MA Environmental Hazards and Risk

Our MA in Environmental Hazards and Risk takes a detailed look at a range of environmental hazards bringing devastation to many parts of the world, analysing the impact on society and studying how risks linked to events such as flooding, landslides, heatwaves and earthquakes, are managed.

Teaching physical and social science approaches, the course examines how society, as individuals, organisations and governments, makes decisions about defining and mitigating against environmental risk in order to address vulnerability and build resilience.

You will study for a year full-time or two years part-time, taking modules on areas that cover the concepts and techniques for researching risk and environmental hazards, the social dimensions of risk, and the latest skills and techniques involved in working with environmental data. There is also a module dedicated to current research in the fast-growing field of risk.

The course culminates in a dissertation which can be either an original independent study on a relevant subject of interest, or you can elect to complete a vocational dissertation that combines external work partnerships with independent research.

Thanks to our close links with the renowned Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience (IHRR) whose home is at the University, you will learn about current thinking and practice in environmental hazards from world-renowned experts in the field. The IHRR organises annual seminars bringing cutting-edge research and practice directly to our students.

The course is one of five masters programmes in the Department of Geography that, together, form a vibrant and active postgraduate community which consistently proves to be supportive and encouraging, both academically and socially.