Education

What can you find on this webpage?

Our (future) students can find the official study programme and other useful info here.

You can find information about admission requirements, further studies and more practical info such as ECTS sheets, or a weekly timetable of the current academic year.

Are you a future student?

Be sure to first take a look at the page about the Master of Sustainable Development.

There you can find more info on:

- What’s the programme about?

- Starting profile

- Admission and application

- Future possibilities

- Why KU Leuven

- Contact

- ...

Objectives

GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR MASTER IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING AND SKILLS
1.  Be familiar with the broad interdisciplinary debate on sustainable development encompassing connected social, economic, natural and ecological realms. (G-LO1)
2.  Demonstrate skills and capacity to participate in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams. (G-LO2)

APPLICATION
3.  Be familiar with and have the ability to use appropriate scientific methodologies in terms of data gathering and analysis, as to gain and integrate a variety of knowledge. (G-LO3)
4.  Apply concepts and methodologies to examine concrete cases and contexts, such as specific rural and urban regions, cities, ecosystems, protected areas, forests, etc. (G-LO4)
5.  Show capacity to develop original recommendations for enhanced sustainable development and management in the realms of economic, social, environmental, international and intercultural governance. (G-LO5)

EDUCATIONAL AIMS: CRITICAL (SELF)-REFLECTION AND ABILITIES TO COMMUNICATE WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS AND BROADER PUBLICS
6.  Demonstrate a critical attitude in the exploration of the sustainability dimensions of policy, planning and economic strategies in interdisciplinary ways. (G- LO6-EA)
7.  Think critically regarding contemporary sustainability challenges produced by the interaction between human beings and the environment we inhabit and transform. (G-LO7-EA)
8.  Show familiarity with the specific rationale, codes of communication and language to exchange and discuss clearly with both specialist and non-specialist audiences. (G-LO8-EA)


SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE STeDe TRAJECTORY

KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING AND SKILLS
1.  Demonstrate insights in critical conditions (e.g. peace and political stability, respect for ownership and property rights, human and social capital) that provide a basis for developing and applying transformative planning and projects at the different territorial levels (local, regional, national and international). (S- STeDe -LO1)
2.  Demonstrate understanding of complex structures that influence (in positive or negative ways) sustainable development of a territory, such as resources, stakeholder networks, policy or entrepreneurial frameworks, power relations, intercultural understanding versus conflict. (S- STeDe -LO2)

APPLICATION
3.  Are able to handle complexity and formulate implications (e.g. mitigation, actions, organization, planning) acknowledging the territorial scale and/or multi-scalar approaches, and the opportunities as well as the limits and constraints of the specific territories and communities at stake. (S- STeDe -LO3)
4.  Can transfer/apply such knowledge and understanding, including analysis and problem solving abilities in unfamiliar contexts taking into account the profile and resources of a variety of stakeholders and environmental and socio-economic conditions from a multidisciplinary perspective. (S- STeDe -LO4)

EDUCATIONAL AIMS: CRITICAL (SELF)-REFLECTION AND ABILITIES TO COMMUNICATE WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS AND BROADER PUBLICS
5.  Can advise local communities, civil society organizations, ngos and/or policy departments and communicate with a variety of stakeholders with an ability to bridge across cultural differences and different disciplinary languages. (S- STeDe -LO5-EA)


SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES AND EDUCATIONAL AIMS FOR THE ICP TRAJECTORY

KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING AND SKILLS
1.  Acquire in depth theoretical and applied interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of socio-ecological systems and nature-culture interactions. (S-ICP-LO1)
2.  Have in depth knowledge of the meaning and role of governance, the ‘social’ and all types of collective action underpinning and intervening in the sustainable development. (S-ICP-LO2 S&S)
3.  Show understanding about the situation of the Global South, including critical awareness of sustainability obstacles and enablers, through multiscalar analysis, connecting scales from the local to the global. (S-ICP-LO3)
4.  Understanding of the political nature of the governance of the commons, including social and environmental justice consequences. (S-ICP-LO4 S&S)

APPLICATION
5.  Ability to recognize and analyze the complex mechanisms behind the loss of biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services, at both local and regional scales, and to propose and implement and assess mitigation measures. (S-ICP-LO5 Eco)

EDUCATIONAL AIMS: CRITICAL (SELF)-REFLECTION AND ABILITIES TO COMMUNICATE WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS AND BROADER PUBLICS
6.  Reach critical judgements in relation to major environmental controversies (regarding biodiversity, soils, water, food, waste, energy, disasters, climate change,…). (S-ICP-LO6)

MA IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Are able to reflect epistemologically on one’s own practice and to review one’s own knowledge on the basis of its internal scientific coherence and societal relevance from the point of view of sustainability and take responsibility for it. (G-LO9-EA)

 

THE STEDE TRAJECTORY

• Can attune proposals, recommendations and judgments to reflections on social and ethical responsibilities of stakeholders in the field as well as to local development levels. (S- STeDe -LO6-EA)

 

THE ICP TRAJECTORY

• Raise awareness regarding the importance of biodiversity in maintaining the crucial services that natural and semi-natural ecosystems provide to man and society. (S-ICP-LO7)

Educational quality of the study programme

Here you can find an overview of the results of the COBRA internal quality assurance method.

Educational quality at study programme level

Blueprint
Blauwdruk_MA_Sustainable Development.pdf

COBRA 2019-2023
COBRA-fiche_MA_Sustainable Development.pdf

Educational quality at university level

• Consult the documents on educational quality available at university level.

More information?

• More information on the educational quality at KU Leuven
• More information on the available documents