Master's Programme in Environmental Management and Policy (EMP)

How can environmental problems be assessed? How do companies and organisations work to prevent and solve environmental problems? How can different types of actors exert influence and control, and what policies and measures can we employ to drive positive change?

If you are interested in questions like these, this programme is for you. The International Master’s Programme in Environmental Management and Policy (EMP) enables graduates to inspire and drive change by developing their abilities to evaluate, design and implement management and policy responses to complex environmental challenges. Distinguished key features are: interdisciplinary learning, the international nature and practically applied studies, with dual focus on environmental policy and environmental management.

About the programme

Fact sheet

Programme outline

First semester, 30 credits. Autumn semester. The courses provide essentials for the coming parts of the programme and cover fundamentals of environmental science, business management, economics and technical systems. Courses are:
•   Environmental Science and the Anthropocene (5 credits)
•   Conceptualisations of Sustainability (5 credits)
•   Fundamentals of Technical Systems (5 credits)
•   Fundamentals of Economics and Economic Valuation of Environmental Change (5 credits)
•   Introduction to Business Management and Corporate Responsibility (5 credits)
•   Introduction to Policy and Law (5 credits)
Second semester, 30 credits. Spring semester. From this semester, there is a departure from the traditional division of courses by subject and the courses instead focus on problem areas as well as application of knowledge, involving projects with external organisations and individual research.Courses are:
• Analytical Methods for Systemic Assessment of Products and Services. Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) (3 credits)
• Corporate Environmental Management (7 credits)
• Sustainability and Business Value Creation (5 credits)
• Environmental Law and Policy in Practice (7,5 credits)
• Elective course: Environmental Management and Strategy in Practice – Business Consulting (7,5 credits)
• Elective course: Environmental Management and Policy in Practice – Internship (7.5 credits)
Third semester, 30 credits. Autumn semester. Courses are:
• Environmental Policy Analysis (7,5 credits)
• Sustainability Solutions in Context - Project Course (10 credits)
• Elective course (one of the following):
   Applied Research in International and National Policy Intervention – for a Transition to Low-carbon and Resource-efficient Economies (7,5 credits)
   Applied research in Urban Governance and Experimentation – for a Transition to Low-carbon and Resource-efficient Economies (7,5 credits)
   Applied Research in Business Management and Practice –   for a Transition to Low-carbon and Resource-efficient Economies (7,5 credits)
   Applied Research in Consumption Governance – for a Transition to Low-carbon and Resource-efficient Economies (7,5 credits)
• Research Design & Methodology for Interdisciplinary Applied Research (5 credits)
Master Thesis Semester, 30 credits. Spring semester. Graduation week with theses defenses takes place on campus in late May or early June.

Up until 2017 the programme had a different outline, which is valid for students admitted up until 2017. Click here to view the old outline.

Career prospects

The programme opens the door to a wide range of environment- and sustainability-focused careers on the international arena. Our more than 1000 IIIEE alumni have taken positions in industry, consultancy, government, EU bodies, NGOs and international organisations such as the UN, the World Bank and the OECD. Several graduates have continued as entrepreneurs, or have enrolled in PhD programmes and then pursued academic or business careers. In effect, our alumni are integrated into all relevant professional sectors related to sustainability.

For alumuni portraits, please visit Alumni stories and profiles