The SDG Academy, Sunway University, and University College Dublin Announce Online Master's Programs in Sustainable Development
Our world faces multiple challenges, some new and many enduring, including pandemics, rising global temperatures, unemployment, and inequality. Are you keen to be part of crafting and implementing solutions to the big challenges of our times? If yes, join us for two new, exciting Online Master’s Programs that will help prepare you with the tools, skills, and knowledge to build a fulfilling and challenging career tackling the world’s biggest challenges.
The Programs
Interested applicants can choose to apply to either Sunway University or University College Dublin (UCD). Admissions are open now. The Online Master’s initiative is led by Professor Jeffrey Sachs (SDSN), Professor Paul Walsh (UCD), and Professor Wing Woo (Sunway University).
Sunway University offers a 12-month, full-time Master’s in Sustainable Development Management (MSDM) program that will equip students with the system-level thinking essential for achieving sustainable development (e.g. natural earth systems, socio-political stability); in-depth technical expertise in two fields of concentration (e.g. green urbanization, economic development); management skills (e.g. effective governance in public and private organizations); and research ability (e.g. geographic information system). The classes will be held at time slots convenient to students located in the geographical area from New Zealand to Turkey. Every class will be co-taught by Sunway faculty members and SDG Academy experts. All the interactive online teaching will be conducted inside a Sunway University classroom, so students can also choose to be in Kuala Lumpur to receive in-person teaching when possible. The program will consist of four 11-week terms. At the end of the third term, there will be an optional, week-long MSDM Study Fest held at Sunway University.
The UCD M.Sc. in Sustainable Development , in partnership with SDSN’s SDG Academy, offers cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary, and trans-disciplinary learning for the SDGs. Both UCD and SDSN have mandates to support the UN System through consultative status, and provide students with a unique experience in virtual classrooms with leading academics and global thought leaders. There are also opportunities for excellent placements and careers in sustainable development. The core elements of the Master’s require students to study the SDGs at the national level, city level, and through an SDG project. The program will include a wide range of electives to cover the SDG agenda, such as social justice, climate change, industrial economics, food systems, and public health. The Master’s is a one-year, full-time program, but can be taken part-time over two years or more.
Why Enroll
Academic Rigor that is Fully Online and Affordable
Both programs will offer rigorous, comprehensive curricula focusing on the pressing issues of our time (e.g. economic development and growth, hunger and food security, public health, education), taught by leading academics. The programs are fully online and use the power of technology to combine live teaching with self-paced materials. The programs are accessible from anywhere in the world, and give students the flexibility of learning from the safety of their homes without compromising on the quality of the academic experience. In addition, these two new Master’s programs are significantly more affordable than similar available programs.
A Network of Global Expertise and a Global Cohort of Students—at Your Fingertips
By collaborating with the SDG Academy and SDSN, both programs gain access to a carefully curated set of global leaders from the worlds of science, policy, academia, the United Nations, civil society, and business. These experts provide global perspectives, cutting-edge knowledge, real-life lessons, and real-time engagement through live webinars, in addition to pre-recorded lectures.
Learn with peers from around the world, representing a range of different backgrounds, geographies, and perspectives. The programs are designed to encourage peer learning and form a truly global cohort of students dedicated to achieving sustainable development.
Our Context
In 2015, all member nations of the United Nations adopted Agenda 2030 to mobilize the collective energies of the world to build a future where economic prosperity, planetary health, and the well-being of its people are assured. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) were set to achieve this bold vision.
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network(SDSN) was established to bring together the world’s academic and scientific institutions to support the SDGs. The SDG Academywas set up to create and curate online learning materials on the SDGs in partnership with leading global experts in sustainable development.
Sunway University in Malaysia is dedicated to promoting policy-oriented research, interdisciplinary education, and international partnerships to help achieve the SDGs. It is the only nonprofit university in Malaysia that is owned by an educational foundation (the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation). Sunway University is located on the rim of a rehabilitated tin mine that is now the hub of a smart digital city, which is putting green urbanization into practice through a network of elevated walkways with solar-paneled roofs, a rain-harvesting system for water self-sufficiency, urban farming ventures, and more. Sunway University hosts the new SDSN office in Kuala Lumpur, working with SDSN colleagues in NYC and Paris to coordinate the global reach of SDSN.
University College Dublin(UCD) in Ireland, the alma mater of James Joyce, was founded in 1854 and is today a research-intensive global university with purpose, drive, and ambition. The 2019 QS World University Rankings rate UCD as 1st in Ireland and 78th in the world for employability and reputation. University College Dublin has been ranked 34th in the world by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which assess universities against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In its new strategy, Rising to the Future 2020-24, UCD has committed to sustainable development as a strategic theme.
If you are interested in applying for either program, write to us at [email protected] for the Sunway University program, or [email protected] for the UCD program.
Click below to learn more about each program and its application procedures: