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Environment, Society, and Development (MA)

 

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Course Overview

Watch course video presentation here.

Addressing core global development goals

Global issues of development, security and the environment have never been so important. The COVID-19 pandemic, the broader overstepping of ecological boundaries and the threat of climate change have brought questions of neoliberal economic production, environmental sustainability and human security to the fore. If you would you like to acquire the critical thinking and field-based learning skills that are essential in addressing these challenges, then the innovative and award-winning MA in Environment, Society and Development (MA-ESD) is for you.

Engaging vital overlapping environmental and security challenges

The MA-ESD will engage you on a critical exploration of the various practices of development and security that define our contemporary world, and ultimately how that critique can enable more informed, participatory and transformative interventionary practices. The programme involves engagement with a number of core areas in international development, critical security studies and political ecology, and will expose you to global concerns that encompass a complex and dynamic mesh of environmental, geopolitical and economic processes. On the programme, you will gain enormously from the field experience of working on the ground in an international development context, and as a graduate you will have the ability and ambition to activate a wide range of expert critical knowledges in shaping a more sustainable world.

Field-based learning and civic engagement

In embarking on your career and in following your passion for urgent global development issues, would you like to draw upon the experience of working with the United Nations and a range of NGOs in the challenging international development context of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)? A core element of the MA-ESD programme will involve you working and intersecting with communities, the UNDP and other development practitioners in BiH. You will gain vital experience of civic and community engagement in bringing critical thinking to development practice.

ESD class pic

MA in ESD students on fieldwork in Mostar, Herzegovina.

Student-centred teaching excellence and international reputation

Our students bring passion and new perspectives to urgent overlapping questions of environment, security and development. Coming from every continent across the globe, they mirror a commitment on the programme to a postcolonial concern for the production of nuanced locally-attuned knowledges that are crucial to envisioning and actioning a better world. Students benefit especially from our reputation for providing one-to-one support. The programme director and teaching team have received a number of accolades for teaching excellence, including: the NUI Galway President’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2011; the National Academy Award for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning in 2012; and the NUI Galway’s President’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2018.

Award-winning programme

Winner: NUI Galway President’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2018)
Winner: Irish National Academy Award for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (2012)
Winner: NUI Galway President’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2011)
Winner: NUI Galway Learning and Teaching Innovation Award, Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (2010)

The Neil Smith Research Award

ESD video photo

Launch of the Neil Smith Graduate Research Award—please see here.

The Neil Smith Graduate Research Award is annually given to the best overall student on the MA. The award is designed to celebrate the legacy of the late Neil Smith, the inaugural external examiner for the programme, by encouraging graduate research in the areas of geopolitics, development and social and environmental justice.

Past winners: 

  • 2021: Patrick Gaynor
  • 2020:  Timothy Eberth
  • 2019:  Matina Granieri
  • 2018:  Deirdre Leonard
  • 2017:  Maeve McGandy
  • 2016:  V’cenza Cirefice
  • 2015:  Rosie Howlett-Southgate
  • 2014:  Naoise McDonagh
  • 2013:  Paul Digan

Part-time option

A two-year part-time option is also available. Students take 30 ECTS of taught modules in Years One and Two, along with a 30 ECTS Dissertation module in Year Two.

Scholarships available
Find out about our Postgraduate Scholarships here. 

Applications and Selections

Applications are made online via the NUI Galway Postgraduate Applications System. 

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Assessment is in the form of continuous assessment, essays, oral presentations and other projects. Students also submit a dissertation of 15,000–20,000 words based on original research.

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

NQAI Level 8 degree at H2.1 in relevant subject and H2.2 overall; GPA 3.0, or equivalent international qualification. IELTS score of 6.5, or equivalent, if applicable. Selection is based on academic record, statement of intent and letters of recommendation. Prior learning via relevant work experience is also recognised.


Additional Requirements

Duration

1 year, full-time; 2 years, part-time

Next start date

September 2022

A Level Grades ()

Average intake

15

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date

Please refer to the offer rounds/closing date webpage.

