Programme structure

The two year course of study consists of the following elements:

• Core courses in Industrial Ecology, taken by all students in the programme.
   
• Required courses for each of the two programme specializations.
   
  
  1. Environmental Systems Analysis
  2. Environmental Politics and Management
      
• Elective courses allowing the students to acquire additional skills or factual knowledge in a field directly relevant to their Master’s thesis.
   
• A project and a Master’s thesis.
   

Table for specialization Environmental Systems Analysis:

Students in this specialization may choose to write their master's thesis in connection to one of the following departments:
- Department of Energy and Process Engineering (TEP course codes)
- Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (TVM course codes)
- Department of Product Design (TPD course codes)
- Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (TIØ course codes)

Depending on the department, different specialization courses apply, as shown in the table below.

Course table for the Environmental Systems Analysis specialization.

Sem.	7,5 credits	7,5 credits	7,5 credits	7,5 credits
2 Spring	Master's Thesis (30 credits)* Choose one course code: TEP4930 Industrial ecology master's thesis TPD4910 Industrial ecology master's thesis TVM4900 Industrial ecology master's thesis TIØ4955 Industrial ecology master's thesis
2 Autumn	TEP4222 Input-Output Analysis, Trade and Environment	Elective	Thesis preparation project (15 credits)* Coose one course code: TEP5100 Indecol project TPD4190 Design project TVM5175 IndEcol project TIØ5235 IndEcol project
1 Spring	Experts in Team, cross-disciplinary project	TVM4160 Material flow analysis	Elective	Elective
1 Autumn	TVM4162 Industrial Ecology	TEP4223 Life cycle assessment	TIØ4195 Environmental management and corporate governance	Elective

* The choice of course depends on which department the supervisor belongs to.

 

Tables for specialization Environmental Politics and Management:

Students in this specialization may choose to write their master's thesis in connection to one of three departments:
- Department of Sociology and Political Science
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management
Depending on the department, different prerequisites and specialization courses apply, as shown in tables below.

Department of Sociology and Political Science
Prerequisite: Students must have at least 60 ECTS credits worth of Political Science in their bachelor degree.

Course table for Environmental politics and management specialization, Political Science direction.

Sem.	7,5 credits	7,5 credits	7,5 credits	7,5 credits
2 Spring	POL3920 Master's thesis Political Science (30 credits)
2 Autumn	Elective	Elective	POL3520 Thesis preparation project (15 credits)
1 Spring	Experts in Team, cross-disciplinary project	POL1003 Environmental politics	POL3004 Research Design and Methods	Elective
1 Autumn	TVM4162 Industrial Ecology	TEP4223 Life cycle assessment	TIØ4195 Environmental management and corporate governance	Elective

 

 

Department of Psychology
The specialization towards Risk psychology, environment and safety involves a 45 credits large master's thesis instead of a 30 credits master's thesis plus a 15 credits thesis preparation project.

Course table for Environmental politics and management specialization, Psychology direction.

Sem.	7,5 credits	7,5 credits	7,5 credits	7,5 credits
2 Spring	PSY3911 Industrial Ecology master's thesis (30 credits this semester, 45 credits in total)
2 Autumn	PSY3090 Risk psychology, environment and safety (15 credits)		PSY3911 Industrial Ecology master's thesis (15 credits this semester, 45 credits in total)
1 Spring	Experts in Team, cross-disciplinary project	POL1003 Environmental politics	POL3004 Research design and methods	Elective
1 Autumn	TVM4162 Industrial Ecology	TEP4223 Life cycle assessment	TIØ4195 Environmental management and corporate governance	Elective

 

 

Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management

Course table for Environmental politics and management specialization, Industrial Economics and Technology Management direction.

Sem.	7,5 credits	7,5 credits	7,5 credits	7,5 credits
2 Spring	TIØ4955 Industrial Ecology master's thesis (30 credits)
2 Autumn	Elective	TIØ4525 Safety, Health and Environment, Specialization Course	TIØ5235 Thesis preparation project (15 credits)
1 Spring	Experts in Team, cross-disciplinary project	POL1003 Environmental politics	Elective	Elective
1 Autumn	TVM4162 Industrial Ecology	TEP4223 Life cycle assessment	TIØ4195 Environmental management and corporate governance	Elective

The first Fall semester has one 7,5 credit elective course scheduled, and, depending on which specialization you opt for, you might have one or two in the first Spring semester. In the beginning of a semester you can follow several courses for a while, to see which ones you find most relevant, but by a certain deadline (15 September in the Fall semester and 15 February in the Spring) you will need to register in which one(s) you will take the exam.

We have made a list of courses that we recommend as electives.

However, you can choose which course you want, as long as 1) you can argue for its relevance to you, and 2) the MSc programme director or your academic advisor approves of it.The courses you choose should support your Master’s thesis work – in other words, when you get to the Master’s thesis, it is important that you have the necessary methodological and theoretical knowledge to do the work.

You can choose courses from the other specialization as electives.

Find a governing idea that will help you combine courses in a meaningful way:

• If you have a special interest in an environmental issue that you want to focus on in your Master’s thesis, you can use it as a guide.

• You can develop your disciplinary background in combination with industrial ecology perspectives – if you hold a BSc in Biology, you might choose courses such as Ecotoxicology and Marine resources, or if you have a background in Business and Administration, you might be interested in Environmental management and CSR, or innovation and product development.

• Interest in a government sector, or a branch of industry, can help guide your course selection; examples could be the energy industry, municipality waste handling, sustainable infrastructure, biofuels, or sustainable consumption.

The Publications section on the IndEcol web pages contains a list of Master’s theses by industrial ecology students .