The world is waking up to environmental change. It is no longer a distant problem, but a force shaping our society Climate change will see hundreds of millions more people in poverty by 2050, it is exacerbating inequalities between rich and poor, male and female, global North and South.
Challenging these climatic injustices will be a key global challenge in the coming decades. Our new Environment and Social Change BSc will equip students to understand these challenges to bring about real world change.
The new Environment and Social Change degree from Royal Holloway is a unique collaboration between the departments of Geography and Psychology. This new degree provides students with an in-depth understanding of climate-related issues and an applied social psychological toolkit to address them. We’ll teach students why we disagree about climate change: the politics, the theory, and the practice. And we’ll show how to build mutual understanding between individuals, activist groups, NGOs, corporations and politicians. Because a change in the society starts with a single individual.
We will be recruiting for this degree this year for 2022 start.
The New Degree
The new BSc Environment and Social Change degree provides students with the knowledge and skills to address the global challenges of the 21st century, such as climate change, food/water security, sustainable urbanisation, and health inequality. The nature of these challenges means that the degree is multidisciplinary, bringing in modules from departments across the School of Life Sciences and Environment, with opportunities for electives from other Schools. A key aspect of the degree is developing student skills in evaluating and communicating material from different disciplines.
Aiming to equip students with the skills to bring about change, the degree includes a Social Change Toolkit in year 2, and a final year research project where students identify an environmental issue and then develop a research project to explore potential solutions. Rather than a standard dissertation format, students’ final assessment will centre on producing outputs to communicate to different audiences: in essence, the goal of the degree is to shape the environment for the better.
The BSc Environment and Social Change degree is therefore aimed at students who are passionate about understanding the world around us and bringing about change. Students who do not have a science background are welcome, and we will provide appropriate support in Year 1 if required to improve students’ quantitative data skills.
If you are passionate about understanding and halting the climate crisis, this degree will equip you with the full set of skills necessary to shape the change you want to see, both for the planet and the people who live there.
To find out more about the new degree, click here.
