Sustainability in Transport MSc
The following modules are available in 2023/24 for Sustainability in Transport MSc and are examples of the modules you are likely to study. All Modules are subject to change. You will study 180 credits in total.
Compulsory modules
Environmental Science and Sustainability for Transport - 15 credits
This module equips environment and sustainability students with the knowledge and skills required for specialising in these fields and influencing decision making in transport towards environmentally and socially sustainable solutions.
Shaping Future Transport Systems - 15 credits
The Shaping Transport Futures module provides students with an understanding of the fundamental relationships involved in transport systems, their interactions with other sectors, and future opportunities and challenges. It provides understanding of the case for interventions in managing transport systems. Students will be able to understand and contrast international approaches to transport planning and management and develop appreciation of the contribution of different roles in the delivery of transport sector implementations. Finally, students will be equipped with the fundamental techniques necessary to work in inter-disciplinary teams, which will prepare them for the Transport Integrated Project module delivered in the following semester.
Transport Data Collection and Analysis - 15 credits
This module provides fundamentals of data collection and analysis in the context of transport. It addresses the loop covering research questions, data requirements, data collection/generation, data analysis, and interpretation.
Transport Dissertation - 60 credits
The Transport Dissertation module gives you the opportunity to develop and apply research and/or design skills in a specialist topic within the transport discipline. You’ll develop an in-depth knowledge of your chosen subject area and demonstrate your findings in a 15,000-word report.
Transport Integrated Project - 15 credits
This module will be run in the second semester and aims to enhance a range of personal and professional related skills by placing students in a multi-disciplinary project group and asking them to undertake a specific transport project as suggested by a client (an external organisation or ITS).
Optional modules include:
Environmental Economics and Policy - 15 credits
The module introduces the micro-economic approach to environmental issues, which conceptualises environmental problems as market failures leading to a loss of social welfare and environmental policies as interventions that seek to restore optimal allocation of resources. The module provides an overview of the key areas of environmental economics and helps students develop an ability to interpret, analyse and assess in economic terms environmental issues and policies that they will encounter as part of their studies and careers.
Critical Perspectives in Environment and Development - 15 credits
The purpose of this module is for students to obtain a well-grounded understanding of the key theoretical, conceptual and practical debates and issues within the environment-development field. Theoretically, political ecology is used as a starting point in part 1 of the module to push critical and reflective thinking about mainstream ideas of environmental change and development. In part 2 of the module, key concepts and topical issues in the environment-development field are explored. Conceptual focus is given to the issues of biodiversity, land degradation and desertification, with practical examples drawn from a variety of fields including conservation, agriculture, forestry and water management. The module draws significantly on the international research expertise of staff in the Sustainability Research Institute.
Climate Change: Impacts and Adaptation - 15 credits
This module gives an overview of climate change impact assessment and predictions, and key concerns and strategies of adaptation to climate change. It covers climate impact causation, impact assessment methods, sectoral and regional climate change impact predictions, environmental risks and hazards, adaptation strategies, governance and policy for adaptation, and economics and delivery of adaptation. The course lays down the foundation for literacy in scholarship on climate change impacts and adaptation, which is essential for academics as well as practitioners, policy makers at all levels.
Climate Change Mitigation - 15 credits
This module outlines the relative significance of main sources of greenhouse gases and the potential technologies and strategies for reducing them. Students will gain an understanding of the key challenges for controlling the emissions of greenhouse gases from different sources. The module is divided into two overarching themes. The first theme provides an understanding of the mitigation options in different sectors including the energy, transport, housing and the agricultural sector. The second theme explores how the transition to a low carbon economy could happen through the use of different scenarios and pathways and policy options.
Tools and Techniques in Ecological Economics - 15 credits
This module aims to develop research skills to enable students to carry out quantitative research projects, which integrate environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. Through lectures, seminars and computer exercises, the module will familiarise students with some of the most extensively used methods and research frameworks for the analysis of coupled socio-economic and environmental systems. The content of this module is relevant to some of the most innovative and cutting edge research in ecological economics, effectively paving the way towards a systematic understanding of sustainability. This module will cover both top-down macro-economic approaches and bottom-up social and technical approaches, providing students with a broad foundation for their future work and research.
Sustainable Spatial Planning and Analysis - 15 credits
This module will make students aware of the key aspects of integrated transport and land-use planning which contribute to more sustainable outcomes. Transport is an inherently spatial phenomenon, which cannot be divorced from considerations of urban form, spatial planning, social processes and people. The module delivers this understanding by developing beyond basic generic GIS skills and applies leading edge techniques in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and spatial analysis which can be deployed to explore contemporary planning problems, alongside theoretical considerations.
More information for this course is available in the course catalogue.