Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science: Economy and Sustainability

Source: https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/study/environmental-studies-and-sustainability-science-economy-and-sustainability-MESS24 Parent: https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about-university/university-glance/mission-vision-and-values/sustainability/sustainability-education-lund-university

Course • Master's level • 7.5 credits

The Economy and Sustainability course briefly reviews economic theories and economic growth and analyses their environmental and social consequences, including environmental degradation, social welfare, and equity.

Application dates

Start

Spring 2026

Level

Master's

Language

English

Place of study

Lund

Course code

MESS24

Application dates

Overview

Overview

In this course, you develop competencies in critically assessing the implications of different economic paradigms for transformative change and weighing the trade-offs for each. During the course, students will:

Critically review and problematise the economics of growth, including the tensions between economic growth and environmental protection, and the policies and economic tools that address and potentially reconcile these tensions. Based on this understanding, the course then introduces different paradigmatic and critical perspectives in economics;
recognise and evaluate different approaches that aim to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, ecological footprints and carbon emissions and problematise different claims of decoupling in relation to welfare, equity and environmental degradation;
critically address the claims of alternative ideas for transforming the economic system(s) and practices, including ways to reconcile different societal needs with environment (for example post-growth, de-growth, responsible consumption and production).

The course applies a range of practical, qualitative, and quantitative research methods in both fieldwork and deskwork, including, but not limited to, observation, questionnaire interviews, cost-benefit analysis, and life-cycle analysis.

Syllabus (PDF, new tab)

Course literature

The course literature listed may be updated up to eight weeks before the course begins.

Course literature MESS24 (PDF, New tab)

Dates
Requirements and selection
Tuition fees

Dates

Not available as a stand-alone course

This course is only available as part of a programme.

Requirements and selection

Prerequisites

To be admitted to the course, the student must have fulfilled course requirements of at least 30 higher education credits in the programme. A good command of spoken and written English, equivalent to English 6/B (advanced) proficiency in the Swedish secondary system, is required. Equivalent assessments will be made according to national guidelines.

Selection criteria

Admission guaranteed

Tuition fees

Tuition fees for non-EU/EEA citizens

Citizens of countries outside:

The European Union (EU)
The European Economic Area (EEA) and
Switzerland

are required to pay tuition fees. You pay an instalment of the tuition fee in advance of each \ semester.

Tuition fees, payments and exemptions

Full programme/course tuition fee: SEK 16,875 \ First payment: SEK 16,875

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Note that you may also need to pay an application fee, or provide proof of exemption.

Application fee

No tuition fees for citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland

There are no tuition fees for citizens of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.

Overview

Critically review and problematise the economics of growth, including the tensions between economic growth and environmental protection, and the policies and economic tools that address and potentially reconcile these tensions. Based on this understanding, the course then introduces different paradigmatic and critical perspectives in economics;
recognise and evaluate different approaches that aim to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, ecological footprints and carbon emissions and problematise different claims of decoupling in relation to welfare, equity and environmental degradation;
critically address the claims of alternative ideas for transforming the economic system(s) and practices, including ways to reconcile different societal needs with environment (for example post-growth, de-growth, responsible consumption and production).

Syllabus (PDF, new tab)