Intro

Our Environmental Politics MRes examines environmental politics at the intersections of social justice and radical activism.

You’ll learn with researchers who are analysing key issues including climate emergency and its responses, environmental risk, water resource management, biodiversity and rewilding, nature-people conflict, extractivism and energy supply.

You’ll consider how environmental interventions and policies are designed, negotiated, disputed and implemented within government, the corporate sector and civil society.

Making full use of our specialist facilities you’ll work on a dedicated research project under the supervision of an academic member of staff who specialises in your area of research. You’ll be linked to our Centre for Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics, and our Centre for Aquatic Environments.

Studying in Brighton & Hove, you can make the most of our networks and expertise in a forward-thinking city of protest, diversity and politics, located next to the South Downs National Park.

Find out about postgraduate events

Key facts

Location Brighton: Moulsecoomb

Full-time 1 year
Part-time 2 years

Apply now for your place

Please review the entry requirements carefully and if you have any questions do get in touch with us.

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

Degree and experience
A 2:1 degree in a relevant subject. Students with a degree that does not fall within this category but who have significant relevant experience, will also be considered. All applicants should provide a full description of any research projects undertaken, relevant work experience and non-academic qualifications.

English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. Find out more about the other English qualifications that we accept.

International requirements and visas

International requirements by country
Country name
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma (Myanmar)
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

View our English language courses

For pre-sessional English preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For degree preparation courses.

Visas and immigration advice

Applying for a student visa

Check out our step-by-step guidance.

Course content

Course structure

The Environmental Politics MRes is typically completed full-time in one year, but can be taken part-time over two years. The course is structured to include a significant research component which you will undertake throughout the course. In addition, a series of supporting taught modules further enrich your learning.

To be awarded the MRes, you must obtain 180 M-level credits: 40 credits from taught and subject-specific modules and 140 credits through the completion of the research project.

In full-time mode the MRes programmes are one-year courses starting in September each year.

In the first term you will attend a series of seminars and workshops on developing your research proposal, academic writing and relevant research methodologies, culminating in submission of a full research proposal. You will also study on specialist taught courses. Throughout the rest of your year you will work on your specialist research project, whilst working with your peers in evaluating research papers and attending seminars.

In part-time mode the research project and evaluating research module will spread over the two-year study period, but you should complete you research training and project proposal within the first year.

Protestors with signs

Syllabus

The core MRes research project module is at the heart of the degree and equips you with a fundamental understanding of the research process across a wide and dynamic range of disciplines. 

Core modules

  • MRes Research Project
  • Evaluating Research in Geoscience, Environment and Society

Options*

  • Controversies in Science
  • Hydrology and Pollutant Transport
  • Independent Study
  • Environmental Impact Assessment
  • Case Studies in Environmental Assessment and Management
  • Policy and Implementation in Town Planning
  • Issues in Ecology and Conservation
  • Introduction to GIS
  • Contested Natures and Social Justice
  • Advanced Atmosphere, Weather and Climate
  • Water Quality Assessment and Management
  • Water Recycling Technology
  • Environmental Management in Organisations
  • Environmental Policy and Law
  • Sustainable Urbanism in Coastal Communities
  • Sustainable Construction 
  • Plant and Invertebrate Taxonomy
  • Applications in GIS
  • Applied Remote Sensing

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

 

Student working on Geographical Information Systems

Cuckmere Haven

Staff profiles

Dr Paul Gilchrist, Principal Lecturer in Human Geography

I am a human geographer and historian interested in the cultural politics of leisure environments. I examine the cultural and institutional mechanisms through which people engage with environments and how meanings and sensory experiences of environments are shaped by unequal power relations and contested social orderings. My teaching and research focuses on understanding forms of activism involved in claims to space; the negotiation and experience of power through embodiment and physical cultural activity in urban, mountainous and riverine environments; and the policy and planning agendas surrounding the provision of green, grey and blue spaces for recreation, wellbeing, community-making and convivial social relations.

I am interested in supervising postgraduate research students in the following areas: green infrastructure and post-COVID transitions; celebrity environmentalism and philanthropy; community supported agriculture and sustainable futures; access to nature and the politics of outdoor recreation.

