
Master of Science in Sustainability Management
Barcelona, Spain
DURATION
10 Months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
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TUITION FEES
EUR 18,500 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Check out our scholarship program.
Introduction
The Master of Science in Sustainability Management offers you the technical and strategic keys to make sustainability one of the central focuses in the management of a company or institution. You will be trained to lead in sustainability from the perspective of its social, economic, and environmental dimensions.
The Master of Science in Sustainability Management offers a global vision of sustainability. It is a great transformation opportunity that brings differentiation, value, and competitive advantage to organizations.
Sustainability management will be one of the most in-demand profiles in the coming years. Among its main challenges is knowing how to deal with the existing complexity between the current models of production, consumption, and business activity. This is in juxtaposition to a growing environmental and social awareness, and a paradigm shift, led by the change-makers, the Green Transition, the 2030 Agenda, and the sustainable development goals (SDG) of the United Nations.
With this master's degree, you will acquire the necessary tools for the management of sustainability in companies, making it compatible with their social and economic interests. You will learn to implement sustainable management of companies and institutions, bringing strategic keys to operationalize concepts such as the circular economy, energy transition, or the SDGs.
The master's degree addresses the three dimensions of sustainability: the economic, social, and environmental dimensions. All this using a logic of practical projects, starting with a solid technical base, continuing with the keys of corporate management, and culminating with an effective measurement of the impact, as well as subsequently communicating it to the interested groups (see Program Curriculum and Methodology).
The Master of Science in Sustainability Management is endorsed by Pompeu Fabra University, the 1st Spanish university and the 15th best university in the world (of those with less than 50 years), according to the Times Higher Education ranking. In addition, UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally.
The program has a teaching team made up of professors and sustainability experts from the UPF Barcelona School of Management and ESCI-UPF. In addition, active professionals will share their experiences and real cases throughout the course.
Program jointly offered with:

Why choose this program
01 International recognition
Study at a school accredited by EQUIS, an international distinction that guarantees the quality of our institution and makes us the 1st school of management linked to a public university with this accreditation in our country.
02 In-demand professional profile
According to estimates by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Green Transition will mean the creation of 24 million new jobs related to sustainability and digitalization in the coming years. This will mean a paradigm shift in the production system. In addition, it will force the work environment to adapt to a new, more ecological reality, increasing the demand for professional profiles trained in the field of sustainability.
03 Expert faculty in the field of sustainability
You will learn with a teaching team that approaches sustainability from different perspectives and with diverse specialties. The UPF-BSM, through several of its chairs related to sustainability, and ESCI-UPF with the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change, bring together their knowledge and expertise to form a teaching team that will address sustainability from different perspectives and approaches.
04 Configure the program according to your interests
The study plan offers you the global vision necessary to understand the current ecological transformation of society and companies as a whole. Within the environmental, economic, and social sustainable dimensions, you will be able to choose from a large number of elective subjects to configure the program according to your needs and interests, in order to link the choice of subjects with the Master's Final Project.
05 Practical and experiential learning
The program offers you a set of experiential activities. These aim to introduce you to projects related to innovation in sustainability. You will learn about the strategies of different companies and institutions linked to sustainability and the green transition. During the program, you will be able to visit businesses from different industries, such as agri-food, waste treatment, and catering, among others.
06 Barcelona: leading city in urban sustainability
You will study in a city that is home to more than 1,000 organizations committed to working and promoting environmental, social, and economic sustainability and was the world capital of sustainable food in 2021. The urban transformation in which Barcelona is currently immersed is a case study in itself and a reference model for other cities.
Accreditations
UPF Barcelona School of Management is the management school of Pompeu Fabra University, the 1st Ibero-American university and the 16th-placed university in the world, among those under 50 years of age, according to the Times Higher Education ranking.
UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally, and places itself among the top business schools in the world.
The Master of Science in Sustainability Management is an official master's degree and has the academic recognition of the Ministry of Education of the Government of Spain. The Quality Agency of the University System of Catalonia (AQU) has also institutionally accredited UPF-BSM. This accreditation certifies all the official master's degrees that we teach and recognizes the quality of our educational model in accordance with the criteria of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
Ideal Students
The Master of Science in Sustainability Management is aimed at graduates and professionals in the field of business administration and management, engineers, and environmentalists, as well as other graduates and change-makers interested in sustainability.
Student profile
The program brings together students of different nationalities and backgrounds, combining profiles focused on the field of management, with others of a more technical nature, but all of them with a common interest in the development and management of sustainability. This will allow the subjects to be multidisciplinary in nature and group dynamics to be a real source of learning. The value of the master's degree will not only be in the specialist teaching staff but also in the exchange of experiences and knowledge between students, which will be promoted throughout the program.
