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Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

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Applications for the 2021 part-time Master’s and Postgraduate Certificate are now open. 


Leaders today are making decisions in a world which is more volatile, complex and uncertain than ever before. Many organisations are recognising the need to better understand this changing context and equip themselves to lead positive change.

At the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, we focus on building the capacity to effectively tackle the world’s most critical social and environmental challenges. Our part-time graduate programmes are based on a blended approach of short residential workshops and virtual learning. 


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Part-time Postgraduate and Master’s courses in sustainable business


Mst in Sustainability Leadership

Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership

Location

Develop leadership capacity to tackle critical sustainability challenges, with practical assignments and a research dissertation


Date

Full Master’s degree, part time over 2 years

Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Business

Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Business

LocationExplore emerging and cutting-edge responses to topical sustainability challenges and opportunities, with practical assignments.


Date

Equivalent to 2/3 of a Master’s, part time over 1.5 to 3 years

Postgraduate Certificates in Sustainable Business

Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business – organisational/value chains  

LocationExplore embedding sustainability within organisations, or across value chains, with practical assignments and a group project.


DateEquivalent to 1/3 of a Master’s degree, part time over 9 months

 

Find out more

 

Unrivalled credibility


The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) is a globally influential institute based at the University of Cambridge, with HRH The Prince of Wales as Royal Founding Patron. With more than 30 years’ experience of developing interdisciplinary leadership for a sustainable economy across multinationals, governments and individuals around the world, CISL’s delivery of these part-time courses provides unrivalled sustainability credibility.

 

Learn to lead transformational change


Study a part-time Master’s-level course to strengthen your leadership skills and embed sustainability in your organisation. These are some of our graduate students leading transformational change:

"I highly recommend the Master’s to any sustainability practitioners looking to be inspired, learn at the heart of where the action is and benefit personally as well as professionally from the experience - at a time when the sector is gaining increasing momentum."

Katerina Fragos, Manager of Sustainability and Climate Change at Procter & Gamble, Canada

 

"Within my cohort, we had participants from a range of sectors and countries. Having mainly worked in retail and fast-moving consumer companies, I relished sharing professional war stories with peers from automotives, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and finance, and from both in-house practitioner, consultancy, and civil service roles."

Helen McTaggart, Senior Sustainability Manager, Amazon

 

"Professionally, the courses definitely gave me the credibility and skills to communicate and be a leader on sustainability issues within my working environment. I also felt I had earned the right to talk about them. On a personal level, I became more reflective and considered in the way I approached issues."

Andrew Phillips MA FCA, Rural Director of Finance for the Duchy of Cornwall

 

"The course equipped me with the knowledge to move to the next level of my career. I had developed the expertise and confidence to use sustainability frameworks and models so fund managers could use that knowledge to ‘do well by doing good."

Elena Vydrine, Head of Portfolio Management and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Integration at Ryedale

 

"The individual assignments set throughout the course gave me the opportunity to reflect on the topics that we had learnt and how these could be applied to real world examples. They answered questions that I had asked throughout my career."

Galina Parmenter, PG Diploma student, Project Manager, Global Sustainability, C&A

 

Read about our graduate students leading transformational change


Read more at: A day in the life of an Master's in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student
Master students in breakout groups

A day in the life of an Master's in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student

9 April 2025 - Gloria Wong, Senior Civil and Structural Engineer at Arup, and student on the Master’s in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE), shares her experience of studying the programme and details what a day looks like during the third of her residential workshops in Cambridge, UK.


Read more at: A day in the life of an Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student
A group of students working together

A day in the life of an Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student

12 February 2025 - Melpomeni Rapti, Homes Propositions and Products Manager at Lloyds Banking Group, and a student on the Postgraduate Certificate in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE), shares her experience of studying the programme and details what a day looks like during the second of her two residential workshops in Cambridge, UK.


Read more at: A day in the life of a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student
cisl postgradudate workshops dept of engineering

A day in the life of a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student

23 January 2025 - Adam Meyrick, Construction Manager at Galliford Try Construction, and a student on the Master’s in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE), shares his experience of studying the programme and details what a day looks like during one of his residential workshops in Cambridge, UK.


Read more at: A day in the life of a Diploma in Sustainable Business student
Sonia Ventosa García-Morato standing outside Cambridge's West Hub

A day in the life of a Diploma in Sustainable Business student

22 November 2024 – Sonia Ventosa García-Morato, Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Manager at Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company and student on the Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Business, shares her experience of studying the programme and details what a day looks like during one of her residential workshops in Cambridge, UK.


Read more at: A day in the life of a Master's in Sustainability Leadership student
A group of mature students sat in a classroom watching a presentation.

A day in the life of a Master's in Sustainability Leadership student

15 November 2024 – Kristin Edie, Vice President, Enterprise Sustainability at Hallmark and student on the Master’s in Sustainability Leadership, shares her experience of studying the programme and details what a day looks like during one of her residential workshops in Cambridge, UK.


Read more at: A day in the life of a Master’s in Sustainability Leadership student
Seven students sat and stood in a circle working on a presentation

A day in the life of a Master’s in Sustainability Leadership student

11 November 2024 - Barbora Kotoun, Global Leader for Circularity at IKEA and student on the Master’s in Sustainability Leadership. Barbora shares her experience of studying the programme and details what a day looks like during one of her residential workshops in Cambridge, UK.


Read more at: 30 years of sustainability leadership for the built environment - so, what's next?
Five men and two women smiling and stood in a line wearing University of Cambridge robes over formal wear.

30 years of sustainability leadership for the built environment - so, what's next?

10 October 2024 - The significance of our built environment in both its contribution to, and its response to, global challenges cannot be understated. Dr Kayla Friedman, Director for the Master’s and Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainability Leadership for the Built Environment, shares the evolution of our sustainable built environment postgraduate programmes as we celebrate 30 years of delivery with a new name for a well-established programme; and look towards the role educators still have to play in resolving these challenges.


Read more at: A day in the life of a Postgraduate Course Director
Emma Fromberg stood in front of a presentation with a microphone in her hand

A day in the life of a Postgraduate Course Director

29 August 2024 - Emma Fromberg, Course Director of the Postgraduate Certificate and Supervisor for the Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Business shares a day in her life at the first workshop of our 2024 Postgraduate Certificate cohort at Homerton College.


Read more at: A day in the life of a Master of Studies in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student
Group of Sustainable Built Environment Students in their formal robes

A day in the life of a Master of Studies in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student

22 February 2024 – Terry Heath is a Consultant and Non-Executive Director, and a Sustainability Leadership for the Built Environment (IDBE) student. Terry shares his experience of the programme and details what an average day looks like during one of his residential workshops in Cambridge, UK.


Read more at: A day in the life of a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student
Group of Sustainable Built Environment Students standing on lecture hall steps

A day in the life of a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment student

22 February 2024 - Lydia Randall is D irector at BDG architecture + design , and a student on the Master of Studies in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE). Lydia shares her experience of the programme and details what an average day looks like during one of her residential workshops in Cambridge, UK.


About

Strengthen your leadership skills, further your career and learn how to implement change and embed sustainability in your organisation.
Study a part-time Postgraduate or Master’s course through online learning and residential workshops.

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CISL is monitoring the Covid-19 situation and responding accordingly to UK Government and WHO advice. At present, we expect to deliver our Graduate programmes in 2021 as advertised. We are well equipped to deliver workshops remotely should the situation demand.


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Minette Belingham

“CISL helped me recognise that within the sustainability space I can have an impact within my sphere of influence.”

Minette Bellingan, Director of Global Sourcing, Amazon

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