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Become the future change agent with the new master Governance of Sustainability

For students who want to be an intermediary between scientific experts, policy makers and politicians in the domain of sustainability, the master programme Governance of Sustainabiliy might be just what they are looking for. Leiden University intends to start this new The Hague based programme in September 2019.

In the new master’s programme Governance of Sustainability, students obtain in-depth knowledge of both the governance perspective (social sciences) and natural sciences on sustainability. Director of Education Peter van Bodegom: ‘It is important that students learn how to integrate these perspectives in order to develop and improve the quality of governance solutions to major sustainability challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and the transition to a circular economy.’ 

Collaboration between two faculties

The programme is offered by two leading institutes at the forefront of the fields of sustainability and public administration respectively. The Institute of Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Science) is a center of excellence for strategic and quantitative research and education on sustainable use and governance of natural resources and biodiversity. The Institute of Public Administration (Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs) combines a solid international academic reputation with a central position among the international, national, regional, and local governance institutions of The Hague.

Education in The Hague

The Governance of Sustainability programme will be based at the campus The Hague. The Hague is the seat of the Dutch Government and is known worldwide as the international city of Peace and Justice. As such, it hosts a number of UN institutions, as well as a number of important international organisations. These conditions render The Hague the best location to study Governance of Sustainability.

Career prospects

The programme is designed for students who want to be an intermediary between the scientific experts, policy makers and politicians in the domain of sustainability. It prepares students for governance and strategic positions at (semi-) government institutions or private sector on sustainability issues and to take leading broker-roles connecting different actors. 

Need for future 'brokers' or 'change makers'

The programme conducted a survey with potential (inter)national employees. The vast majority of the respondents (93%) agreed with the statement: ‘To tackle issues of sustainability, we need academics who combine scientific knowledge with knowledge of governance, such as public-private cooperation, policy processes, political decision-making, stakeholder analysis and network management.’

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