Sustainable Tourism MSc

Delve into the contemporary issues surrounding the sustainability of regions, cultures and attractions of interest. Identify different theoretical approaches and consider what's best practice. Graduate with a wealth of specialist knowledge and employability skills.

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Overview

With the UK and other governments around the world declaring a climate emergency back in 2019, tourism organisations are diversifying their actions to create sustainable growth within their industry. As such, environmental and regenerative issues will feature heavily within future practices.

This course will enable you to better understand how to protect and exploit fragile socio-economic resources. You’ll examine international best practice and learn how to shape new sustainable futures. You'll cover key issues such as ecotourism, challenges to implementing sustainable practices in tourism, and slow tourism with a focus on rural, wellbeing and wellness travel.

The sustainability agenda and change management will also be explored, and the course will develop your theoretical knowledge of models and concepts applicable to real world scenarios.

Why us?

Guest speakers from industry and renowned academics
Course content reflects our close links with employers, and our teaching emphasises the connections between theories and practice

Local, national and international field visits and study abroad opportunities

Course structure

The main teaching and learning methods employed on the MSc Sustainable Tourism course are a combination of lectures, online lectures, seminars, workshops, group work, fieldwork, laboratory-based work, library-based work, case studies, and most critically, independent study.

This course will incorporate extensive use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Module guides, lecture presentations, guidance notes, glossaries, discussion boards, and other related materials will be available on the VLE.

Your assignments will be submitted online and feedback is normally provided electronically.

Course modules

Research Methods for the Services Sector (30 credits)

Expand your knowledge of the key theories, methodologies and philosophies adopted in tourism, hospitality, aviation and events research. Develop your practical skills using quantitative data analysis software in workshops. Gain the critical foundations required to undertake your own independent research project.

Tourism Concepts and Issues (30 credits)

Discover more about the complex and exciting world of tourism. Explore tourism as a social and cultural practice, tourist subjectivities, and the spatial dimension of tourism. Consider perspectives from different disciplines while sitting firmly within the social sciences.

Current Practices in the Visitor Economy (30 credits)

Gain inside knowledge of the current trends in the tourism, hospitality, aviation, and events industries. Develop your understanding of current practices in the industry with the opportunity to undertake a residential field trip in the UK. Critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice in relation to the visitor economy.

Sustainable Tourism (30 credits)

Enhance your understanding of how to shape new sustainable futures. Evaluate some of the key challenges to implementing sustainable practices in tourism. Develop your theoretical knowledge of models and concepts that are applicable to real world scenarios.

Sustainable Tourism Major Project (60 credits)

Undertake an extensive research project in an area of interest to you. Critically apply the knowledge and skills you have gained throughout your course to your project. Advance your research and methodology skills.

More about MSc Sustainable Tourism at Sunderland

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You can access free Wi-Fi throughout the University campus, so you can work from anywhere. If you don't want to carry a laptop around, just use one of the University’s PCs or Macs. We have hundreds of computers for you to use in the Murray Library, St Peter's Library, and the David Goldman Informatics Centre. If you ever have any technical problems, just ask the friendly helpdesk team.
IT provision
The St Peter’s Library contains over 31,000 books related to business, economics, management, human resources, marketing, strategy and tourism.

Added to this, you’ll benefit from a wide range of journals and periodicals in the St Peter’s Library, many of them in an online format. To help you make the most of the wealth of resources, there’s a full-time librarian who is dedicated to the Business and Tourism sections.

Further resources are available at the main Murray Library, which has a total of over 430,000 books with many more available through the inter-library loan service.
Library Services - business and tourism
Map and directions

Facilities

You’ll be based at The Reg Vardy Centre, on the Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter’s. The Reg Vardy Centre is a modern building with views of the river, and just a short walk from both the coast and Sunderland town centre.

Entry requirements

Our typical offer is:

Qualification	Minimum grade
a Canadian bachelor's degree	GPA 2.40
a USA bachelor's degree	GPA 2.5

If you already hold a postgraduate qualification, please see our Applying for additional postgraduate degrees Help and Advice article.

If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, you can take one of the foundation pathways at our partners ONCAMPUS Sunderland. Find out more information and whether your course is eligible on our ONCAMPUS page.

If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.

We usually require applicants to hold at least a 2:2 honours degree or equivalent.

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

If you feel you already know some of the topics covered in this course, either due to previous learning or from experience of work, then you may not need to study all of the course. Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) is the name given to the process of gaining credit towards a qualification because of something you have learnt in the past. If you're eligible for APL, you won't have to learn the same topic again, so you can be exempt from a module, set of modules, or year of a course. If you think you may be eligible for APL, please contact the course leader.

If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

2024/25 fees are:

£7,500 if you're from the UK
£10,500 if you’re an EU student (this fee is inclusive of an EU student scholarship)
£16,500 if you're an international student

Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's by night

Career ready

The MSc Sustainable Tourism course is designed to build on the core and transferable skills necessary for future work. Practical experiences and activities are embedded into the curriculum in order to develop and contribute to your ongoing personal and professional development. The University Careers Service and regional and national employers are frequently invited to promote employability measures and inform students about work experiences or opportunities.

Preparing you for employment

We have strong links with the local community and modules are informed by the industry and regional and national employers. Through work experiences and placements, the course offers regional and global business community, public organisations, and others, access to highly motivated and skilled undergraduates dedicated to the industry.

You study a range modules that build on the tourism knowledge, insights and skills required to become successful within the industry. The course reflects contemporary areas within the tourism industry where you can specialise in your area of interest within your dissertation and tailor this to where you see your future career.

Related courses

Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:
0191 515 3000
student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism.

Page last updated: 02 July 2024

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.