Looking for a sustainability career? UK’s top climate studies universities revealed
Britain’s higher education campuses have been ranked on the number of environmentally-driven courses, with one outright winner.
Based on analysis of undergraduate degrees in sustainability, the University of St Andrews topped the list with 29 courses, more than double the amount available at the next institution.
This was followed by the University of Warwick (13 sustainability-led courses), the University of the Highlands and Islands (9), University of Essex (9), and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (7).
The assessment also looked at postgraduate courses offered at universities. At this level, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David provided 13 individual sustainability courses. The University of Edinburgh ranked joint top, also with 13. This was followed by UCL (11), University of Exeter (10), University of Strathclyde (10), University of Leeds (9), and University of East London (8).
Universities with the highest number of sustainability undergraduate courses
| University | Number of undergraduate sustainability courses | |
| 1 | University of St Andrews | 29 |
| 2 | University of Warwick | 13 |
| 3 | University of the Highlands and Islands | 9 |
| University of Essex | 9 | |
| 4 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 7 |
| 5 | Falmouth University | 6 |
| Staffordshire University | 6 | |
| Queen Mary University of London | 6 |
Universities with the highest number of sustainability postgraduate courses
| University | Number of postgraduate sustainability courses | |
| 1 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 13 |
| The University of Edinburgh | 13 | |
| 2 | University College London | 11 |
| Abertay University | 11 | |
| 3 | University of Exeter | 10 |
| University of Strathclyde | 10 | |
| 4 | University of Leeds | 9 |
| 5 | University of East London | 8 |
Universities with the highest number of distance/online sustainability postgraduate courses
| University | Number of distance/online postgraduate sustainability courses | |
| 1 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 6 |
| 2 | The University of Edinburgh | 4 |
| 3 | SOAS University of London | 3 |
| Falmouth University | 3 | |
| 4 | University of Leeds | 2 |
| University of Manchester | 2 | |
| 5 | Robert Gordon University | 1 |
| Cranfield University | 1 | |
| Keele University | 1 | |
| University of Sussex | 1 | |
| Anglia Ruskin University | 1 | |
| Glasgow Caledonian University | 1 | |
| University of the Highlands and Islands | 1 | |
| Plymouth Marjon University | 1 | |
| University College of Estate Management | 1 | |
| University of Chester | 1 | |
| The University of Law | 1 | |
| Ulster University | 1 |
Universities with the highest number of part-time sustainability postgraduate courses
| University | Number of part-time postgraduate sustainability courses | |
| 1 | The University of Edinburgh | 5 |
| 2 | SOAS University of London | 3 |
| 3 | University of York | 2 |
| University of Oxford | 2 | |
| 4 | Cranfield University | 1 |
| University of Strathclyde | 1 | |
| Birkbeck, University of London | 1 | |
| London Metropolitan University | 1 | |
| Royal Agricultural University | 1 | |
| SRUC Scotland’s Rural College | 1 | |
| University of Derby | 1 | |
| Leeds Beckett University | 1 |
Compiled by Confused Energy, the rankings were based on The Complete University Guide’s data on sustainability courses offered at higher education level, excluding institutions without data on student numbers from HESA, or with less than 100 students on campus.
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