Environmental Policy
In this thesis track, offered by the Environmental Policy Group (ENP), you contribute to sustainable development by developing the theoretical and empirical tools to analyse, evaluate and (help) design democratic processes of environmental reform from the local up to the global level.
More about the thesis track
Analysing and designing (new) arrangements for urban environmental governance and management is at the center of the thesis track Environmental Policy which is built around three core themes:
- Sustainable Consumption and Production
- Sustainable Natural Resource Use
- Global Environmental Change
The aim of the thesis is to gain academic skills in analysing and evaluating urban environmental governance in one or more of the following aspects:
- Industrial development and environmental management in industry;
- Infrastructure management and innovation (related to drinking water, waste water, energy, transport or solid waste),
- Sustainable building and living
- Governance for sustainable cities and city networks
In addition to the listed themes, thesis subjects proposed by students themselves are very much appreciated.
Expertise
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 Environmental Policy Group.
Challenges
The thesis track Environmental Policy of the programme Urban Environmental Management looks for answers to the following questions:
- What are the basic characteristics of environmental science and urban technology and what can be concluded with respect to their roles in bringing about transitions towards more sustainable cities and patterns of production and consumption?
- In what ways can environmental guidelines for urban production and consumption become institutionalised in the (international) policy networks?
- How can urban 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.
The following courses are part of the programme Urban Environmental Management when selecting the thesis track Environmental Policy. The listed courses include the compulsory and restricted optional subjects specific for this thesis track and those that belong to the common part of the programme. Also, there is room for optional subjects which you may use to broaden your scope or to deepen your specialisation. For more information visit the study handbook or contact the study adviser.
| Subject | Code | Period* | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory subject unless advised otherwise | |||
| Principles of Urban Environmental Management | ETE-22806 | 1 AF | M1 |
| Research Methods in Environmental Science | YRM-20306 | 1, 2 MO | M1 |
| Academic Master Cluster (AMC): select one out of these two courses** | |||
| European Workshop Environmental Sciences and Management | ESA-60312 | 6 WD | M1 |
| Academic Consultancy Training and Modular Skills Training (MOS) | YMC-60809 / YMC-60303 | 1WD, 2WD, 3WD+4WD, 5WD,6WD | M1 |
| Urban courses: select (at least) one | |||
| Planning for Urban Quality of Life | LUP-23806 | 2 AF | M1 |
| Managing Urban Environmental Infrastructure | ETE-32806 | 5 MO | M1 |
| Planning and Design of Urban Space | ETE-33806 | 5 AF | M1 |
| Subject | Code | Period | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted optional: select (at least) two | |||
| Environmental Management and Industry | ENP-20806 | 1 MO | M1 |
| Sustainable Technology Development and Sustainable Technology Development: Design Assignment | ENP-37803+ ENP-38303 | 4 WD | M1 |
| Advanced Environmental Economics and Policy | ENP-32306 | 5 AF | M1 |
| Compulsory | |||
| Governance for Sustainable Cities | ENP-36806 | 3 WD | M1 |
| MSc Thesis Environmental Policy | ENP-80436 | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | M2 |
| MSc Internship Environmental Policy | ENP-70424 | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | M2 |
| *MO = morning; AF = afternoon; WD = whole day | |||
| **The restricted optional subjects have to be selected in consultation with the study adviser. | |||
| This course overview is based on the Wageningen University study handbook. The study handbook is guiding in case of any discrepancy. |
Below you can see how your schedule may look like:
Download the Environmental Policy thesis track PDF