Climate, Environmental and Urban Policy University of Cambridge

Overview

The MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy is a two-year, part-time master’s programme designed for senior, mid-career, and high-potential early-career professionals. It is delivered through a blend of online distance learning, e-learning through a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), and attendance at five residential blocks of intensive in-person study in Cambridge (eight weeks over two academic years). This format allows participants to continue in full-time work alongside their studies.

The Climate, Environmental and Urban Policy program from University of Cambridge aims to prepare leaders who can navigate and influence the profound societal shifts required for a sustainable future, enabling them to create informed, impactful strategies within governments, businesses, and civil society.

Drawing on concepts and expertise from multiple disciplines, the programme is designed to equip participants with a 360° strategic view of sustainability transitions, integrating scientific, regulatory, and economic dimensions. The course explores critical themes including climate change and energy, biodiversity and ecosystems, and sustainable transformations of urban systems, equipping students to analyse and address the complex, interconnected processes driving global change.

What does the course focus on?

At the core of the MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy is the concept of sustainability transformations, which is approached from a multidisciplinary perspective. The programme builds on over twenty years of graduate-level teaching in environmental policy and urban topics within the Department of Land Economy, and over nine years of delivering part-time professional education.

Participants develop the skills to analyse complex sustainability challenges using tools from complementary fields, including:

• economics and public policy
• law and governance
• urban planning
• complex systems

These areas form the programme’s core analytical lenses and are applied across international (e.g., changing geopolitics of energy, climate change negotiations), transnational (e.g., energy markets, carbon trading, contractual practices, innovation strategies), and domestic contexts (e.g., regulatory frameworks, macroeconomic implications of energy choices, urban planning). Participants graduate from the course with a strategic, 360° view of the forces shaping a sustainable future.

Who should consider this course?

The MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy is aimed at senior, mid-career, and high-potential early-career professionals who want to shape the policies and strategies driving the global sustainability transformation. The part-time, hybrid format allows students to continue their professional careers while studying.

It is suited, among others, to those working in:

• Government and public policy – developing and implementing strategies on climate change, environmental protection, and urban development.
• International organisations and NGOs – addressing cross-border environmental challenges, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable cities.
• Private sector and consultancy – advising on energy transitions, carbon markets, ESG strategies, and sustainable infrastructure.
• Urban planning and the built environment – designing resilient cities and sustainable urban systems.
• Law and governance – navigating environmental regulation, climate agreements, and complex governance frameworks.

Ideal candidates will bring professional experience and a desire to work at the intersection of policy and practice. Many will be looking to expand their expertise beyond their current specialism, ground and consolidate their experience, gain a multidisciplinary perspective, and develop the strategic insight needed to lead change in government, business, and civil society at local, national, and global levels.