The programme examines the relationship between human beings and their environment, and in particular offers an ecological perspective on building. It ranges from the political, economic and social background of environmental issues, including global examination of energy provision and consumption and climate change to local environmental considerations affecting occupant health and well being. Choice of materials, bioclimatic design, building methods, designing for energy efficiency and the principles and practice of renewable energies are examined through practical work and the lecture programme.

• First degree.
• Students who do not possess formal qualifications but who can demonstrate that they have gained appropriate knowledge and skills equivalent to degree standard and that they will benefit from and contribute to the programme, may be accepted. Students may be admitted with advanced standing through the recognition of credit or the accreditation of experiential or certificated learning according to the University of East London Accreditation of (Experiential) Learning (A(E)L) policy.
• A student may gain admission to a programme, with advanced standing, with up to half of the credits associated with the award being achieved through accredited experiential learning, or up two thirds through accredited certificated learning. (Where a combination of experiential and certificated learning is involved up to one half of the credits for the award may be achieved through accredited experiential learning with further credits being achieved through accredited certificated learning up to a maximum of two thirds of the credits for the award).
• The University and CAT are strongly committed to widening participation and equal opportunity for all.
• You must be able to understand and express yourself in both written and spoken English and some evidence e.g. TOEFL at 650 or an IELTS score of 7.0 will be required.

The programme is delivered by staff from CAT and specialist visitors from the profession, and runs as a series of ten five-day residential events, which all take place at CAT. This brings the advantage of combining an academic programme with the practical application of research and development that has established CAT as Europe's leading Eco-centre.

The programme comprises of 14 modules in total. All modules are 15 credits. Each module is a five-day residential teaching event which takes place every month except December and August at CAT. The thesis is a 60 credit module. There are a number of options available ie modules that run at the same time and students choose which to follow.

After acquiring 120 credits from the available teaching modules and associated coursework, students are eligible for a Postgraduate Diploma; those who wish to obtain an MSc then complete the Thesis Module which is the culmination of the work done on the programme. A formal start to the thesis is made in March for September start and September for March start students.

Formal tutorials are available at CAT; others by Email.

Learning is delivered through a combination of formal and informal methods.  Teaching and learning strategies include;

• Tutor guided reading and independent study
• Discussion questions related to lectures
• Seminars
• Presentations
• Tutorials
• Practical studies

All students have access to the Athens electronic journal database, membership of UKLibraries Plus scheme (providing access to other University libraries), and the programme website.

Assessment is through coursework, which builds to form the students’ academic file, culminating in a thesis. The coursework aims to test that the Learning Outcomes have been met and takes the form of an essay on a subject chosen from the Module material and an 8 minute Presentation of the essay topic. The Essay is handed in on a specific date and the Presentation made, at the next attended Module. There are no closed book examinations.

The programme is suitable for those students with an interest in developing expertise in an area of rapidly increasing importance (such as environmental strategies, energy monitoring and performance, resource management), where skill shortages are being reported and increasing specialist knowledge is required. The programme is continually being developed to meet the specific demands that industry require and strives to use the latest information including IT packages.

The Thesis (of 14,000 words) gives the student an opportunity to apply the discipline and skills of the programme to an individually selected research topic, requiring a measure of original development, providing a vehicle for conducting an in-depth investigation, analysis and critical review of relevant material. The Thesis is the culmination of work done on the programme and is considered to be of prime importance. The process of producing the Thesis consists of a number of Thesis Workshop day long events followed by group discussions and one to one tutorials. Each student is allocated a Thesis supervisor who is responsible for academic guidance through the process. All students are encouraged to produce a publishable paper based on the Thesis material.

There is a significant skill shortage in the area of environment and energy, particularly where it relates to the built environment. There are significant employment opportunities in Local Government, Private Industry, Architectural Practices, NGO's associated with the Environment, and in Private Practice. The many skills acquired and areas considered during this programme are excellent preparation for work in any of the above areas.

All students studying this programme are allocated to a Seminar Group of about twenty students and are supported by a personal tutor who is responsible for providing advice and guidance throughout their term of study. All seminars and tutorials take place within seminar groups. Support is also given during specific stages of progression, such as research methods for the thesis, as well as extra support for those that require it such as English / study skills and IT training. Small group teaching is acknowledged as being beneficial to students as it allows for individual attention and enables peer review and group discussion.

Residential teaching weeks take place at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) located in North Wales on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. This provides a unique environment for study with access to leading experts in their fields with considerable opportunity for interaction and discussion with programme members and staff.