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

90

Award

CAO

Course code

1MES1 (full-time); 1MES2 (part-time)

Course Outline

Running through the MA is an overarching aim to equip you with both critical and practical expertise in environment-society relations, with a firm eye on developing your abilities to influence policy formulation and implementation in a range of interventionary contexts. Our hope is to empower you to become critically informed by, and ethically engaged with, the various geopolitical, social, economic and environmental processes that shape the world in which we live. The practical emphasis of the MA is reflected in a field-based learning module in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where you will intersect with the development work of the European Union, UN agencies and various NGOs.

Modules: 

  • TI6131: Introduction to Development (10 ECTS)
  • TI6125: Research Methods and Mapping (10 ECTS)
  • TI6126: Critical Geopolitics and Security (10 ECTS)
  • TI6127: Environmental Risk and Resilience (10 ECTS)
  • TI6128: Development and Justice (10 ECTS)
  • TI6129: Field-Based Learning (20 ECTS)
  • TI6130: Research Project and Dissertation (30 ECTS)

Part-time option

In Year One students take 30 ECTS of taught modules including TI6131 and two other modules from TI6125, TI6126, TI6127, TI6128 and TI6129. In Year Two students take a further 30 ECTS of taught modules from the above list and the 30 ECTS Dissertation module TI6130.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits
You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module
An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Optional
A module you may choose to study.
Required
A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Semester
Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year.

Year 1 (90 Credits)

Required TI6125: Research Methods and Mapping


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This module outlines the principles of designing and implementing a holistic geographical research project: collecting representative evidence in the field, applying qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, and mapping and spatial representation using Geographic Information Systems. The aim of the module is to instil in students an ability to collect and analyse primary and secondary evidence, draw conclusions based on geographical principles and present findings in a meaningful, professional manner. Students will be required to engage multiple methodological approaches in a reflexive manner, considering issues of representation associated with the production of geographical knowledge. The module is built around ‘interdisciplinary’ Group Projects, and students will approach all aspects of the module through the lens of their semester-long projects. Group Projects will be collaborative across Masters programmes. Students will work together and learn from each other so that a holistic approach to the Research Project is obtained. Throughout the semester, students will be introduced to a broad geographical skillset that will provide a comprehensive foundation for research in Geography.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Critically evaluate methodological approaches in Geography
  2. Identify measurable and representative evidence for a given research topic
  3. Develop a field-based data collection strategy and apply appropriate data analysis and methodological techniques
  4. Use GIS to analyse and display primary and secondary data
  5. Design and implement a research project from start to finish
  6. Reflect on research findings and present a critical evaluation to an audience
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (75%)
  • Oral, Audio Visual or Practical Assessment (20%)
  • Department-based Assessment (5%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Key Methods in geography" by Clifford, N., M. Cope, T. Gillespie and S. French
  2. "Geographic Thought: A Critical Introduction" by Cresswell, T.
    Chapters: 1
  3. "Simple Statistical Tests for Geography" by McCarroll, D.
The above information outlines module TI6125: "Research Methods and Mapping" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required TI6131: Introduction to Development


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This module introduces students to a wide range of theoretical currents informing the definition of development in a host of contexts and interventionary practices.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the history of developmental thought and action.
  2. Appreciate and critically engage with the discursive nature of developmental debates.
  3. Navigate complex constellations of interests, legacies and affects in the analysis of locally resonant developmental issues.
  4. Analyse the many linkages that materialise locally between a globalising economy and sustainable social and environmental development practices.
  5. Become cognizant about ways to navigate national interests with global developmental concerns.
  6. Articulate different approaches, ideologies and rhetorics that allow us to approach the nexus between development and other concepts and practices that inform the programme.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "The companion to development studies" by Desai, V. and Potter, R.
    ISBN: 978-144416724.
    Publisher: Routledge
  2. "Spaces of global capitalism: a theory of uneven development" by Harvey, D.
    ISBN: 978-178873465.
    Publisher: Verso
  3. "Fossil Capital" by Malm, A.
    ISBN: 9781784781293.
    Publisher: Verso
  4. "Capitalism in the Web of Life" by Moore, J.
    ISBN: 9781781689028.
    Publisher: Verso
  5. "Key Concepts in Development Geography" by Potter, R. et. al.
    ISBN: 978-085702585.
    Publisher: Sage
  6. "Uneven development: Nature, capital and the production of space" by Smith, N.
    ISBN: 978-082033099.
    Publisher: University of Georgia Press
The above information outlines module TI6131: "Introduction to Development" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required TI6130: Research Project and Dissertation


15 months long | Credits: 30

Students will complete an original piece of work that engages with key theoretical, philosophical and ideological approaches and policy issues pertaining to contemporary environment-society relations.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate enhanced understanding of key theoretical, methodological and ideological approaches to contemporary environment-society relations;
  2. Display well developed research skills that are transferable to further research at PhD level or in a range of workplaces.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Research (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module TI6130: "Research Project and Dissertation" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required TI6126: Critical Geopolitics and Security


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

Geopolitics is once again the ‘lingua franca’ of global power. Intimately interwoven with its resurgence is an acute sense of vulnerability to international terrorism that has prompted not only renewed forms of Western interventionism ‘overseas’ but also new forms of governmentality at ‘home’. Using a broad range of contexts at multiple scales, this module sets out to explore the interconnections between geopolitical discourse and practices of securitization in our modern world. A particular focus on the US-led war on terrorism aims to critique the abstracted discursive production of geopolitical knowledge by examining the ubiquitous scriptings of insecurity, war and geopolitics in our contemporary moment. A broader concern is to explore how neoliberal practices of intervention, war and reconstruction continue to be based on the mobilization of prioritized geopolitical and geoeconomic discourses. Building on recent work in critical geopolitics, the module seeks to not only interrogate the basis, legitimization and operation of contemporary geopolitics, but also to proffer more humane and nuanced counter-geographies that insist on the spatiality and materiality of global space.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. recognise the intimate links between geopolitical discourse and practices of securitization in our contemporary world;
  2. comprehend the long-standing equation between ‘security’ interests and ‘economic’ interests at the heart of geopolitical calculation;
  3. see the so-called war on terror in its historic context of a much longer Western concern for military-economic securitization overseas;
  4. appreciate how neoliberal practices of intervention, war and reconstruction have long been based on the mobilization of prioritized geopolitical and geoeconomic discourses.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Security, Territory, Population: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-1978" by Michel Foucault
    Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
  2. "The Colonial Present" by Derek Gregory
    Publisher: Blackwell
  3. "The New Imperialism" by David Harvey
    Publisher: Oxford University Press
  4. "Critical Geopolitics: The Politics of Writing Global Space" by Gearóid Ó Tuathail
    Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
  5. "Culture and Imperialism" by Edward Said
    Publisher: Vintage
  6. "The Endgame of Globalization" by Neil Smith
    Publisher: Routledge
The above information outlines module TI6126: "Critical Geopolitics and Security" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required TI6128: Development and Justice


Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module explores contemporary approaches to development with a particular focus on justice in both egalitarian and sustainability terms. Our working interpretation is of development as a means of improving the livelihood of humankind in the widest sense. Key to this is questioning the dominance of economic discourse in the development agenda. We trace the evolution of economic thought and question its prevalence and impact on the contemporary development landscape. The management of development is necessarily multi-dimensional, involving a range of actors and institutions operating at a variety of levels from the international to the local, and reflecting issues of shifting significance depending on their manifestation at the macro or the micro scale. However, in a global sense, the dominant contemporary models for managing development come from the western world, which, when applied in a non-western context may produce outcomes that do not meet accepted sustainability nor egalitarian criteria. Through this module, we will explore more recent approaches to developing alternatives economised development. Inspired by a variety of disciplines and theoretical approaches, we will consider how different economies from transactional to labour help us understand the broader context of development and posit the future growth paths that are just and sustainable.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of current development management issues and the interrelationships between society, environment and development.
  2. Demonstrate a detailed conceptual and empirical understanding of the processes of managing development at a variety of spatial scales.
  3. Link theoretical principles with practical, topical and accessible case studies as they consider the impact of developmental management policies on a number of sectors at a range of scales.
  4. Consider alternative methods of organising production and exchange.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module TI6128: "Development and Justice" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required TI6129: Field-Based Learning


Semester 2 | Credits: 20

This module is designed to enable students to synthesize both theoretical and practical concerns in bringing critical thinking to issues of environment, society and development in the field. It does not only consider how to apply academic critical knowledge in the field, but also how to learn in the field by experience, through participation with both practitioners and local populations. The module is also an excellent conceptual space to think through issues of post-development, cultures of dependency, stakeholder challenges, pragmatism and strategic essentialism. A key challenge will involve thinking through the scalar nature of all forms of development, in which initiatives on the ground are framed by broader geopolitical, economic and institutional structures that both enable and hinder development in complex ways.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Apply critical thinking in field-based contexts by recognising and understanding the scalar nature of development, and by thinking through the broader geopolitical, economic and institutional structures through which development works;
  2. Consider a range of theoretical and technical approaches to environment-society relations and development work;
  3. Manage self-directed research and learning, to work productively in a team context, and to present findings professionally and comprehensively, in both written and oral forms;
  4. Facilitate effective action research in collaboration with development practitioners and local populations on the ground.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module TI6129: "Field-Based Learning" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

MA-ESD graduates have gone on to work in key governmental, planning and public policy roles in their home countries, and in a wide range of UN agencies and other national and international NGOs. They have also added richly to the work of environmental agencies and specialist policy institutes throughout the globe, as well as pursuing PhD research in leading academic departments worldwide.

Field Experience

In addition to engaging you on the most cutting-edge theoretical work from the interdisciplinary fields of development studies, critical geopolitics and political ecology, the programme has a strong emphasis on problem-solving skills, reflected in the focus on field-based learning practices. You will gain enormously from the experience of working on the ground in Bosnia with a variety of international development practitioners and local community partners.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

 

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€6,850 full-time; €3,465 part-time p.a. 2022/23

Fees: Tuition

€6,710 full-time; €3,360 part-time p.a. 2022/23

Fees: Student levy

€140 full-time; €105 part-time p.a. 2022/23

Fees: Non EU

€16,540 p.a. 2022/22


Student levy €140 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.  Further detail here.

Matina

Matina Granieri |   Policy Leader, Office of Sustainability, Philadelphia, USA

MA-ESD Graduate, Matina Granieri, has begun a new role in Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability, leading an innovative environmental and climate justice program for the city. Matina won the Neil Smith Award on the MA-ESD and returned to her home city of Philadelphia in 2019. She recently wrote to MA-ESD Programme Director, John Morrissey, to say a lovely thank you to all colleagues who supported her on her Masters in Galway: “I’m humbled by the opportunity to help shape Philadelphia’s new environmental and climate justice programme. I find myself frequently falling back on what I learned on the MA-ESD program to guide my decisions, and feel well equipped with the critical mindset needed to engage with government systems while attempting to center human well-being. So, I’m sending many thanks for all the foundational materials you shared and the critical thinking you asked of us”.
in Connect with Matina
Elaine

Elaine Williams |   Graduate

I thoroughly enjoyed the MA in Environment, Society and Development. Not only does it theoretically and thematically inform students on key geographical concerns of interventionism and development, but most importantly it gives them the tools to practically apply critique on the ground. Gaining friendship and confidence in a hugely supportive environment is all part of the process too.
Vittoria

Vittoria Semplici |   Graduate

The Masters in Environment, Society and Development addresses fundamental questions of international development. It offers students the opportunity to deepen and pursue research interests with creative license, and combines a vast amount of theoretical knowledge with a concrete and practical approach, improving both critical thinking and organizational working skills.
Diego

Diego Andreucci |   Graduate

What I like the most about the MA in Environment, Society and Development is the fact that it is theoretically broad and academically stimulating whilst at the same time being very much engaged in practical, political and ethical issues in a variety of geographical contexts on the ground.
Sinead

Sinead Burke |   Graduate

I like the MA in Environment, Society and Development as it is an opportunity for academic growth and personal development which works by challenging a group of students to critically and creatively question wide-ranging theoretical concepts, whilst also providing practical research skills to assess the relationships between political, social and economic systems in geographically diverse spaces and places.

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Downloads

  • Postgraduate Taught Prospectus 2022

    Postgraduate Taught Prospectus 2022 PDF (14.3MB)