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PG Certificate, PG Diploma and Master of Science in Climate Studies

Why Pursue an MSc Climate Studies?

Climate change is no longer a future risk for the Caribbean. It is a live, daily negotiation with rising seas, hotter growing seasons, and storms that arrive stronger and more often. The region needs professionals who can meet that reality with real technical depth, not just awareness. The MSc Climate Studies at UWI's Institute of International Relations was built for exactly that gap.

This is not a generic environmental science degree repackaged for the moment. It is a purpose-built, interdisciplinary programme grown out of extensive consultation with UWI faculty, students, and regional development agencies, and grounded in the University's institutional commitment to climate justice and reparatory development for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). You will study climate change as it actually behaves in the region: as a force that reshapes energy systems, food supply chains, coastlines, and the legal and economic frameworks meant to manage them.

If you want a qualification that positions you at the centre of the Caribbean's most urgent development conversation, and that gives you credentials employers, governments, and international partners already recognise as credible, this programme is where that starts.

What Does the Programme Offer?

The MSc Climate Studies is structured around a strong interdisciplinary core, then lets you specialise. Every student begins with foundational, interdisciplinary coursework covering climate science and modelling, climate change mitigation and adaptation, the political and economic dimensions of the climate crisis, and disaster risk communication, giving every graduate, regardless of background, a common and rigorous grounding in how climate change actually works.

From there, you build a concentration in one of four high-demand areas shaped directly by regional need: Energy(sustainable energy systems and energy economics), Food Security (climate-smart agriculture and food safety risk management), Climate Justice (energy transitions, energy investment law, and related legal frameworks), or Coastlines(coastal hazards, defence, and environmental management). Each strand is taught by faculty already active in that field across the UWI system.

The programme culminates in applied, real-world work: a research seminar, a practicum rooted in UWI's own "Living Lab" public education initiatives, and a capstone research and action project, so you graduate having produced something concrete, not just studied theory. Delivered largely online and flexibly across full-time and part-time tracks, with 34-40 credits at the MSc level, the programme also offers exit points at the Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate levels, so your investment of time converts into a recognised qualification at every stage.

Which Careers Can It Lead To?

Graduates leave equipped for the roles the region is actively creating as it confronts climate change head-on. Depending on your concentration, this includes:

  • Energy: renewable energy planner, energy policy analyst, sustainability officer for utilities or private-sector energy firms
  • Food Security: agricultural resilience specialist, food systems risk analyst, climate-smart agriculture advisor for ministries or regional agencies
  • Climate Justice: climate policy advisor, energy law and investment specialist, negotiator or technical support for loss-and-damage and climate finance processes
  • Coastlines: coastal zone manager, disaster risk reduction officer, environmental impact and hazard assessment specialist

Beyond these concentration-specific paths, graduates are prepared for roles as climate researchers, government and NGO advisors, multilateral and development-agency officers, and educators and communicators shaping how the region understands and responds to climate change. Because the programme trains you to work across disciplines rather than within a single narrow lane, you graduate able to sit credibly at tables spanning science, policy, law, and community practice, exactly where the Caribbean's climate decisions are actually being made.

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN CLIMATE STUDIES

PROGRAMME OUTLINE – PgCert in Climate Studies

The interdisciplinary Postgraduate Certificate in Climate Studies is a 13-credit programme consisting of four taught courses. Students may be admitted, subject to the demand for courses and staff availability, on full-time or part-time basis. Courses may be offered in each of the two semesters and/or in the summer again, subject to student demand and staff availability.

A full-time student would be required to do 13 credits of taught MSc courses across one Semester. Part-time students are not allowed to register more than 12 credits in a semester.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

GENERAL & CORE COURSES (13 CREDITS)

Semester 2 (January to May)

  • ENVT 6130: Climate Dynamics & Modelling (3 CREDITS) 
  • ENVT 6133: Climate Change Impacts: Mitigation & Adaptation (3 CREDITS) 
  • INRL 6102: Climate Change: Political & Economic Options (4 CREDITS)
  • DRMR 5004: Communication Planning & Media Relations for Disaster Risk Reduction (3 CREDITS)

 

POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN CLIMATE STUDIES

PROGRAMME OUTLINE – PgDip Climate Studies

The interdisciplinary Postgraduate Diploma in Climate Studies is a 24/25-credit programme consisting of six taught courses (4 core courses and 2 elective courses) and at least 3 seminar symposiums. Students may be admitted, subject to the demand for courses and staff availability, on full-time or part-time basis. Courses may be offered in each of the two semesters and/or in the summer again, subject to student demand and staff availability.

