Ecosystem Services (M.Sc.)
Content and structure
Assessing nature´s services for human well-being
The global loss of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation are among the grand challenges of global environmental change. In this context, ecosystem services as the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems for human well-being are gaining increasing attention in science, policy and society. Identifying, mapping and assessing ecosystem services as well as capturing their values in public and private decision-making are important objectives of national, European and international biodiversity and sustainability strategies. At the global level, this demanding task is not least part of the working programme of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). IPBES is an intergovernmental body which assesses the state of biodiversity and of the ecosystem services it provides to society, in response to requests from decision makers.
Against this background the international Master’s programme on Ecosystem Services provides students with the knowledge base and methods to analyse pressing environ-mental problems and to develop societally relevant solutions. A special focus lies on inter- and transdisciplinary approaches from the natural and the social sciences in order to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity as well as to secure the sustainable provision of ecosystem services for present and future generations. The programme combines the natural and social sciences expertise of the International Institute (IHI) Zittau and the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at TU Dresden, the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz, and the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) in Dresden.
Structure
Compulsory courses include the basics of ecosystem services, biodiversity and ecosystem governance, as well as ecological economics. Courses on applied ecology, taxonomy, intercultural communication or empirical methods in social sciences complement the subjects taught in the first two semesters.
In the second half of their studies students can choose among a variety of optional courses to deepen their knowledge in fields such as Environmental Social Sciences, Ecology and Collections, Forest Sciences, Biotechnology or Spatial Development and Natural Resource Management. Depending on the focus area chosen, the courses are taught in Zittau, Görlitz, Dresden or Tharandt.
Additionally, students can acquire methodological skills (such as in quantitative methods in empirical social sciences or ecological modelling) and apply these in case studies. Students are also introduced to work with actors from the local to the international level. Alternatively, students can choose to spend a mobility semester abroad during the third semester. The fourth semester is dedicated to the Master´s thesis.
The duration of the study is four semesters.
Language of instruction is English.
Additional information
Watch Prof. Dr. Irene Ring, Dr. Nina Hagemann as well as students Natchiyar Balasubramanian and Robert Ato Newton presenting the programme:
Presentation on the English-taught master program ECOSYSTEM SERVICES © IHI Zittau
...some more students' testimonials:
Please note that only the German versions of the study documents that you find here, published in TU Dresden's Amtliche Bekanntmachungen, are legally binding . Below, we provide the currently valid, legally non-binding English translation of the study documents:
Accreditation
The degree course was successfully accredited. certificate
Application
Curious? Further important information and conditions for studying, e.g. B. the study requirements, the deadlines and the link to the application portal can be found in our central study information system (SINS).
Contacts:
Mrs. Prof. Irene Ring, scientific co-ordinator of the programme, Tel.: +49 3583 612 4167, to the professorship
Ms. Alla Shibanova, student co-ordinator of the programme
Mr. André Tiemann, M.Sc., academic consulting on the programme, Tel.: +49 3583 612 4130
Ms. Uta Scheunig, adviser for the admission process and programme, international student mobility (Erasmus+), Tel.: +49 3583 612 4115
Ms. Linda Rogge, consultancy internships, Tel.: +49 3583 612 4133
Mr. Prof. Karsten Wesche, consultancy Senckenberg
*more information on the tasks of the programme coordinators