Dr Paul Gilchrist

Dr Paul Gilchrist

Professor Rebecca Elmhirst, Professor of Human Geography

I am a human geographer and political ecologist with two decades of research and teaching experience on struggles over environmental governance, migration and social justice in the global South. I have an interest in exploring the relationships between society and the environment. My teaching focuses on the negative and socially uneven impacts of extractive environmental degradation, and on actions that challenge social and ecological injustice in different parts of the world. My work is informed by intersectional feminist theory, critical development studies and environmental advocacy-activism around resource extraction, with an empirical focus on the gendered ecological politics of displacement, resettlement and dispossession in forest and flood contexts in Indonesia and Thailand.

I am interested in supervising postgraduate research students in the following areas: feminist political ecology; social and environmental justice; climate and agrarian resource extractivism; decolonial thinking and critical approaches to sustainable development.

Professor Rebecca ElmhirstProfessor Rebecca Elmhirst

Dr Mary Gearey, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

I am a geographer concerned with understanding contemporary human-nature relationships, particularly with regards to emergent forms of water governance. I explore processes of global water utility privatisation and financialisation, political austerity policies, rapid urbanisation and climate change activism to understand evolving ‘hydro-social’ relationships between humans and their access to, and use of, planetary water. My teaching and research focuses on: understanding patterns of environmental citizenship and activism in support of sustainability; exploring how renaturing cities, through the use of blue-green infrastructure can improve ‘liveability’; interrogating contemporary human health and wellbeing experiences in wetland environments, to understand the relationship between landscape forms, identity formation and our connectivity with other ‘more than human’ species.

I am interested in supervising postgraduate research students in the following areas: community-led water resource governance; sustainable water futures; elder environmental activism; nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation; degrowth theory in relation to environmental citizenship.

Dr Mary GeareyDr Mary Gearey

Facilities

Our specialist facilities include:

  • geology, soil and water analysis labs 
  • public health and geochemical analysis labs 
  • air and water quality monitoring sites 
  • environmental hydraulics labs 
  • microscopy suite 
  • computer suite with GIS and remote-sensing software 
  • bench scale experimental treatment rigs
  • gamma spectroscopy 
  • carbon analysis
  • experimental river basin
  • flumes
  • terrestrial laser scanners
  • field survey equipment and drones 
  • atmospheric observatory.
Geography lab 360 image

Tap for a virtual tour of some of our facilities.

Careers

The course intends to maximise both your personal and professional potential, and in particular provides a foundation for careers in research, third sector organisations and environmental NGOs. The MRes provides a route to further study through a PhD.

On course completion, you will be equipped with practical research-based training, plus the necessary transferable skills to prepare you for career progression. 

No jobs protest sign

Fees and costs

Course fees

UK/EU (full-time) 9,250 GBP

International (full-time)17,900 GBP


Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

What's included

Here you’ll find details of specific resources and services that are included in the tuition fee for our geography, the Earth and environment students. To help you to budget for your studies, there is also information on any additional costs that you may have to pay or can choose to pay in addition to your tuition fee.

Find out how tuition fees enable us to support all of our students with important services, facilities and resources across the university and check out our finance pages for info about fees, funding and scholarships along with advice on international and island fee-paying status.

You can chat with our enquiries team if you have a question or need more information.

What’s included in your course fee

The following items are covered by your fee where they are required or relevant.

  • We want everyone to be able to take part in a residential field trip, so travel and accommodation costs are included for all mandatory taught residential field trips. You may need to budget for your own meals in some cases and depending on your preferences and the trip you could budget around £100 for this.
  • We provide protective clothing for the first-year residential trip, although you may want to bring a pair of wellies or walking shoes (£5–£10). In the second year, depending where you go, you may need a waterproof coat.
  • The cost of laboratory consumables and equipment for your final year project.
  • Access to specialist survey equipment and identification guides for field surveys (UG/PG).
  • Access to specialist computer suites that carry the latest software for spatial and statistical data analysis.
  • A licence for relevant software, for example ArcGIS for mapping and GIS, ENVI for geospatial image processing and the Petrel Seismic interpretation software.
  • Access to key subject journals databases – see the subject area in the library for an up-to-date list.
  • Essential instruction booklets (laboratory handbooks) are provided.
  • The cost of project poster printing if this applies to your course.
  • If you choose to take the undergraduate optional placement year you can get 20% of your Student Finance England maintenance loan whilst on that placement.