A full-time student would be required to do 24/25 credits of taught MSc courses across 2 Semesters. Part-time students are not allowed to register more than 12 credits in a semester.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

GENERAL & CORE COURSES (13 CREDITS)

Semester 2 (January to May)

  • ENVT 6130: Climate Dynamics & Modelling (3 CREDITS) 
  • ENVT 6133: Climate Change Impacts: Mitigation & Adaptation (3 CREDITS) 
  • INRL 6102: Climate Change: Political & Economic Options (4 CREDITS)
  • DRMR 5004: Communication Planning & Media Relations for Disaster Risk Reduction (3 CREDITS)

 

ELECTIVE TOWARD CONCENTRATION & SEMINAR SYMPOSIUMS (11-12 CREDITS)

Semester 1 (September to December)

  • Free Electives must be approved by Programme Coordinator (Addressing Mitigation and Adaptation)
  • You can choose free ELECTIVES TOWARD Concentration or
  • Choose ANY 2 electives from the listing for the General option, i.e. MSc Climate Studies

 

 

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CLIMATE STUDIES

(With concentrations in Energy, Food Security, Climate Justice and Coastlines)

PROGRAMME OUTLINE – MSc Climate Studies

The interdisciplinary MSc in Climate Studies is a 35/36-credit programme consisting of six taught courses (4 core courses and 2 elective courses) and 4 research, practicum and project based courses. Students may be admitted, subject to the demand for courses and staff availability, on full-time or part-time basis. Courses may be offered in each of the two semesters and/or in the summer again, subject to student demand and staff availability.

A full-time student would be required to do 35/36 credits to complete the MSc Climate Studies programme in the year inclusive of Practicum, Research Seminars and Research and Action courses in the Summer.

Part-time students are not allowed to register more than 12 credits in a semester. Consequently, part-time students will normally be expected to complete the programme in two (2) years.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

GENERAL & CORE COURSES (13 CREDITS)

Semester 2 (January to May)

  • ENVT 6130: Climate Dynamics & Modelling (3 CREDITS) 
  • ENVT 6133: Climate Change Impacts: Mitigation & Adaptation (3 CREDITS)
  • INRL 6102: Climate Change: Political & Economic Options (4 CREDITS)
  • DRMR 5004: Communication Planning & Media Relations for Disaster Risk Reduction (3 CREDITS)

 

RESEARCH, PRACTICUM, PROJECTS BASED COURSES (11 CREDITS)

Summer (Students in the MSc programme only)

  • CLMs 6000: UWI Living Lab Public Education Advocacy Authentic Practicum (4 CREDITS)
  • CLMS 6001: Advanced Research Seminar (Shadowing/Advanced Research) (4 CREDITS)
  • CLMS 6002: Research & Action (Action Research/Capstone) (3 CREDITS)

ELECTIVE TOWARD CONCENTRATION & SEMINAR SYMPOSIUMS (11-12 CREDITS)

Semester 1 (September to December)

  • Free Electives must be approved by Programme Coordinator (Addressing Mitigation and Adaptation)
  • You can choose free ELECTIVES TOWARD Specialisation or
  • Choose ANY 2 electives from the listing for the General option, i.e. MSc Climate Studies

 

  • Concentration Option (Based Upon Availability of Courses):

 

  • ENERGY

RENT 6002: Shaping Sustainable Energy Systems (3 CREDITS)

RENT 6001: Energy Economics (3 CREDITS)

 

  • FOOD SECURITY

AGRI 6503: Resilience & Food Security Risk Management (4 CREDITS)

AGRI 6504: Climate Smart Technologies for Food Security (4 CREDITS)

FOSQ 6004: Agri Food Safety and Risk Analysis (4 CREDITS)

 

  • CLIMATE JUSTICE

LAW 6613: Energy Transitions and International Energy Investments (6 CREDITS)

LAW 6611: Oil & Gas Law (6 CREDITS) OR AN APPROVED course from Law, Gender Studies

 

  • COASTLINES

CZEM 6100: Coastal Processes and Hazards (4 CREDITS)

CZEM 6130: Principles of Coastal Defence, Management and Environmental Assessment (4 CREDITS)

 

  • CLMS 6003: SEMINARS SYMPOSIUM - ALL students must participate in at least three (4 CREDITS)

Special Topics in:

  • Climate Studies-Health
  • Energy Climate & Food and Agriculture
  • Climate Justice
  • Climate & Gender,
  • Climate & Sustainable Development
  • Climate & Tourism, Climate & Sport
  • Coastal Defence
  • Options in a Changing Climate

 

Applications for admission should be made online at https://sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/ to the School for Graduate Studies and Research at St. Augustine. Late applicants are asked to consult the UWI Graduate Admissions webpage for information. It should be noted that the possession of the aforementioned entry requirements does not automatically entitle candidates to admission. The Admissions Committee may request an interview with applicants. Please review the UWI School for Graduate Studies and Research Entry Requirements listed on the Postgraduate Admissions page of the UWI St. Augustine Campus for general entry requirements for study at this campus.

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