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Undergraduate
Application code:FK84
Department of Geography and Environment

BSc Environment and Sustainable Development

Examine challenging issues around sustainable development and environmental protection. Study in a world-renowned geography department – rated top in the UK.
BSc Environment and Sustainable Development at LSE

Overview

Introduction

How can we reconcile economic development and environmental protection? Is globalisation bad for the environment? Why is it so difficult to address the challenges of sustainable development? These are just some of the tough questions you’ll tackle on this stimulating programme.

You’ll examine the nature, drivers and politics of sustainable and unsustainable development and look at the relationship between environmental change and human wellbeing and development. As you progress, you’ll develop the skills needed for environment and development policy and analysis.

Unlike many university courses, this programme explores these issues from a social sciences as well as a natural sciences perspective. Our teaching team brings together the world’s leading geographers and social scientists, so you’ll learn about environmental issues and sustainable development from many different viewpoints.

Across all years, you’ll have the flexibility to pursue your chosen interests and options. You can also take part in a field trip, usually overseas, in the second year.

Entry requirements

Here, you can check our entry requirements for GCSEs, A-levels (please read them alongside our information about subject combinations) and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. We also consider applications from students with a range of other UK qualifications and from overseas. Please select the overseas button below and choose your country from the dropdown list to find the equivalency to A-levels of your qualification.

Home

We welcome students from all walks of life at LSE. We want to recruit students with the very best academic merit, potential and motivation. So, whatever your background, please do apply. Get all the details on our general entry requirements.

Competition for places at LSE is high. We cannot guarantee you an offer of a place even if you’re predicted or achieve our standard entry requirements.

Our standard offer requirements are intended only as a guide and, in some cases, you’ll be asked for different grades.

Programme content

On this programme, you’ll study 12 units over three years, plus LSE100.

This degree covers natural science concepts on the Environmental Change: Past, Present and Future course. Other environment-related courses build on this understanding of the natural world from a social science perspective. These environment-related courses include some economic analysis, particularly the Applied Environmental Economics course.

Year 1

You’ll take two courses which deal with the natural environment and global issues relating to environmental change and sustainable development, and a course on contemporary geographical issues. The fourth course can be chosen from within or outside the department. Additionally, you’ll take LSE100.

Why study with us

Discover more about our students and department.

Meet the department

Our department is highly regarded both nationally and internationally – ranked second for Geography in the QS World University Rankings 2024.

Here at LSE, we offer a unique opportunity to study geography in a university with a worldwide reputation in the social sciences. We specialise in economic, urban and development geography, environmental social science and climate change, all with a strong emphasis on real-world applications.

Many of our academics are internationally renowned in their fields. You’ll find a good balance of experienced and younger academics in the department. Within the team, we’ve had three holders of the highly prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize Fellowships for researchers under the age of 36.

Our research is interdisciplinary and international in its scope and we work closely with academics from several other departments at LSE. Teaching staff are active within the following research centres:

Based in the heart of London opposite Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the department offers a lively, welcoming and supportive community for students and staff.
Learn more about our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD study opportunities, as well as our research.

Your application

Overview

We consider each application carefully, taking into account all the details you’ve included on your UCAS form, such as:

You may also have to provide evidence of your English proficiency, although this is not needed at the application stage. See our English language requirements page.

276
Applications
16
Intake
17:1
2022 Ratio

Fees and funding

The table of fees shows the latest tuition fees for all programmes.

You're charged a fee for each year of your programme. Your tuition fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students' Union. It doesn't cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.

Home

£9,250

Home student fee per each year of your programme

This is the 2025/26 tuition fee. The home student undergraduate fee may rise in line with inflation in subsequent years.

You should expect to pay a contribution of approximately £500 towards your fieldtrip if you choose the second year option course Field Methods in Geography. There are fieldtrip bursaries available from the department for students who can document financial need. An alternative field exercise will be undertaken by students who are unable to participate in the above one-week residential fieldtrip.

Learning and assessment

How you learn

Graduate destinations

Overview

Recent graduates have gone on to work in all areas of environmental policy and economics at the local, national and international level, whether in the public sector for government departments and agencies, in the private sector for industry and environmental/management consultancies, or in the NGO sector for pressure groups and think tanks. A number of recent graduates have also gone on to further study at graduate level.

Further information on graduate destinations for this programme

Median salary of our undergraduate students 15 months after graduating:

£32,000

Top 5 sectors our students work in:

Information, Digital Technology and Data
Government, Public Sector and Policy
Financial and Professional Services
FMCG, Manufacturing and Retail
Real Estate, Environment and Energy

Discover Uni

Every undergraduate programme of more than one year duration will have Discover Uni data. The data allows you to compare information about individual programmes at different higher education institutions.

Programmes offered by different institutions with similar names can vary quite significantly. We recommend researching the programmes you're interested in and taking into account the programme structure, teaching and assessment methods, and support services available.

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