University of St Andrews

"Sustainable Development" is a term that is very widely used internationally, nationally, and locally by academics, policy-makers, businesses, and NGOs, but what does it really mean? This course is designed to provide an introductory overview to underpinning ideas, such as social justice, human well-being, inter-generational equity, and environmental stewardship, which are embedded within notions of sustainable development as key areas of debate in defining and interpreting the concept. The course also provides an account of how sustainable development has emerged as such a powerful idea, and examines different disciplinary perspectives on what issues sustainable development should be trying to address, as well as exploring the value of an interdisciplinary approach in studying and facilitating sustainable development.

The Earth is unique in our solar-system by being both geologically active and hosting a myriad of life. This module introduces the study of Planet Earth, from planetary formation to the present-day processes that control our climate. The course covers topics including the dawn of the solar system, the dynamic nature of the solid Earth, and the surface processes that shape the planet. We introduce oceanography, atmospheric science and the cryosphere to understand how climate has and will continue to change with time. Fieldwork will be introduced as two half-day excursions and you will gain experience critically assessing scientific data, working in groups, and giving oral and written presentations.

This course examines the European Union (EU) from a variety of perspectives derived from major theories/concepts of international relations and comparative politics. It considers the EU as a key reference point in the foreign/security/defense policies of EU member states, as a major center of gravity in Europe's regional neighborhood, and as an important global actor. The course also considers the EU's relations with competing actors, particularly the U.S., NATO, Russia, and China, as well as its role as a model for other experiments in regional integration.

This course enables students to improve their creative prose writing skills, both fiction and creative non-fiction. The emphasis is on practice rather than text-based study. Students explore story structure, sense of place, character and point of view as well as techniques for approaching the personal essay. Through writing exercises and other written stimulus, the workshop element of the course will allow students to experiment with different forms and techniques as well as developing original ideas and material. Students also gain experience of evaluation and the ability to effectively critique the work of their peers. 

This course provides students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to critically evaluate how an ecosystem is managed, through rigorously adopting methods from ecological sciences to develop an understanding of ecosystem health and environmental change, and interdisciplinary approaches to explore the multiple dimensions and trade-offs emerging from human-environment interactions. Through a mixture of case studies and real-life examples, students consider the challenges of and solutions for maintaining and supporting healthy ecosystems.