be facilitators of change for river deltas. Everywhere in the world, urbanization and climate change are encroaching upon these fertile, ecologically valuable regions.

Climate change is a wicked problem that affects everyone. A transformation for our energy system is needed and the world is in need of new professionals who can help communities to make the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Will you become the expert who gets people on board to make this transition happen? That is the essence of the master Energy for Society.

If you want to work towards finding solutions for societal problems related to natural resource depletion and environmental change, then this is the Master’s program for you. The Environment and Resource Management (ERM) Master’s trains you to become part of the next generation of environmental leaders who work on the sustainability challenges of our time. From the role of climate change in migration to the impact of food supply on the environment to analyzing the transition to sustainable energy systems. You will start on the path to becoming an interdisciplinary environmental expert who is skilled in developing effective solutions for a more sustainable world.

Climate-neutral and resilient cities are essential goalposts in the quest to tackle the growing threat and impacts of climate change. This master's track focuses on examining different conceptual, theoretical, and practical approaches to leading sustainable urban transformation and managing climate-neutral and resilient cities worldwide.

While the global challenges with respect to the environment and sustainability are huge and can only be addressed in an interdisciplinary approach, they also call for specialization. The Energy and Environmental Sciences (EES) Program provides a series of introductory courses that give a general overview of the problem-field, and then allows for specialization towards any of a broad range of subjects within energy or sustainability, treating it from a natural science perspective. However, it trains the students that the natural sciences/technical approach to and solution of problems is only a part of the story and collaboration with other scientific disciplines is vital.

Global changes ask for a comprehensive scientific approach, an international multidisciplinary orientation and require a new mind-set towards water and coastal management problems. In response to these challenges and to provide an inspiring atmosphere for the development of an academic and professional career, we designed our unique Double Degree Master (DDM) program 'Water and Coastal Management', merging the strongest expertise of the two partner-universities, the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and Carl-von-Ossietzky-University Oldenburg (Germany).

How do organisms and their environment interact at both a molecular level and a global level? If this is an area that interests you, and you want to make a contribution to science and sustainability, a Master’s program in Ecology and Evolution at VU Amsterdam is for you.

A profound knowledge of the Earth’s system is essential to tackle climate change issues. As a Master’s student of Earth Sciences, you will learn to find sustainable solutions for present and future challenges regarding our planet and climate. You will study the natural processes and cycles of the Earth’s system within and between rock, soil, water, living things and air. You will quantify the magnitude and rate of these processes in both space and in time. Earth Sciences students look at the influence of humanity on the Earth’s Systems to address questions such as: What can past and present conditions tell us about the future? How can we use Earth system knowledge to effectively address global challenges such as climate change?

The expertise gained in this master is essential in attempts to limit global climate change and its negative impacts, and adapt successfully to the consequences of climate change. Governments and companies seek advice from environmental psychologists to understand the human dimension of sustainable development, and leading journals, such as Nature, stress the importance of the social sciences for solving environmental and energy-related problems. This master will equip you for job opportunities that focus on finding effective and acceptable societal solutions to these problems.

The two-year Master’s program in Water Science and Management will give you an in-depth understanding of modern water management techniques and water policies from a sustainable development perspective. You will gain an understanding of water’s role with regard to humanity and nature as well as the societal impact of interventions in the water cycle.

In this program, you will study the fundamental life processes of plants, animals, and microbes. The interdisciplinary course content also offers you the chance to examine ecology, biology, and animal behavior from an evolutionary perspective.

Our Master’s program in Climate Physics offers you a unique combination of theoretical courses and practical training in all aspects of the Earth’s climate. You’ll study physics, dynamics, and chemistry of the atmosphere, oceans, and cryosphere – as well as explore their interactions.

Digital technology has disrupted urban development and profoundly reshaped the way cities operate. This master track focuses on how digital innovation and transformation impact urban socio-economic development and governance.