Environmental Governance (MEG) at University of Freiburg

About

Sustainable development and accordingly sustainability in the manifold relationships between humans and the environment have become integral rules of conduct in politics and society. This is also true in economics, where for many companies a commitment to the principles of sustainability has become a central strategic competitive advantage. One of the major challenges to the implementation of the overall concept of sustainable development concerns effective governance processes between various stakeholders. The MSc programme "Environmental Governance" (MEG) addresses this special need. Since its establishment in 2005, it has been training academics in the broader field of Environmental Governance, understood as new modes of social coordination among market, state and civil society actors. With that, the MEG aims to fill the gap between technically oriented environmental management programmes and purely disciplinary environmental politics programmes. MEG is exceptional in its highly interdisciplinary approach; at its core it is socially-scientific, but it provides students with basic "scientific literacy" in the more technical aspects of pressing environmental challenges. The MEG programme is designed as a two-year (four-semester), full-time programme (120 ECTS). Teaching is organised in three-week block modules, comprising core and elective modules aiming at the following: Realising - The development of a sound knowledge base of the most pressing environmental issues facing the planet and their underlying societal causes Understanding - The reflection on human-environment interactions from a wide spectrum of disciplines, approaches and world views Managing - The provision of methodological knowledge and skills for the context-sensitive design and management of environmental governance processes The programme does not limit itself to a special regional context but focuses on environmental governance processes in a representative, worldwide perspective from the local level to the international level. Target Group: The programme targets students from various disciplines who aspire to become leaders in the complex field of sustainable development i.e., "Sustainability Designers" with innovative ideas about environmental governance arrangements which go beyond the traditional functional, structural and territorial boundaries; and "Sustainability Managers" who embrace and understand these ideas, and who are capable of finding ways to implement them in a context-sensitive manner. Practitioners and students with a background in engineering or the natural sciences are welcome. However, they have to show high motivation and willingness to concentrate mainly on social science theories and concepts during their two years of study.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Applicants are required to have a BSc (or equivalent first degree) well above average in one of the following fields: Environmental Management, EnvironmentalÂ Sciences, Agricultural or Forest Sciences, Geography, Political Sciences, Sociology, Law, Economics, Ethnology, International Cooperation, Development Studies, Nature Conservation, Environmental Management, Land Use Planning, Natural Resource Management, among others. At least some of the courses taken in the aforementioned degree must be relevant to Environmental Governance. Applicants for DAAD scholarships from developing countries must have two years of work experience at the time of application and the last university degree must not be older than six years.