MSc Climate Change

The MSc in Climate Change is based in the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the School of Environmental Sciences (ENV). The course is designed to provide you with in-depth interdisciplinary knowledge of climate change science, society and policy. The course content equips our graduates for careers in areas as diverse as government agencies, business consultancies and academia.

Climate change and variability has played a major role in shaping human history and the prospect of global warming as a result of human activities presents society with increasing challenges over the coming decades.

This course provides an authoritative assessment of the subject, including recent climate history, present-day variations and climate prediction, the ways in which ideas of climate change impact on the environment, society and human welfare, and the role of climate science in policy development. Its temporal focus spans the Holocene period through to the year 2100, with particular emphasis on contemporary issues. You are encouraged to interact with the course content through a series of student-led debates.

The course covers the fundamentals of the changing climate, including the Earth’s energy balance, the general circulation of the atmosphere, causes of climate change and variability and the greenhouse effect. You will also learn about research methods, consisting of empirical approaches to climate reconstruction (e.g. tree ring analysis), data preparation and analysis, detection of anthropogenic changes and theoretical or model-based approaches to climate prediction. You will study the evidence and causes of recent climate change with a focus on the period from 1 AD to the present, including the atmospheric build-up of greenhouse gases and its consequences for the behaviour of the Earth system.

The ways in which climate change is understood by societies and how it influences the development of policy and stimulates social action is a key component of the course. This covers the social history of climate change, climate risk perception, climate economics, mitigation and adaptation. This includes an assessment of the Framework Convention of Climate Change, prospects for emissions control at the national and international level, climate geo-politics and equity and reconciling development issues with climate change.

Recent Dissertation Titles

• Mainstreaming climate change adaptation policies within the National Development Plan in Egypt
• UK tree phenology and its relationship to climate, past and present
• Local community responses to climate change in Chiang Mai, Thailand
• The cement industry and climate change - motivations, drivers and barriers for change

“Studying the MSc in Climate Change at UEA was a great opportunity, both professionally and personally. Thanks to the experience, I found a job that really fulfils my expectations - and I also met some great people that have become some of my best friends.”

Javier Sabogal Mogollón Former Student.

"Spending a year studying with the experts in climate change at UEA and doing research for my dissertation has helped me perform better in my job. In addition, the relationships that I built during the course will be useful throughout my career working on climate change related issues in Egypt."

Saber Osman Former Student.

Course Organiser:Prof Philip Jones

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Entry Requirements Degree Subject: This programme is open to students with a good first degree in environmental science or a related discipline. Degree Classification: Good first degree (minimum 2.1 or equivalent) Students for whom English is a Foreign language

We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:

IELTS: 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in all components)
TOEFL: Internet-based score of 88 (minimum 18 in listening, 21 speaking, 19 writing and 20 reading)
PTE (Pearson): 62 (minimum 55 in all components)

Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.

Other tests such as TOEIC and the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English are also accepted by the university. Please check with the Admissions Office for further details including the scores or grades required.

INTO UEA and INTO UEA London run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk (INTO UEA Norwich) or pseuealondon@into.uk.com (INTO UEA London).

• 95% of research activity classified as internationally leading, excellent or recognised in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
• Teaching of the highest quality; rated “ Excellent” in the most recent Teaching Quality Assessment.
• With 62 faculty members, the School is the largest interdisciplinary Environmental Science department in the UK.
• Extensive recent investment in buildings and laboratories provide excellent facilities for research.
• A large community of researchers, including more than 150 research students, 72 research staff and 27 technicians.
• “The School of Environmental Sciences is the strongest in the world” Prof Sir David King, UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, 2005.

Come and Visit Us

Our Open Days will give you the opportunity to experience the University of East Anglia's unique campus atmosphere.

Fees and Funding Tuition Fees 2013/14

• UK/EU £5,000
• International £12,500

Funding

• The Simon Wharmby Postgraduate Scholarship of £3000 is available to one student annually. Please view the full terms and conditions or contact the Environmental Sciences Admissions Office for more information.

International Students

• International applicants applying to this course can be considered for one full fees Commonwealth Scholarship, one Faculty of Science half fees scholarship, or up to two £1000 scholarships. The deadline for the Commonwealth Scholarship is 15th March 2013 and for all other scholarships the deadline is 1st April 2013.

Commonwealth Scholarship
Students applying for the Commonwealth Scholarship are not required to submit an essay. All eligible candidates to whom the school has made an offer are automatically considered for nomination. The successful candidate and a reserve will be notified by 31st March 2013. If you have not been contacted by this date then unfortunately you have been unsuccessful. The appropriate application forms will be sent to the successful student.

Faculty of Science Scholarships
Students wishing to apply should submit an essay answering the following question in 1000 words: 'Do we understand the climate change system sufficiently well to make projections of future climate change that can be relied on in all aspects of future planning?' Essays should be emailed to the Admissions Office. Please ensure you include your full name, the course you have applied to, and your applicant number in your email.

For more information please contact the Environmental Sciences Postgraduate Admissions Office (env.pgt.admiss@uea.ac.uk).