Sustainability Science: Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Society (M. Sc.)

• Degree awarded: Master of Science (M.Sc.)
• Application deadline: EU degrees: 1 June / Non-EU degrees: 1 May
• Highlights: Exploring the interactions of ecosystems and society, tackeling real-world problems of social-ecological systems in transdisciplinary approaches, interdisciplinary peer-learning in an international context
• Ist aimed at: Ecology enthusiasts with a passion for sustainability and system dynamics
• Type of programme: Thematic relevance
• Study places: 25
• Start date: October 1
• Extent: 120 CP according to ECTS
• Duration: 4 semesters
• Language: English
• Semester contribution: ca. 390 EUR

Sustain­ability is a central goal for humanity in the 21^st century. Understanding eco­logical processes and navigating social-ecological inter­actions, in turn, is central to sustain­ability. The careless exploitation of natural resources has had deleterious consequences for eco­systems and bio­diversity around the world.

But not all human activities are necessarily harm­ful for eco­systems: grounded in a deep understanding of social-ecological inter­actions, human societies can re-build and restore resilient ecosystems.

This programme covers eco­logical themes such as changes in bio­diversity and eco­system functioning in the Anthro­pocene, as well as how these changes are shaped by and influence through feed­backs the social fabric of human communities. Social and eco­logical phenomena are therefore understood to be intimately connected.

The appropriate governance of social-eco­logical complexity, in turn, can be informed by social-ecological systems thinking – including key ecological and social-ecological concepts such as ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services (or “Nature’s Contributions to People”), resilience, thresholds or tipping points, regime shifts, and participatory scenario planning. Throughout the programme, both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to better understand the complex dynamics of social-ecological systems.

In addition to building an understanding of eco­systems, societies, and the interlinkages between the two, the programme offers engagement with the idea and practice of trans­disciplinarity. In so-called trans­disciplinary projects, students will engage with real-world problems and the actors empowered to make real-world decisions.

The Master's programme is organised in three parts: Introductions, Deep Dive and Elective Focus.

Introductions into organisational transformation management and entrepreneurship, individual change agency and psychology, sustainability science and transdisciplinary research design lay the foundations of this programme. Here you gain an overview of psychological and management theories and approaches to systematically analyse key sustainability challenges and to distinguish individual and organisational approaches of sustainability transformation at the individual and organisational level.

The Deep Dive phase analyses practices of sustainable entrepreneurship, (un)sustainable consumption, approaches of market-oriented sustainability management and market transformations and Sustainability Psychology  with the aim of establishing new social businesses and transforming established companies. You will reflect on theories and empirical studies about perceptions, decision-making and behaviour related to sustainability transformations on the individual, group and organisational level. In a practice-oriented transdisciplinary project together with students of other Sustainability Science and Psychology Master's programmes the newly acquired knowledge is applied, deepened, and reflected.

The Elective Focus offers a wide range of options to develop an individual specialization focus with sustainability and social science modules of your choice. The programme core is complemented with Leuphana’s complementary studies courses, organised in the three modules ‘Engaging with Knowledge and Sciences’, ‘Reflecting on Research Methods’ and ‘Connecting Science, Responsibility and Society’.

Here you can find further information on the course content of the Master's programme Sustainability Science: Entrepreneurship, Agency and Leadership.

The following link provides access to documents which set out the general conditions for examinations, an overview of the curriculum, as well as detailed and legally binding regulations.

General Assessment Regulations and the Subject-Specific Schedules

Students of this Master's programme have the opportunity to spend a semester of their studies abroad. For that, we recommend the third semester.

For any questions or to apply, please contact the International Center. The International Center will provide all further information on Erasmus+ funding, and on preparing for and organising your semester abroad.

Increasingly, as we face the polycrises of biodiversity loss, climate change and upheaval of social systems, the world needs world changers with a solid foundation in critical thinking: people who have both a well-founded training and understanding of the key drivers and interactions in a changing world as well as possible evidence-based paths to more biodiversity and resilience allowing sustainable future.

This Masters spans both state of the art biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research, conservation and restoration ecology and practice as well as allowing a clear understanding of the key role that humans play in affecting biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. Since many of our current problems in the polycrisis can not be adequately solved without a whole system approach, this Masters will allow students to obtain the necessary in-depth grounding in both more classical ecology, as well as social-ecological and governance themes as well as the ability to link them into a whole systems approach that enable solutions and on the ground practice that is effective.

This Master's programme combining ecology, social ecological systems approaches and governance in relation to the management of systems is unique in the academic landscape at the current time and Leuphana is very well poised to provide it. The uniqueness of this profile should provide students with excellent opportunities in terms of job prospects.

Graduates who would like to continue their academic career are welcome to apply for our doctoral research group on Sustainability Science.

As a student of our Master's programme, you also have the opportunity to start your doctorate at an early stage via the Doctoral Track.

As a student in our programme, you have the opportunity to start your doctorate early via the Doctoral Track.

Thus, you to become part of the scientific community of our doctoral research groups at an early stage, giving you the unique opportunity to combine your Master's and doctoral studies and, with your doctorate in sight, to obtain your Master's degree en-route.

You can find all information about the admission and requirements, the application and the selection procedure on our "Admission and Requirements" page.
 

The study programme matches your interests? Then you will find further information for prospective international students on residence and social matters, such as visa, residence permit, health insurance or finding accommodation, on the following pages.

Please note that the information for incoming exchange students and international degree-seeking students differs slightly.

Information for incoming exchange students

Information for international degree-seeking students