Additional course costs

  • You’ll need to budget for printing and stationery for personal study, and books if you decide to buy your own.
  • In most cases coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes which would involve an extra cost.
  • Many students choose to buy their own hardware, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices, but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
  • If you don’t already have one, you will also need a passport for your second-year residential trip.
  • Travel and accommodation costs are included for all mandatory taught residential field trips, but you may need to budget for food in some cases. Depending on your preferences and the trip you could budget around £100 for this.
  • Optional field trips may include additional costs, for example, for travel, food and drink. This will vary depending on how many you choose to take part in, where the trip is located and how long it lasts.
  • You may also want to buy appropriate outdoor clothing for fieldwork, for example walking boots, wellies and waterproofs.
  • If you choose to take an optional placement year you’ll be expected to cover your own travel, accommodation, food and drink.

Location and student life

Campus where this course is taught

Moulsecoomb campus

Two miles north of Brighton seafront, Moulsecoomb is our largest campus and student village. Moulsecoomb has been transformed by a recent development of our estate. On campus you'll find new Students' Union, events venue, and sports and fitness facilities, alongside the library and student centre.

Over 900 students live here in our halls, Moulsecoomb Place and the new Mithras halls – Brunswick, Goldstone, Hanover, Preston and Regency.

Moulsecoomb has easy access to buses and trains and to all the exciting things happening in our home city.

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Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of a place in halls of residence to all eligible students. So if you applied for halls by the deadline you are guaranteed a room in our halls of residence.

Brighton: Moulsecoomb

Halls of residence
We have self-catered halls on all our campuses, within minutes of your classes, and other options that are very nearby.

You can apply for any of our halls, but the options closest to your study location are:

  • Mithras Halls are stylish new high-rises in the heart of the student village at our revitalised Moulsecoomb campus with ensuite rooms for more than 800 students.
  • Varley Park is a popular dedicated halls site, offering a mix of rooms and bathroom options at different prices. It is around two miles from Moulsecoomb campus and four miles from the city centre, and is easy to get to by bus.

Want to live independently?
We can help – find out more about private renting.

Relaxing in halls

Modern accommodation at Moulsecoomb

Mithras halls room with a view

Relaxing in halls near the campus

Student Union social space

Student Union social space at Moulsecoomb

Local area

One of Time Out's 50 best cities in the world

“Brighton has… all the important parts of a sprawling cosmopolitan metropolis (connections to London in under an hour, an array of properly excellent restaurants, energetic late-night spots) … with the easy-breezy beachy attitude to life that makes you feel welcome in an instant.”
Time Out’s 50 Best Cities in the World, 2025

About Brighton

The city of Brighton & Hove is a forward-thinking place which leads the way in the arts, technology, sustainability and creativity. You'll find living here plays a key role in your learning experience.

Brighton is a leading centre for creative media technology, recently named the startup capital of the UK.

The city is home to a national 5G testbed and over 1,000 tech businesses. The digital sector is worth over £1bn a year to the local economy – as much as tourism.

All of our full-time undergraduate courses involve work-based learning - this could be through placements, live briefs and guest lectures. Many of these opportunities are provided by local businesses and organisations.

It's only 50 minutes by train from Brighton to central London and there are daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Map showing distance to London from Brighton
Brighton Beach sunset

Maps

Moulsecoomb campus map

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Support and wellbeing

Your course team

Your personal academic tutor, course leader and other tutors are all there to help you with your personal and academic progress. You'll also have a student support and guidance tutor (SSGT) who can help with everything from homesickness, managing stress or accommodation issues.

Your academic skills

Our Brighton Student Skills Hub gives you extra support and resources to develop the skills you'll need for university study, whatever your level of experience so far.

Your mental health and wellbeing

As well as being supported to succeed, we want you to feel good too. You'll be part of a community that builds you up, with lots of ways to connect with one another, as well having access to dedicated experts if you need them. Find out more about how we support your wellbeing.

Sport at Brighton

Sport Brighton

Sport Brighton brings together our sport and recreation services. As a Brighton student you'll have use of sport and fitness facilities across all our campuses and there are opportunities to play for fun, fitness or take part in serious competition. 

Find out more about Sport Brighton.

Sports scholarships

Our sports scholarship scheme is designed to help students develop their full sporting potential to train and compete at the highest level. We offer scholarships for elite athletes, elite disabled athletes and talented sports performers.

Find out more about sport scholarships.

Students playing frisbee

Stay in touch

Find out about postgraduate events

Ask a question about this course

If you have a question about this course, our enquiries team will be happy to help.

01273 644644

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