University of Basel

Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development

Who is eligible?

Studying the Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development requires a preliminary application and the fulfillment of several admission criteria such as:

Eligible Students have obtained an university bachelor's degree in one of the following branches of study (at least 100 Credit Points from one, or at least 150 Credit Points from two subject areas): Geography, Communication and Media Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Social Work and Politics, Sociology, Business administration, Economics, Applied Biosciences, Biology, Earth Sciences, Forestry, Environmental Sciences, or Environmental and Geomatics Engineering.           

If your bachelor's degree is from abroad, from an university of applied sciences or the branch of study does not correspond exactly to one of the list, we check the equivalence with the above mentioned branches of study. Admission may be possible with "additional requirements" (= extra courses of max. 30 credit points according to the letter of admission). These courses are not part of the MSD degree programm, but can be visited at the University of Basel while the student has enrolled for the MSD already.

Further admission conditions

  • Bachelor's degree with an average grade of at least 5.0 (Swiss scale system; see formula for the conversion of final grades of degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions).
  • Evidence of basic knowledge in mathematics and in statistics or methods in empirical social research at university level in the form of at least 10 CP:
    • in mathematics: proof of at least 3 CP;
    • in statistics or methods in empirical social research: proof of at least 3 CP;
    • the remaining 4 CP provide evidence of basic knowledge in mathematics and/or in statistics and/or methods in empirical social research in addition to the above-mentioned 3 CP per area.

When applying, the applicants have to submit the documents in order to prove their knowledge in these two areas. The study guidelines provide more details on the content of these requirements (section 3).

Alternative to admission conditions

If you are not able to provide the required evidence in mathematics and in statistics or methods in empirical social research of at least 10 CP as requested, you can try to get the admission providing the results of a completed Graduate Record Examination® General Test (GRE®-Test) from the following two test sections:

  • quantitative reasoning: your performance must be among the top 30%;
  • analytical writing: your performance must be among the top 20%.

The test can also be taken if you have a university Bachelor's degree with a final grade of less than 5.0. (Swiss scale). NOTE: this possibility of compensation of a grade lower than 5.0 does not apply to degrees awarded by universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) or business schools.

Be aware, only candidates accomplishing the admission conditions are accepted to the MSD!

Application

Application for candidates not yet registeredat the University of Basel; deadlines

  • until 30 April: start of MSD in fall semester of the same year;
  • until 30 November: start of MSD in spring semester of the following year (only for students who do not need a visa to come to Switzerland)

Application for candidates of the University of Basel, deadlines according to regular semester registration (Rueckmeldung). Special form for MSD application available on this website.

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