M.Sc. Major Environmental Humanities and Ethics in Interdisciplinary Contexts

The Master of Science in Environmental Humanities and Ethics in Interdisciplinary Contexts educates generalists in environmental sciences with key competences in environmental humanities and ethics, while taking into consideration the importance of interdisciplinary contexts. The program is based on an interfaculty and a humanistic approach. The main focus lies on the environmental humanities, with a special emphasis on ethical decision-making in environmental practice. In addition, the program offers an interdisciplinary setting and students can choose among three interdisciplinary contexts. Within these interdisciplinary settings, students achieve key competences in different fields of environmental sciences ranging from biology, geosciences to environmental economics and law while achieving a key focus on the environmental humanities.

• Structure of classes and lectures

  All course units of this program make true interdisciplinarity possible as they are followed in their faculties and departments of origin together with students from the respective fields. The program offers five modules and the master thesis:

  1. The environmental humanities module consists of courses in the fields of the environmental humanities and in ethics. Examples are courses in environmental ethics, methods of ethical decision-making and courses in environmental history and political ecology.
  2. The geosciences module deepens knowledge in methods and theory of earth sciences, as well as human and physical geography.
  3. The environmental biology module extends knowledge in ecology and biological evolution.
  4. The sustainable economy module provides the necessary background in economic thinking in the context of sustainability.
  5. The environmental law module focuses on public law at national, European and international levels.

  Finally, the master thesis is interdisciplinary, focusing on ethical or humanist aspects of environmental governance and practice

  The environmental humanities module aims at building in-depth competences in humanist approaches to environmental challenges while a special focus lies on ethics and ethical decision-making. The other four modules provide the necessary generalist background to understand the basic scientific, economic and legal aspects of environmental issues to be governed today. Depending on their prerequisites, students follow more advanced or more basic courses. The master thesis allows a specialization on the humanist or ethical aspects of the chosen field of research.

• Skills acquired and career opportunities

  Students of this Master program develop and strengthen their capacities of analytical thinking, precise reasoning and detecting the ethical implications of environmental practice. In addition, students acquire general scientific, economic and legal knowledge concerning environmental challenges of today and specialize in the context of their master thesis. Studying at the multi-lingual University of Fribourg allows students to gain language competences in French, German and English. However, most of the courses are taught in English.

  A Master in Environmental Humanities and Ethics in Interdisciplinary Contexts qualifies for further research in the fields of environmental sciences and humanities, especially applied ethics and philosophy. Job opportunities include the fields of environmental administration and public institutions (local, national, regional, and international), urban and regional planning, environmental consulting, sustainable development, and NGOs with a focus on the environment.

• Admission

  Acceptance to the Master programme in Environmental Humanities and Ethics in Interdisciplinary Contextsmay be granted provided the following two conditions have been met by the applicant:

  • Satisfying the University admission requirements as defined in the Règlement concernant l’admission à l’Université de Fribourg (https://www.unifr.ch/apps/legal/fr/document/274904),
  • The student possesses a Bachelor of Science from the University of Fribourg in Biology, in Geography, or in Earth Sciences. The same holds for students in possession of a Bachelor from the University of Fribourg in Anthropology, Economics, Law, Political Sciences, International Affairs, Theology or Philosophy or any other field in the humanities accompanied by a minor in Environmental Sciences and Humanities, Biology, Geography or Earth Sciences or an academic degree judged equivalent by the Faculty of Science and Medicine.

  For candidates with degrees that are not judged equivalent by the Faculty of Science and Medicine, the Commission for Students’ Requests will decide on eligibility.

  
  The respective conditions of admission for each Master's degree programme are reserved