Centre for Alternative Technology

A Masters of Architecture from the University of East London, based at the Graduate School of the Environment at the Centre for Alternative Technology

This course is delivered at CAT’s Graduate School of the Environment based in the award-winning Wales Institute for Sustainable Education (WISE). Surrounded by mountains and forest, this location fosters a unique learning environment.

CAT’s 40 years of sustainable education experience has led to the development of courses that not only tackle environmental issues but are focused on sustainability at the core of every aspect of learning.

The M.Arch is aimed at the architecture student who understands that the world is in a time of transition and that building design plays an important role in environmental impact. Therefore there is great potential within the profession for environmental change and this is pivotal to the entire sustainability debate.... [-]

Masters in Environmental Science and Policy

A flexible Master’s degree designed to develop a rigorous understanding of transformational responses to climate change. Taught at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), which pioneered sustainability practice and theory in the UK, this is the first MSc course to properly integrate and the social, political, economic and practical aspects of living with environmental change.

This Master’s degree tackles these themes through a combination of academic study, discussion and hands-on practical work. We give our MSc students the knowledge, skills and experience needed to develop a career in the environmental sector and make an impact. The programme draws on our expert staff (https://gse.cat.org.uk/index.php/postgraduate-courses/msc-sustainability-and-adaptation/sa-staff-profiles) and a wide selection of academics and special guest lecturers; people who have made exceptional contributions to environmental thinking and action.... [-]

Masters in Environmental Building

Climate change poses two key challenges to modern architecture: how can buildings be made sustainable, and how can they be designed to take account of the effects of climate change? This masters degree faces these challenges through a unique combination of academic study with hands-on practical work, giving you the knowledge, skills and experience you need to develop an environmental career in the built environment sector.

The course uses the concepts of sustainability and adaptation transformation to frame an understanding of the built environment at the community and individual buildings level. Key building issues covered by the course include energy management and low energy design, sustainable materials, environmental performance assessment and energy provision. Students may further pursue interests in urban design, communities, ecology, water, ecological sanitation, politics and economics.... [-]

MSc Sustainability and Adaptation Planning

This is a masters degree focuses on the key strategic and leadership challenges brought about by climate change and broader environmental issues. From spatial master-planning to politics and economics, this MSc gets to the heart of the how the environment must be brought into decision-making. It is among the first such programmes in the UK to put adaptation transformation at the heart of the teaching.

Future environmental change and the effectiveness of solutions are both uncertain. We teach students to integrate risk assessment into decision-making. Theoretical concepts are reinforced with applied projects in landscape planning, design and case studies. The MSc course covers a variety of themes including land use, cities and communities, politics and economics, ecosystem function, water and waste management. Optional modules in the built environment, energy, sustainable materials and renewable technologies can also be taken.... [-]

A flexible Masters degree designed to develop a rigorous understanding of different energy technologies, exploring the subject through a combination of academic study, discussion and hands-on practical work.

Taught at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), which pioneered sustainability practice and theory in the UK, the MSc course examines renewable energy provision, increased energy efficiency and intelligent management of energy resources. These topics are explored within the context of the ecological, social and economic impacts and the policy drivers at international, national and local scales. Our MSc programme is taught either by distance learning or through residential blocks in one of the most innovative environmental buildings in the UK, or via a mixture of the two.... [-]

Masters in the Sustainability of Food and Natural Resources

Taught at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), which pioneered sustainability practice and theory in the UK, this is the first MSc course to properly integrate the social, political, economic and practical aspects of sustainable food and natural resources production. This Masters degree tackles these themes through a combination of academic study, discussion and hands-on practical work. Our MSc programme is taught either by distance learning or through residential blocks in one of the most innovative environmental buildings in the UK, or via a mixture of the two.... [-]