Environment, Culture and Communication

Environment, Culture and Communication is a degree designed for students who want to engage seriously with the climate crisis as both a scientific and a cultural challenge. It recognises that addressing climate change requires not only technical knowledge of its causes and consequences but also the communication skills, cultural understanding and emotional intelligence needed to engage diverse audiences, shift narratives and build the coalitions that meaningful environmental action depends on. Science and culture must work together: facts alone have repeatedly proven insufficient to drive the change the evidence demands.

At Birkbeck College, this full-time three-year programme gives you a foundational scientific understanding of the human-driven causes of climate change and its environmental impacts, alongside the development of communication skills, creative faculties and cultural and emotional sensitivities that equip you to be an effective climate advocate. You will also develop a professional network through your studies, connecting with others working at the intersection of environment, culture and communication. The programme is innovative in its design, reflecting the recognition that the climate challenge requires graduates who can work across the boundaries between science, arts and advocacy.

Graduates from Environment, Culture and Communication programmes go on to careers in environmental communications, sustainability advocacy, green public relations, journalism, policy analysis, NGOs, arts organisations working with environmental themes, education and community engagement. The combination of scientific literacy and communication capability is particularly valuable in organisations that need to translate complex environmental information into accessible and compelling messages for public and political audiences. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in environmental policy, sustainability, journalism or communications.