Energy, Environment and Society - Master's Degree Programme

Climate change and biodiversity loss represent two of the greatest challenges of our time. They involve political, economic, developmental, security, social and ethical challenges, especially for the most vulnerable societies. This study program aims to provide the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for achieving sustainable development and a low-carbon society. The energy transition is at the heart of the study program.

Learning outcomes

All study programmes at the UiS have a set of defined learning targets. In this study program, we are learning for sustainability. It is expected that the students after completing the master will be able to actively work with sustainable development and the energy transition in different work environments.

Knowledge

Our goal is to provide students with broad knowledge about the main elements of the sustainability transition:

• Knowledge about the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and global challenges
• Advanced knowledge of transition theory and other theoretical perspectives on politics and policy changes
• Knowledge of energy carriers, energy technologies, energy challenges, and digitalization of energy systems
• Advanced knowledge of national and international energy politics and policy
• Advanced knowledge of the challenges associated with the low carbon transition, and how it affects societal structures as well as individual lives
• Advanced knowledge of strategies and actions necessary for a low carbon transition
• Knowledge of the relationships between energy, risk, security, and sustainable development
• Advanced knowledge of the geopolitics of energy and environmental policy
• Knowledge of energy markets, resource economics and innovation

Skills

The study program aims at developing the capacities needed for working with complex sustainability issues in different environments. Students will be able to:

• Critically assess different sources of information and to use them to structure and develop a scientific argument
• Apply theoretical approaches, formulate proposals, and recommendations
• Apply knowledge and methods in various energy and sustainability related fields
• Make effective oral and written presentations
• Work in teams
• Ability to work independently and conduct an independent research project
• Apply, communicate, and advance the understanding of issues related to sustainable energy

General competencies

In the study program, we aspire to promote competencies required to contribute to the strategies and solutions for a sustainable society. Students will be able to:

• Develop sustainability transition strategies
• Contribute to problem-solving, both in a practical and a theoretical sense
• Analyse and describe complex systems across different subject areas related to sustainability (e.g. regulation, economics, environment)
• Develop solutions to questions and challenges around sustainability, and to intervene in ongoing processes and systems
• Design and implement sustainability measures
• Facilitate cooperation towards sustainable solutions

Some of the above skills depend on which of the elective courses that are chosen.

Syllabus

Duration

2 years (4 semesters)

Number of study places

30 for local applicants 15 for international applicants

ECTS credits

120

Language of instruction

English

Start of studies

August every year

Career prospects

Demand for knowledge about the nexus between energy, environment, and sustainability is expected to increase sharply in the future. Employers like the public sector, think tanks, consultancies, the energy industry, and start-ups explore new ways of thinking and new ways of governance to enable social change together with low-carbon energy transitions. In an area as dynamically changing, this Master’s social science graduates are therefore an asset for the public and private sector. We are actively working with an expanding network of companies, institutions, the public sector, and alumni in Rogaland, Norway, and beyond.

Work placement

In the third semester, you can apply for the elective course ‘Work placement’. This course gives you the opportunity to do an internship in a company or organization related to sustainable development and/or the energy transition. Each year, we offer work places in businesses and organizations the UiS has an agreement with. You can also propose work placements, and these propositions will be evaluated according to pre-defined standards made by the department.

• This internship course is worth 30 credits
• The work placement increases your awareness of your role in relation to others in specific work environments
• The course will increase your capacity to perform new tasks in a dynamic surrounding; often this involves different and changing tasks
• You gain insight in how to analyse situations and make use of different theories, methods and skills to enhance wanted changes

See more information about work placements under "Study plan and courses".

Course assessment

The student evaluation in the program's courses is conducted according to the Faculty of Social Sciences' evaluation system. To ensure the study program’s quality and a good learning environment for student and lecturers, dialogues will be held early in each course all semesters. In addition, standardized course evaluation will be held every year. The evaluation of the study program and its courses is conducted according to UiS’ quality system.