Environmental Humanities

Entry requirements

A 2.1 (or overseas equivalent) degree in any discipline with a strong essay component.

A 500-word personal statement which should include the following:

• An outline of your interest in an interdisciplinary MA in Environmental Humanities
• Specific modules or areas of study that you are interested in
• What skills and knowledge you would bring to the course
• What skills and knowledge you would hope to acquire on the programme
• An indication of an area you might like to research in your dissertation
• If your background is not in the humanities, please provide experience in essay writing and research

Months of entry

September

Course content

The MA in Environmental Humanities explores how research in the study of the humanities disciplines can be applied to make a difference and boost the effectiveness of our response to the ever-growing global environmental crisis.

The course takes up elements from modules in departments including Anthropology, English Studies, Geography, History, Modern Languages and Cultures, Philosophy, and Theology and Religion to provide you with a firm grounding for either carrying out further research at a higher level or making a game-changing contribution to tackling environmental and climate issues.

The course is centred around two core modules. Environmental Humanities: Frameworks and Debates introduces the relevant methodological approaches and explores the innovative ways in which the arts and humanities are able to join or challenge scientific and technological responses. The second module, Climate and Energy: Intensive Study gives you an overview of current climate science and the social, political and economic aspects of energy usage.

You can structure the remainder of your course around your areas of interest. This includes an interdisciplinary dissertation and further modules chosen from topics as varied as environmental philosophy, approaches to environmental history, cross-cultural understandings of nature, and religious understandings of living in a time of crisis, as well as the opportunity to take a language module.

Our intention is to serve the societies in which we all live by producing thoughtful, critical and engaged citizens who will contribute positively in a rapidly changing and complex world. We will provide you with the tools for analysis, interpretation and expression, tools to discuss and compare models of human life and its flourishing, and tools for imagining the future.

Course structure

All the MA programmes offered by the Faculty of Arts & Humanities consist of three components:

• a Major Research Project to the value of at least 60 credits
• Core Modules to the value of 0-90 credits, depending on the programme
• Elective Modules, making up the total number of credits to 180; some of these modules will be defined as Recommended Electives for particular programmes.

For students studying the MA in Environmental Humanities, the Interdisciplinary Dissertation (your Major Research Project, 60 credits)) is carried out on a substantial topic in any discipline or disciplines represented in your programme of study. You will choose the topic under expert guidance, bringing together theories and concepts from modules across the course.

You will also be required to take the following 30-credit core module:

Environmental Humanities: Frameworks and Debates introduces current, cutting-edge and emergent topics and debates within interdisciplinary research in the environmental humanities. It also enables you to understand how the histories of environmental degradation and climate change are interlinked with inequalities around gender, race and class.

• Finally, you will choose 90 credits of elective modules from across the Faculty of Arts & Humanities or beyond, so that your total number of credits adds up to exactly 180. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of your programme, some modules will be specifically recommended to you by your Programme Director.

Information for international students

If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

Fees and funding

For further information see the course listing.