MSc in Sustainable Mountain Development: Now open for September enrolment

Calling all mountain professionals and practitioners! The Centre for Mountain Studies (CMS) is a Research Centre at UHI Perth – and part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) in Scotland. Since 2000 it has run a successful MSc programme in Sustainable Mountain Development, hosted entirely online to enable candidates living and working in mountain areas across the globe to enrol and join a lively community of interest. 

The programme attracts those already engaged in mountain-related work, as well as those seeking to move into the field. Full-time and part-time study options provide the flexibility to fit learning around existing professional and personal commitments. 

The MSc offers an interdisciplinary grounding in all aspects of mountain sustainability. Students begin with the module Global Mountain Geographies, which examines the world's mountains from a global perspective — covering biophysical characteristics before moving into social and economic dimensions. Further core modules explore sustainability discourses and policy applications, while a diverse range of electives covers natural resources, extreme weather, community development and research methods. 

CMS staff are all active researchers, ensuring strong research-teaching linkages. Students benefit from the Centre's broad and ongoing mountain research activity, including personalised supervision throughout their dissertation project. Alongside the MSc, CMS offers stand-alone professional development modules in deer management, water resources and land use. 

One graduate described their experience as follows: 

“I often had the sensation of being in a living classroom, in that I encountered the material/themes we discussed during the week in the mountains where I lived. This interconnection of theory and practice made the program very invigorating and helped me recognize the mountain environment with a depth of vision, functioning on many levels below the surface—whereas previously I’d seen and interacted only on a surface level.” 

For an informal conversation and further information, contact rosalind.bryce.perth@uhi.ac.uk or apply now to begin in September.