Environment and Natural Resources

120 ECTS - Master's degree

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The Environment and Natural Resources Master’s Programme is a unique interdisciplinary and international programme that provides academic insight into the various aspects of environmental issues and the utilisation of natural resources. It is tailored to different student needs in terms of academic background and interests.

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About the programme

The Master's programme is interdisciplinary. Students choose one of six specialisations:

Environment and Natural Resources
Sustainable Energy and Industrial Systems
Environmental Management, Science and Policy
Natural Resource Management
Marine Resource Management NEW!
Renewable Energy - Energy Economics, Policy and Sustainability

Interdisciplinary structure

The ENR programme is organised jointly by all of the University of Iceland Schools and students graduate from different Faculties, depending on their thesis advisor's home faculty. The ENR programme consists of core courses, restrictive electives, electives, and a research thesis. Students graduate with MA or MS in Environment and Natural Resources.

Admission requirements

Graduate studies

Applicants must have completed a BA/BS/B.ed. degree at the University of Iceland, or a comparable degree from another University - first class. First class refers to grade point average of at least 7.25 on a scale from 1-10. This is regardless of the subject of previous degrees.
All international applicants, whose native language is not English, are required to provide results of the TOEFL (85) or IELTS (6.5) tests as evidence of English proficiency.
Applicants are asked to submit a letter of motivation, 1-2 pages, where they should state the reasons they want to pursue graduate work, the issues and problems they want to address, and their future academic and/or professional goals, and a suggestion or outline for a final paper. Reasons for choosing the University of Iceland should be briefly explained.
Confidential letters of recommendation (2-3) should be submitted. These should be from faculty members or others who are familiar with your academic work and qualified to evaluate your potential for graduate study.

Further information in the Course Catalogue

Students' comments

Laura Malinauskaite

MA in Environment and Natural Resources from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences 2016

I entered the programme without really knowing what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised. Its interdisciplinary nature allows students to explore many topics in environment and natural resources in the beginning of the programme, and concentrate on selected courses at the end of it, developing an expertise in a chosen field. A really important part of it for me was meeting like-minded people with different backgrounds from all over the World and making the use of the opportunities that the ENR programme offers, e.g. being a part of GAIA student organisation and going for an exchange semester abroad.

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Christopher Williams

MS in Environment and Natural Resources from the Faculty of Business Administration 2017

My journey through the ENR programme was exceptional. The programme gave a large range of freedom to explore and research what we felt most passionate about while also providing resources for real-world applications of our studies. The programme boasts a wide array of experts who are very accommodating and provide an engaging learning experience. I really felt confident in my studies and personally inspired to continue learning more.

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Sigríður Rós Einarsdóttir

MS in Environment and Natural Resources from the Faculty of Economics 2017

My experience studying Environment and Natural Resource (ENR) at the University of Iceland was extremely fun and educational. I’ve been interested in environmental and energy related issues for a long time, but my studies in the ENR programme opened new dimensions for me and further deepened my understanding of these issues. One of the main advantages of the ENR programme is how international the group of students is, it was invaluable to get different viewpoints of these issues from people all over the world. The teachers are excellent and I was given a lot of freedom to develop my own thesis research with the invaluable guidance of my advisor. I think the ENR programme has prepared me well for whatever I chose to do next, weather it being seeking further education or getting a job.

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Bjarnhéðinn Guðlaugsson

Masters student in Environment and Natural Resources

If you are asking yourself questions like - How can we achieve sustainable living? Improved living standards in world? And why does it take such a long time to make decision when comes to environmental issues? Then I would say that Environmental and Natural Resources programme is the right choice and could help provide answer to those questions along with an education that is international, diverse and fun.

I chose this programme due to fact that I am highly interested in three areas, which are highly linked together and this programme takes on - i) environmental issues, ii) Development in alternative energy options and iii) the interconnection between the society, environment and economy.

My experience from this programme has filled with fun and interesting and daring discussion with fellow students and teacher about topic related to my interest and other topics. I have also created friendships with people from all over the world, which has increased my multi-cultural understanding and knowledge.

This programme gives its student the unique opportunity to kind of tailor-make their path through the studies, which a diversified selection of good, interesting and well-taught elective course for most departments of the University.

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Mynd að ofan

Gaia & Green Days

The students association in the Environment and Natural Resources programme is called Gaia. Gaia's aims are to facilitate diverse social activities and communication, between students, as well as to protect the rights of students. Gaia is the main organiser of UI's annual Green Days, intended to increase awareness about sustainability and environmental issues.