Sustainable Business Leadership MSc

Program Overview

The Sustainable Business Leadership MSc program at the University of Leeds equips students with the knowledge and skills to lead effectively in the field of sustainability. Delivered entirely online, the program integrates sustainability and business, offering a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of a sustainable future. Graduates are well-positioned for careers in sustainability management, including roles such as sustainability managers, analysts, consultants, and ESG managers.

Program Outline

Sustainable Business Leadership MSc - University of Leeds

Degree Overview:

This MSc program is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills to become effective leaders in the field of sustainable business. It is one of the few programs that integrates sustainability and business, offering a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of a sustainable future.

Objectives:

• Develop a deep understanding of sustainability concepts, techniques, and analytical skills.
• Learn how to develop sustainable business strategies to transition to a more sustainable economy.
• Gain the ability to effectively lead on change strategies within organizations.
• Evaluate the risks and opportunities associated with sustainability.
• Make a positive contribution to sustainability and create a meaningful impact within organizations.

Outline:

The program is delivered entirely online and offers a flexible schedule of modules designed to be accessible to working professionals. It consists of nine taught modules and a research project.

Course Schedule:

• Duration: 24 months part-time
• Start Dates: March, May, and July
• Delivery Type: Online exclusive

Modules:

Compulsory Modules:

• Policy, Governance and Sustainability (15 credits): This module explores the governance of human-environmental interactions, emphasizing the need for sustainability-related policy and governance.
It covers the origins and evolution of environmental policy and governance, state and market-led approaches, and international, regional, national, and local perspectives.
• Contemporary Economics (15 credits): This module provides an understanding of core economic concepts and terminology, allowing students to critically analyze established economic concepts and assess contemporary approaches that integrate economic activity and the environment.
It includes examples like doughnut economics, steady-state, and circular economics.
• Sustainability and Business (15 credits): This module examines the relationship between organizations and sustainability, exploring the origins and evolution of sustainability.
Students gain skills and knowledge to critically analyze the business case for sustainability. It covers leadership models, the change management process, and critical factors for leading change strategies.
• Sustainable Business Strategies (15 credits): This module explores the intersection of strategic management and sustainability strategies, examining the importance of sustainability-related business strategies and how to incorporate sustainability into an organization's strategy.
• Decision Making in a Complex World (15 credits): This module focuses on decision-making processes in complex contexts with competing demands.
Students learn to recognize judgmental errors and decision biases, and develop strategies for improving decision-making, risk communication, and negotiation skills.
• Enterprise, Innovation and Sustainability (15 credits): This module explores entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation within the context of sustainable development.
It examines debates around entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, key theoretical perspectives, frameworks, and models.
• Delivering Sustainable Solutions (15 credits): This module provides insights into tools and frameworks related to sustainable operations and supply chains, examining factors promoting and impeding sustainable operations and supply chains
  etworks.
• Business Analytics (15 credits): This module introduces business analytics and the application of key elements within the analytical process, with a special emphasis on common areas of application in sustainability.

Sustainability Leadership Research Project (45 credits):

This project allows students to conduct an in-depth and critical investigation of an issue(s) related to business and sustainability.

• Individual and group projects
• Assignments to build real-world experience
• Live and pre-recorded student presentations
• Literature reviews
• Reflective logs
• Essays/Written reports
• Multiple choice exams for formative learning feedback (no more than 5% of summative assessment of the taught modules)

Teaching:

• Online Delivery: The program is delivered entirely online, allowing students to manage their learning around their busy personal and professional lives.
• Minerva Platform: Learning is delivered through the University's award-winning virtual learning environment, Minerva, accessible on various devices.
• Live Sessions: Weekly live face-to-face sessions with module tutors are conducted using a mixture of structured and open-ended learning techniques.
• Faculty: Students are taught by expert academics, including lecturers, professors, industry professionals with years of experience, and trained postgraduate researchers.

Careers:

• Sustainability Management Careers: Graduates are well-placed to enter a range of sustainability careers, including:
• Sustainability/ESG Managers
• Sustainability Analysts
• Sustainability Project Managers
• Sustainability Compliance Managers
• Sustainability Marketing Managers
• Sustainability Consultants
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Managers
• Net Zero Consultants
• Employability Support: The program provides a range of support to help students develop their career prospects, including:
• Career and employability events
• Alumni focused events
• Career networking opportunities
• Online professional development webinars and guest lectures
• Access to the University of Leeds Careers Service resources

Other:

• The Sustainability Research Institute: The School of Earth and Environment houses the Sustainability Research Institute, which explores a range of research areas, including climate change, energy, transport, water, resource use, land use, conservation, cities and communities, business, and lifestyles.
• Research Collaborations: The School of Earth and Environment has strong links with the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) to carry out interdisciplinary research into sustainable future energy systems.
• Industry Partnerships: The program benefits from links with various industry partners worldwide, providing students with a strong combination of higher education and careers support.

The following fees apply to those starting their course between July 2023 and August 2024. UK/EU and International: £17,500 nine taught modules (15 credits each): £1,650 per module project module fee (45 credits): £2,650