Curriculum
The Master of Science in Sustainability Management is organized around four large modules which are developed following the different dimensions of sustainability:
- Fundamentals of Sustainability
- Environmental Dimension of Sustainability
- Economic Dimension of Sustainability
- Social Dimension of Sustainability
All students must take all the compulsory subjects and choose a total of six optional subjects, among those available in each of the modules. Students will have a tutor who will advise them on their choices according to their personal goals and professional interests.
Students can also undertake curricular internships in companies, which will be recognized as two optional subjects (6 ECTS).
Throughout the second and third terms, students will work on their Master's Final Project, in which they must demonstrate the knowledge acquired during the program. During the first term, the teaching load of the Master's Final Project is reduced, since the student is yet to select the topic, and will take support and advice tutorials for its development.
Classes may be held both at the facilities of the UPF Barcelona School of Management and at those of ESCI-UPF.
Fundamentals of Sustainability
Core courses
- Sustainability Concepts and SDGs
- Sustainability Management Systems
Elective courses
- SDG in practice
Environmental Dimension of Sustainability
Core courses
- Environmental impacts: causes and effects
- Climate Change: facts, emergency, political and legal context
- Product and Environment
- Carbon and water footprint
Elective courses
- Green procurement and Environmental labeling
- Energy and renewables
- Cradle-to-Cradle and circular economy
Economic Dimension of Sustainability
Core courses
- Marketing Fundamentals for sustainable organizations
- Economics for sustainable development
- Applied Statistics
Elective courses
- Corporate Sustainability Communication
- Sustainable finance
- Sustainability in Logistics and Operations
- Public-private collaborations in sustainable projects
Social Dimension of Sustainability
Core courses
- Sustainability and Social Responsibilities of Organizations
- Environmental law and Jurisprudence
Elective courses
- Social entrepreneurship
Professional internships (optional)
- Professional internships (optional)
Master’s Final Project
- Master’s Final Project
Elective subjects will take place if a minimum number of enrolled students is reached. The final offer for each year may be adapted depending on the academic planning.
Complementary activities
The Master of Science in Sustainability Management also includes the possibility of participating in practical activities and activities for personal and professional growth such as:
- Brush-up Courses: preparatory crash courses on business and economy-related subjects which take place two weeks prior to the beginning of the program.
- Spanish Course: free of charge during the first term. 3 hours/week course at UPF's language school.
- Career Development Program: career sessions and workshops where participants obtain specific training on how to improve their professional profile, approach potential employers, and develop professional soft skills.
- UPF-BSM Inside: is a group of interdisciplinary subjects (applied data, communication, creativity, innovation and project management, sustainability, and leadership among others) that, if you take this program, you can access at no additional cost. They are 100% online and you can take them throughout the academic year at your own pace, as they have been designed as self-study subjects.
Career Opportunities
This master's degree enables you to develop a new and practical perspective in one of the most emerging professional fields of the moment: the management of sustainability in companies and institutions. With this technical and strategic knowledge, you will be prepared to collaborate in the ecological transformation of companies and institutions, making it compatible with their economic and social development.
The master's degree includes the option of doing curricular internships that will boost your professional future.
Upon completion of the master's degree, students will be able to access a wide variety of positions related to the following areas:
- Consultancy
- Strategic Management
- Auditing
- Project Management
- Strategic Planning
- Supply chain management
- Sustainable Financing
- Sustainable Marketing
Specifically, you could access positions such as:
- Sustainability Project Manager
- ESG consultant
- Energy policy and Strategy Consultant
- Climate Change Consultant
- Sustainability Analyst
- Sustainability Manager
- Auditor in Supplier Sustainability
- Sustainability and CSR Consultant
- Supply Chain Sustainability Manager
Scholarships and Funding
The UPF Barcelona School of Management offers you different means of financing so that you can take any of our programs without worry. We offer you the opportunity to finance part of your program, either by rewarding your talent through scholarships, through grants from entities dedicated to promoting education, or through collaboration agreements with financial entities.
Master of Science Scholarships
Specifically awarded to the master of Science students who can demonstrate a good academic, professional, and/or personal trajectory.
External financial aid
A large number of external entities and institutions offer financial aid options to students who want to enroll in one of our master's programs and postgraduate courses.
Alumni discounts
If you are a member of our alumni associations or of one of our partner universities, we offer you a series of applicable discounts on the amount of tuition for your program.
UPF Employee Discounts
If you are a member or family member or an employee of the UPF group or belonged to the collaborating institutions of the UPF Barcelona School of Management, you can enjoy a series of applicable discounts on the tuition fees for your program.
UPF Partner Universities Discount
Check if the university where you took your undergraduate studies is a UPF partner university and obtain a 10% discount on your master's tuition fees.
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.