Pathway Leaders:
Michelle Shipworth m.shipworth@ucl.ac.uk
Yacob Muluguetta yacob.mulugetta@ucl.ac.uk
Team members:
Will McDowall w.mcdowall@ucl.ac.uk
Arthur Petersen arthur.petersen@ucl.ac.uk
| Pathway | Institution | Training Route | 1+3 | 2+3 | +3 | +4 |
| Social and Policy Studies of Energy and the Environment | UCL | Social and Policy Studies of Energy and the Environment | ✓ | ✓ |
This pathway aims to contribute to building a better social science informed evidence base for energy and environment policies, through training applied social scientists. It focuses on the critical social scientific analysis of natural scientific, engineering and social scientific (including economic) evidence production and use, for instance evidence derived from various modelling approaches. The pathway is highly interdisciplinary, bridging two faculties. The sister institutes the UCL Energy Institute (EI) and the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources (ISR) are both in the Faculty of the Built Environment, rated as having the UK’s most world-leading research in Architecture, Built Environment and Planning in REF2014; research spans the fields of buildings, transport, energy systems, resources and the environment. The Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), established in 2013, explores, experiments with, and improves the ways scientific and engineering expertise and knowledge are engaged with in public decision-making and policy processes, focusing on sustainability, urbanisation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, including linkages to development. All departments lead on major research initiatives and collaborations and have close links with many UK government departments, international bodies and industry. The pathway offers one route, in both +4 and +3 structures. Students on the +4 structure will take six core modules including research concepts, communication skills, and four modules covering the core social science and innovation theories pertaining to energy and the environment. The +4 structure also entails taking two elective modules and completing a dissertation research project and the PhD proposal. A +3 structure will be offered where applicants can provide evidence of previous qualifications demonstrating the skills covered in the core modules. Interested students should approach relevant possible social science supervisors in UCL EI, ISR or STEaPP. Applicants should also contact one of the Pathway Leads in order to ensure that departmental and pathway application deadlines are met: EI/ISR: Michelle Shipworth (m.shipworth@ucl.ac.uk); STEaPP: Dr Adam Cooper (adam.cooper@ucl.ac.uk).
