Environmental Humanities

The course is delivered through a mixture of seminars, discussion classes, lectures and tutorials, with formal teaching sessions supported by your own preparatory study and independent reading outside the set contact hours.

Core subject matter is delivered through the lectures with the subsequent group sessions all giving you the opportunity for further discussion and understanding.

The academic environment for your learning experience is supportive and relaxed with the programme director available to offer academic advice and guidance.

The course culminates in the interdisciplinary dissertation on a subject of your own choice. You will receive regular one-to-one guidance from a supervisor with subject expertise as you make progress.

Assessment

Assessment involves a variety of evaluation methods that will measure your progress through the course.

The methods used will depend on the modules you choose but will reflect the flexible nature of the course: for example, assessment may include group presentations, essays, short pieces of writing aimed at a public audience, or a short podcast. You will also be required to produce a dissertation of 15,000 words on a subject of interest to you.

A 2.1 (or overseas equivalent) degree in any discipline with a strong essay component.

A 500-word personal statement which should include the following:

• An outline of your interest in an interdisciplinary MA in Environmental Humanities
• What skills and knowledge you would bring to the course
• What skills and knowledge you would hope to acquire on the programme
• An indication of an area you might like to research in your dissertation
• If your background is not in the humanities, please provide experience in essay writing and research

Alternative qualifications

• Other UK qualifications

• EU qualifications 

• International qualifications

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

Home students who do not meet our direct entry requirements, may be eligible for our Foundation Programme which offers multidisciplinary programmes to prepare you for a range of specified degree programmes.  

English language requirements

Country specific information

Full Time Fees

Part Time Fees

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Our taught MA degrees provide a strong foundation for a future in research and many postgraduates stay with us to undertake PhD studies.

Graduates who progress into the workplace take with them a range of professional and transferable skills that are valued in the public and private sectors. As well as advanced communication and analytical skills they are equipped to understand complex scenarios from multiple perspectives.

An increasing number of employers are incorporating sustainable and wellbeing goals into their organisations which open up pathways into a wider range of sectors. For Environmental Humanities graduates, career options include government agencies, corporate responsibility and sustainability, sustainability management, policy research, environmental journalism, environmental tourism, conservation work, environmentally oriented NGOs and charities.

The Medical Humanities suite of qualifications opens the door to roles in medicine, non-profit organisations, policy settings, bioethics, and contexts where health inequality and critical medical debates are vital. For those in early career roles in the sector, a postgraduate qualification can also lead to more senior roles and responsibilities.

Explore the important contribution the arts and humanities make in the response to ongoing global challenges, and learn how this insight is being used to improve the lives of individuals and communities across the world.

From health and the human experience to responses to the environmental crisis, our flexible and accessible postgraduate qualifications are centred around areas that are highly relevant in the world today.

These innovative qualifications in Environmental Humanities and Medical Humanities take a non-scientific approach to real-world challenges, considering them from a range of social, historical, ethical and anthropological perspectives.

Our courses extend beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, drawing on methods and insights from the arts, humanities, social sciences and the natural sciences to develop effective responses to climate and environmental crises and to health and wellbeing challenges.

Students learn directly from many of the UK’s leading academic experts in these rapidly developing fields. Our team takes a collaborative approach that enables more effective communication across disciplines to address the intersecting nature of these problems.

All of our courses, from postgraduate certificate through to MA, are designed to nurture thoughtful, critical and engaged graduates who are equipped with the academic knowledge and skills to make a meaningful contribution in a rapidly changing and complex world.

For more information see our department pages.

Facilities

The interdisciplinary nature of our courses combined with the flexibility in modules gives our students access to a range of teaching and learning facilities across the wider University as well as the specialist archives and collections in arts and humanities.

These facilities are located throughout Durham within easy access of the historic city centre with its castle and cathedral and beautiful riverside.

We are home to a number of related research centres and institutes including the Centre for Culture and Ecology, a group of researchers who explore the effects of changing climate on the location, abundance, behaviour and physiology of populations and communities. The Institute of Medical Humanities is a pioneering research institute that explores the everyday experiences of health and illness from the emergence of symptoms to the cultural contexts and constructs of health.

Find out more: