Course summary

From the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis to the question of managing economies during a global pandemic, the topic of sustainability has never been more pressing. The MSc Ecological Economics, delivered collaboratively with Scotland's Rural College, prepares you to help solve and critically analyse the root causes of real-world sustainability problems. You will learn how to integrate environmental, social, and economic systems together, focusing on the mutual dependencies between them. In short, this programme aims to equip you with a new way of seeing the world. You will participate in sustainability problem-solving with an emphasis on application, practical experience and 'hands-on' learning. You will experience training in a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies and the associated data analysis using real-world case studies. During your studies, you will implement a small, team-based research project. Designed collaboratively with staff members in response to a real-world sustainability problem, it will provide you with firsthand experience conducting the work of an ecological economist. If you are ready to engage with peers from diverse backgrounds and perspectives and are willing to actively discuss complex sustainability problems both in teams and in class, then this programme is for you. Scotland's Rural College This programme is delivered in collaboration with Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). You will benefit from being a fully enrolled student at the University of Edinburgh and have access to all of the complementary staff, expertise, and resources at SRUC. Upon successful completion of the programme, you will be awarded your degree by the University of Edinburgh.