Studying B.Sc. Global Environmental and Sustainability Studies

The Global Environmental and Sustainability Studies major is embedded in the Leuphana Bachelor with Leuphana Semester, minor and Complementary Studies.

The Leuphana Semester is the chance for an in-depth and fundamental engagement with science and academic methods. You hone your critical thinking skills so that you are able to question the familiar, learning how to select the right approach for systematic investigation and knowledge acquisition, and how to deal responsibly with scientific and academic findings. The course also provides an introduction to International Business Administration and Entrepreneurship: you will learn about the basics of natural and social sciences. Exploring the principles of academic analysis, writing and research in general and the introduction to the major are the basis of the interdisciplinary International Business Administration and Entrepreneurship Bachelor programme.

The minor supplements the Global Environmental and Sustainability Studies major. The choice is yours. With the Minor in Spatial Sciences you complete your environmental science knowledge. Other minors enable you to obtain an interdisciplinary qualification. The choice is yours.

Complementary Studies is your chance to satisfy your thirst for knowledge by discovering a new field each semester, for example business psychology, gender roles and spatial structures, Islamic law and design thinking. By moving beyond the boundaries of your own discipline and engaging with others, you develop an understanding of the diversity of academic and scientific cultures and acquire interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary skills.

The Leuphana Bachelor enables the combination of different interests through major and minor. With the minor choice you can move within traditional disciplines or give your Bachelor an individual profile. You can also choose a minor that is not listed in the overview.

Language of instruction

ENG Eng­lish-lan­gua­ge sub­ject: no Ger­man re­qui­red
GER Ger­man-lan­gua­ge sub­ject: Ger­man re­qui­red
GER / ENG Ger­man-lan­gua­ge sub­ject can also be ta­ken in Eng­lish

The Eng­lish-lan­gua­ge Ba­che­lor pro­gram­me Glo­bal En­vi­ron­men­tal and Sustaina­bi­li­ty Stu­dies has an in­ter­na­tio­nal and in­ter­di­sci­pli­na­ry fo­cus.

Fol­lo­wing the Leu­pha­na Se­mes­ter the se­cond and third se­mes­ter are cen­te­red around ac­qui­ring a general knowledge basis of the sub­ject and methodological approaches of the natural and social sciences; such as mathematics, statistics, ecology, environmental chemistry, sustainability communication as well as sustainability management and sustainability governance.

Af­ter the core cur­ri­cu­lum you can build individual focus areas and develop your personal profile by selec­ting a total of 3 modules from a broad spec­trum of elec­tives in the fourth and fifth semester - from both the so­ci­al and/or the na­tu­ral sci­en­ces. Ad­di­tio­nal­ly, the choice of your mi­nor will enable you to fur­ther spe­cia­li­ze your per­so­nal pro­fi­le.

Sustaina­bi­li­ty re­se­arch pro­jects in the fourth semester form a core part of the cur­ri­cu­lum. In the­se inter- and transdisciplinary projects you will work with international partners in the field and with students from partner universities to develop concepts for real social concerns surrounding sustainable development in an intercultural setting.

In the fifth se­mes­ter you will be in­tro­du­ced to the ethi­cal gui­de­li­nes of en­vi­ron­men­tal and sustaina­bi­li­ty sci­en­ces. In the sixth se­mes­ter you will dis­cuss a con­cre­te interdisciplinary re­se­arch ques­ti­on from the field of en­vi­ron­men­tal and sustaina­bi­li­ty sci­en­ces and write your Bachelor dissertation.

Your Eng­lish-lan­gua­ge Ba­che­lor dis­ser­ta­ti­on a to­pic of your choo­sing is the fi­nal cor­ners­to­ne of your de­gree. The time al­lo­ca­ted for the wri­ting of your Ba­che­lor dis­ser­ta­ti­on is 9 weeks.

With the com­ple­ti­on of your de­gree Glo­bal En­vi­ron­men­tal and Sustaina­bi­li­ty Stu­dies you are awar­ded a Ba­che­lor of Sci­ence (B.Sc.).

Wi­t­hin the frame­work of the de­gree Glo­bal En­vi­ron­men­tal and Sustaina­bi­li­ty Stu­dies an in­ternship is not mandatory, but stron­gly en­cou­ra­ged and very va­luable.

