Local Environmental Change and Sustainable Cities (specialisation of Environment and Society Studies)

Entry requirements

1. A completed academic Bachelor's degree
   In order to get admission to this Master's you will need a completed Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies, Spatial Planning, Human Geography, or another related discipline.
2. Proficiency in English
   In order to take part in this programme, you need to have fluency in both written and spoken English.This requirement has been satisfied when the student meets the conditions, listed on our website.
3. A background in research methodology
   Because of the academic nature of this programme, we require all our students to have basic training in research processes, e.g. research design and data analysis.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Cities around the world are dealing with environmental issues: air pollution, urban heat islands, stormwater flooding, the growing accumulation of solid waste. With growing problems comes a growing demand for professionals with an expertise in the development of sustainable cities. The Master’s specialisation in Local Environmental Change and Sustainable Cities focuses on the local level of sustainability transformations. You’ll be introduced to the latest scientific insights, which will be illustrated with numerous examples of how cities and regions all over the world tackle these problems.

Waste, energy, water, transportation

A broad scope of environmental issues will be addressed, as well as existing measures and instruments. Stormwater management, forms of renewable energy and green roofs are just a small sample of what you can expect to encounter. You’ll also, for example, discover that waste management goes far beyond recycling schemes and how cradle-to-grave products are making way for cradle-to-cradle. In addition, we’ll be dealing with citizens’ initiatives in renewable energy as well as new focus areas, like the possible environmental advantages of community food systems.

What will you learn?

• Gain a theoretical and practical understanding of current environmental issues that cities face
• Learn to understand scientific research and become the bridge between science and society, translating scientific insights into general knowledge
• Explore how individual behaviour as well as politics affects environmental policy
• Learn how to work with various stakeholders to make better environmental decisions

Career prospects

A large majority of graduates from this programme find a job within three months of graduation. Graduates can find work in a variety of positions at different institutions and organisations:

• Policy maker
• Environmental practitioner
• Researcher
• Consultant

If you have any questions, email us here: study-information@ru.nl

Learn more via the Radboud University contact form.

Information for international students

Application deadlines

Non-EU/EEA students

• The deadline for non-EU/EEA students who wish to apply for a scholarship is 31 January prior to the September intake. For the requirements and selection procedure for scholarships, please check our scholarship overview.
• The deadline for those not applying for a scholarship is 1 April for non-EU/EEA nationals for the September 2026 intake. You can apply for the September 2026 intake from 1 October 2025.

EU/EEA students

• The application deadline for EU/EEA students with housing assistance for the September 2026 intake is 1 May, and the deadline without housing assistance is 1 July. You can apply from 1 October onward for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The application deadlines for Master’s starting in February are 1 November for non-EU/EEA citizens and 1 December for EU/EEA citizens.

Fees and funding

Radboud University offers 3 different scholarships that are open to prospective Master's students from non-EU/EEA countries and who want to follow an English-taught Master's programme.

Radboud Scholarship Programme

The Radboud Scholarship Programme offers talented, highly motivated, non-EU/EEA students with outstanding study results the opportunity to be awarded a partial scholarship for an English-taught Master’s programme.

NL Scholarship (for prospective students)

The NL Scholarship (formerly known as Holland Scholarship) is a partial scholarship for non-EU/EEA students who want to do their Master’s in the Netherlands.

Fulbright-Radboud Scholarships

The Fulbright Commission, sponsored by Radboud University, is offering scholarships for talented American students to study at Radboud University.