M.Sc. Minor in Environmental Humanities and Ethics

The Master Minor in Environmental Humanities and Ethics specializes in environmental humanities and ethics. All modules consist of course units providing introductions and general overviews in the various fields of environmental ethics and governance with a humanist approach. The Master Minor study programme spans over four semesters, and corresponds to a minimum of 30 ECTS credits.

The Master Minor can be chosen as a secondary programme for Master students whose curriculum calls for a Minor during the course of their master studies. Students whose curriculum does not require a Minor during the Master, may follow the programme as an “additional studies” programme.

• Structure of classes and lectures

  The Master Minor study programme in Environmental Sciences and Humanities spans over four semesters, corresponding to a minimum of 30 ECTS credits.

  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 minor program is divided into two teaching blocks, a compulsory block and an elective block:

  1. The compulsory teaching block consists consisting of courses in environmental in ethics with a specific focus on decision-making and responsibility (15 ECTS).
  2. The elective teaching block consists of courses in enviormental humanities. Examples are courses in environmental ethics,  courses in environmental history and political ecology (15 ECTS).

  The compulsory teaching block aims at building in-depth competences in ethical approaches to environmental challenges while a special focus lies on decision-making and responsibility. The elective modules consisting of courses in environmental humanities provide complementary competences to those acquired in the compulsoy modules.

• Skills aquired and career opportunities

  The aim of the Master Minor in Environmental Humanities and Ethics is to complement knowledge acquired in the field of main studies with special competences in environmental ethics and governance, and especially ethical decision-making in practice. At the end of the programme, students will have shown that they understand the basic ethics, justice and some humanities underpinnings of environmental challenges, and they can apply their competences to practical problems. The completion of the Master Minor requires creative and self-critical talents as well as the ability to communicate ideas and work in English.

• Admission

  Acceptance to the Master Minor programme in Environmental Sciences and Humanities may be granted provided the following two conditions have been met by the applicant:

  • The student is registered for a master at the University of Fribourg and satisfies 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 degree from a Swiss University. It is recommended that the student has taken at least 30 ECTS in environmental sciences and/or environmental humanities during their Bachelor Studies.

  Candidates in possession of a Bachelor degree from abroad or of equivalent degrees (e.g. after graduating from an engineering school) can also be admitted to the Master Minor study programme by a decision of the Faculty of Science and Medicine to be made in each individual case.

  
  Students not holding one of the relevant titles of Bachelor, a Bachelor accompanied by a relevant minor or a title judged equivalent by the faculty must follow and successfully complete at least a complementary programme in all relevant fields to the Master Minor in order to be awarded the Master Minor in Environmental Sciences and Humanities. Relevant courses followed and successfully completed during former studies can be admitted if they are judged equivalent. Complementary courses must be completed in parallel to the Master Minor programme.