Environmental Policy (ENP)
The aim of the research and education programme of the Environmental Policy group (ENP) is to contribute to sustainable development by developing the theoretical and empirical tools to analyze, evaluate and (help) design democratic processes of environmental reform from the local up to the global level.
More about this thesis track
Analysing and designing (new) arrangements for environmental governance and management is at the center of the research program of the Environmental Policy group which is built around three core themes:
- Sustainable Consumption and Production;
- Sustainable Natural Resource Use;
- Global Environmental Change.
When analysing and designing (new) arrangements, we draw especially on sociology and on political sciences. Being social scientific in nature, the research program contains many projects that are conducted on a multidisciplinary basis, making use of the high quality technical and natural science expertise available in the WUR-environment of the Environmental Policy Group.
The aim of an Environmental Policy (ENP) thesis within the Environmental Policy programme is to gain academic skills in analysing and evaluating environmental policy and governance in one of the broader areas of production and consumption; nature and natural resources management and global environmental change. Subjects proposed by students themselves are very much appreciated.
The research program looks for answers on the following questions:
- What are the basic characteristics of environmental science and technology and what can be concluded with respect to their roles in bringing about transitions towards more sustainable use of natural resources or more sustainable patterns of production and consumption?
- In what ways can environmental guidelines for nature conservation and production and consumption become institutionalized in the (international) policy networks?
- How can governance and policy-making for sustainable development be evaluated, adapted and transformed in order to meet the requirements of globalization?
- In what ways do social groups - i.e. groups of citizen-consumers or environmental NGO's - (fail to) confront the environmental and health risks implied in modern life? What policy arrangements are most suitable to help adopting an environmental perspective within everyday life?
Students can learn more about the education and research related to this discipline by visiting the website of the Environmental Policy group.
Courses
The following courses are part of the MSc programme Environmental Sciences when selecting the thesis track Environmental Policy. Next to these thesis specific courses, you will follow courses from the common part and electives as summarized in the programme outline. For more information visit the study handbook or contact the study adviser.
| Subject | Code |
|---|---|
| Compulsory | |
| MSc Internship Environmental Policy | ENP70224 |
| MSc Thesis Environmental Policy | ENP80436 |
| Compulsory unless your study advisor advises otherwise: | |
| Environmental Policy: Analysis and Evaluation | ENP34306 |
| Interviews and Questionnaires | YRM31306 |
| Restricted optional: select at least two from this cluster: | |
| International Environmental Policy | ENP30306 |
| Sustainable Technology in Society | ENP36506 |
| Environment and Development | ENP33306 |
| Advanced International Environmental Politics and Diplomacy | ENP39306 |
In order to prepare well for your thesis track, you can additionally choose supporting courses. These courses focus, for example, on quantitative and data sciences or laboratory skills. You can find the exact list in the study handbook at the section “Restricted Optionals (2) in Common part”.
This course overview is based on the Wageningen University study handbook, where you can find a more detailed course and programme description. The study handbook is guiding in case of any discrepancy.
Below you can see how your schedule might look like for your whole study programme:
