Description
Expand your knowledge and skills needed for effective, informed and creative environmental management. You’ll examine current local and global concerns in areas such as environmental protection, legislation and policy, and natural resource management. Develop your skills in analysing the issues and improving environmental performance in all sectors.
Planning your studies
There are no entry requirements for this qualification.
However, some option modules do have entry requirements. We’ll ask you to prove you meet them when you register for any of these modules:
Although this qualification has no entry requirements, we recommend you have:
Our free course, Succeeding in postgraduate study, helps you develop the skills and confidence to manage the requirements and demands of postgraduate study.
You’ll also need the skills and knowledge to:
- Write technical essays and reports at a high level.
- Carry out calculations using logarithms and the exponential function.
- Analyse numerical data.
- Understand and apply scientific principles in relation to chemical reactions, biological processes and energy conversion.
While Environmental monitoring and protection (T868) may not be the module you study first, the T868 diagnostic will help you assess if you’re ready for this qualification.
Career relevance and employability
Our environmental management programme is for people who are interested in designing, managing and participating in more effective environmental decision-making processes. For example, if you are involved in setting up or responding to environmental or integrated management systems, planning new development projects or are trying to understand or manage sustainability. Students are drawn from industry, commerce, local and national governments, consultancies, non-governmental organisations and communities. They include people already involved in environmental management and those who wish to be – both personally and professionally.
The professional route, where you take the MSc professional project as your final module, is particularly suitable if you want to develop your career in industry, commerce, the public sector or the third sector. The research route is more applicable if you intend to develop a career in research or go on to undertake study leading to a PhD or other research degree.
Whichever route you follow, this qualification will equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to work in this expanding sector.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).
Accredited by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA).
Both institutions offer student membership to those registered on the MSc in Environmental Management.
Modules
To gain this qualification, you need 180 credits as follows:
Stage 1 (120 credits)
60 credits from:
30 credits from:
Module |
Credits |
Next start |
- Environmental monitoring and protection (T868)
This engaging online module will equip you with information on monitoring, modelling, and preventive technologies for water, noise, air, and wastes pollution.
See full description
|
30 |
Nov 2024 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules T878 and TD866. |
30 credits from:
Module |
Credits |
Next start |
- Advance your independent learning (YXM830)
This innovative module allows you to take a topic of your choosing and focus on it in depth while developing your postgraduate study skills. See full description
|
30 |
Oct 2024 |
- Environmental science challenges (S831)
An opportunity to learn how to help address environmental problems whilst developing core skills directly relevant to employability and good citizenship. See full description
|
30 |
Sep 2024 |
- Making strategy through systems thinking in practice (TB871)
TB871 builds capability for making strategy within your own chosen area of (professional) practice using ideas and tools from five traditions of systems thinking.
See full description
|
30 |
May 2024 |
- Managing change with systems thinking in practice (TB872)
This module is about effecting systemic and systematic change in uncertain and complex situations, change that can transform situations for the better.
See full description
|
30 |
Nov 2024 |
- Project management (M815)
This APM accredited module is ideal for aspiring project managers and practising project managers who wish to develop their knowledge and skills of managing technological projects.
See full description
|
30 |
May 2024 |
- Technology innovation management (TB801)
This module examines innovation from a management perspective, enabling you to develop an understanding of how to contribute to the process and management of technological innovation.
See full description
|
30 |
May 2024 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules D837, S825, T848, T869, T878, T889, TU811, TU812, TD866, TU870 and TUXX870 |
Stage 2 (60 credits)
You’ll choose either:
- a research route
- a professional route
Research route
60 credits from:
Professional route
60 credits from:
Compulsory module |
Credits |
Next start |
- MSc project: researching in context (T803)
T803 is the capstone module of multiple masters qualifications, during which you’ll complete a small research project.
See full description
|
30 |
Nov 2024 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module T847. |
Plus, another 30 credits from the Stage 1 modules |
30 |
You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 60 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you. Note, in particular, you can only count the credit from one of the following modules towards a single qualification: Research project (T802) or MSc project: researching in context (T803).
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
If you have already completed some successful study at postgraduate level at another institution you may be able to transfer credit for this study and count it towards this Open University qualification. If you wish to apply to transfer credit you must do so as soon as possible as it may affect your choice of OU modules. If you are awarded credit for study completed elsewhere, you may find that you need to study fewer OU modules to complete your qualification with us.
Visit our Credit Transfer site for more information and details of how to apply for credit transfer.
On completion
On successfully completing this course, we’ll award you our Master of Science in Environmental Management. You’ll be entitled to use the letters MSc Env Mgmt (Open) after your name.
If your masters degree is awardable with a distinction or a merit, the qualification regulations explain how you can achieve these.
You’ll have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
How to register
If you want to study for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of
our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the
module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.
During the registration procedure you will be asked to declare which qualification you are studying towards.
See a full list of modules available for this qualification