In the Leuphana Bachelor with Global Environmental and Sustainability Studies major you take the following compulsory modules:

Leuphana Semester

• Responsibility and Sustainability, 10 Credit Points, CP
• Humanities, 5 CP
• Methods I, 5 CP
• Methods II: Environmental Sciences, 5 CP
• Introduction to the discipline: Environmental Siences, 5 CP

2 semester

• Basic Concepts of Inorganic Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry, 5 CP
• Basic Concepts of Ecology, 5 CP
• Basic Concepts of Mathematics and Statistics,5 CP
• Communication and Behavior Change for Sustainability, 5 CP
• 1 minor module, 5 CP
• 1 Complementary Studies module, 5 CP

3 semester

• Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Concepts, 5 CP
• Basic Concepts of Organic Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry, 5 CP
• Global Sustainability Governance, 5 CP
• Fundamentals of Sustainability Management, 5 CP
• 1 minor module, 5 CP
• 1 Complementary Studies module, 5 CP

4 semester

• Research Project in Sustainability Science, 10 CP
• Elective Module I*, 5 CP
• 2 minor modules, 5 CP per module
• 1 Complementary Studies module, 5 CP

5 semester

• Sustainability and Ethics, 5 CP
• Elective Module II*, 5 CP
• Elective Module III*, 5 CP
• 2 minor modules, 5 CP per module
• 1 Complementary Studies module, 5 CP

6 semester

• Bachelor dissertation, 15 CP
• Interdisciplinary Sustainability Studies, 5 CP
• 2 Complementary Studies modules, 5 CP per module

* Elective modules

In the fourth and fifth semester, you choose 3 elective modules to build your individual focus areas and develop your personal profile.

Core Ideas of Natural Sustainability Science

• Biodiversity
• Transport of Matters in the Environment

Practices of Natural Sustainability Science

• Biological Species Knowledge*
• Geosciences, Mineral and Organic Ressources, Earth and Air
• Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry Laboratory Training*
• Climate and Environmental Physics- Practical Aspects

Fundamentals of Natural Sustainability Science

• Ecosystems and Biocoenosis*
• Distribution, Degradation and Effects of Chemicals in the Environment

Cross-cutting Concepts of Natural Sustainability Science

• Water Resources
• Ecosystems – Functions and Performance

Concepts of Social Sustainability Science

• Environmental and Sustainability policy and law*
• Sustainability Economics
• Education, Participation and Communication

Current Trends in Social Sustainability Science

• Areas of Research in Sustainability Communication
• Planning Theory*
• Sustainability Entrepreneurship

Methods of Social Sustainability Science

• Concepts, Methods and Instruments of Environmental Planning*
• Symbols, Language and Action*
• Methods of Sustainability Management
• Environment, Sustainability,Politics: Case Studies*

* teaching and examination language German

• You will find detailed information on the study contents of the major modules in the Subject-Specific Schedule to Global Environmental and Sustainability Studies major.

• Study programme: Leuphana Bachelor with Global Environmental and Sustainability Studies major
• Degree awarded: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)
• Duration: 3 years (6 semesters)
• Extent: 180 ECTS
• Study places: 70
• Language: English (no German required)
• Fees: no tuition fees
• Semester contribution: approx. EUR 393,09 EUR
• Semester abroad: possible
• Start date: Beginning of October (winter semester)
• Application period: Mid May – July 15
• Requirements: university entrance qualification and English skills
• Restricted admission : yes
• Admission: own procedure at Leuphana College

Lüneburg is a university town and home to 9.000 students who play a major role in public life. Should you occasionally crave the big city life, the busy metropolis of Hamburg is only a thirty-minute train ride away. Living in Lüneburg

Student counselling service

Clarify your questions in a personal conversation during the Open Advisory Service. You can take advantage of digital counselling at short notice without registering. The College study advisors will be happy to help you:

• Wednesdays from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. (in person on campus)
• Thursdays from 4-6 p.m. (digitally via Zoom)

Find out more

Leuphana College accepts new students each winter term. If you wish to be considered for a Bachelor degree programme, your application must be received by July 15.

For applicants from EU and EEA countries the University operates a special admissions procedure for the award of places. It considers not only applicants' grades, but also special skills, experience and non-academic achievements such as periods spent studying abroad, and volunteering work.

Online applications

Online applications are possible from mid-May. Find out more about the entry requirements and specific admissions process at Leuphana College. Find out more now

The International Center will be pleased to assist you in planning and organising your studies abroad at Leuphana College. Study abroad at Leuphana