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3.2 The LUMES Program
3.2.1 Program Structure
The LUMES Program (Lund University International Master Program in
Environmental studies and Sustainability Science) is a 2-year graduate program
with approximately 40–50 students annually. Participants are from diverse academic backgrounds and nationalities. The program was launched in 1997 and has
undergone two major curriculum redevelopment processes. It is a cohesive program
where students take all first-year courses together as a single group. The program
consists of three 10-credit core courses during the first term: earth system science,
social theory, and sustainability science. During the second term, students take a
number of broader thematic courses including governance for sustainability, urban
and rural systems, economy and sustainability. In addition, there is one extended
course, knowledge to action, which spans part of the first term and the entire second
term. This course has strong ties to the sustainability science course. During the
third term, students must successfully complete four of a variety of targeted courses
offered during the term: energy, water, global health, gender, and social movements
amongst numerous others. Students complete the program with the successful submission, presentation, and defense of a Master’s thesis on a sustainability-related
topic that they design individually and conduct research.
3.2.2 Sustainability Science Course
The LUMES Sustainability Science course is one of the three main courses of the
first term of the program. It acts as a bridge to link the initial two courses, which
greatly differ from each other. The course runs from late-November until late-January with the holiday break of around 2 weeks in the middle. The course has strong
topical connections and schedule overlap with the knowledge to action course.
Learning outcomes for the sustainability science course—in differing manners and
degrees—center on the key competency areas with concentrated student knowledge
and skills development efforts on the history and evolution of sustainability science,
the main concepts in the field, (e.g., systems thinking, complexity, socio-ecological
systems, inter- and transdisciplinarity, resilience, political ecology, transitions),
interpersonal skills through multiple presentations, and group work activities. There
also is training in anticipatory competencies via a short learning segment on scenarios and envisioning. In addition, and covering multiple competency areas, there
is an emphasis on student comprehension of the different framing approaches with
a strong focus on the applicability, strengths, and weaknesses, of each of them. The
course structure is varied with learning activities on the development of sustainability science, broader systems thinking/tools for measuring sustainability, and a block
on inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability research. Students are evaluated both
B. Ness
3.2 The LUMES Program
3.2.1 Program Structure
The LUMES Program (Lund University International Master Program in
Environmental studies and Sustainability Science) is a 2-year graduate program
with approximately 40–50 students annually. Participants are from diverse academic backgrounds and nationalities. The program was launched in 1997 and has
undergone two major curriculum redevelopment processes. It is a cohesive program
where students take all first-year courses together as a single group. The program
consists of three 10-credit core courses during the first term: earth system science,
social theory, and sustainability science. During the second term, students take a
number of broader thematic courses including governance for sustainability, urban
and rural systems, economy and sustainability. In addition, there is one extended
course, knowledge to action, which spans part of the first term and the entire second
term. This course has strong ties to the sustainability science course. During the
third term, students must successfully complete four of a variety of targeted courses
offered during the term: energy, water, global health, gender, and social movements
amongst numerous others. Students complete the program with the successful submission, presentation, and defense of a Master’s thesis on a sustainability-related
topic that they design individually and conduct research.
3.2.2 Sustainability Science Course
The LUMES Sustainability Science course is one of the three main courses of the
first term of the program. It acts as a bridge to link the initial two courses, which
greatly differ from each other. The course runs from late-November until late-January with the holiday break of around 2 weeks in the middle. The course has strong
topical connections and schedule overlap with the knowledge to action course.
Learning outcomes for the sustainability science course—in differing manners and
degrees—center on the key competency areas with concentrated student knowledge
and skills development efforts on the history and evolution of sustainability science,
the main concepts in the field, (e.g., systems thinking, complexity, socio-ecological
systems, inter- and transdisciplinarity, resilience, political ecology, transitions),
interpersonal skills through multiple presentations, and group work activities. There
also is training in anticipatory competencies via a short learning segment on scenarios and envisioning. In addition, and covering multiple competency areas, there
is an emphasis on student comprehension of the different framing approaches with
a strong focus on the applicability, strengths, and weaknesses, of each of them. The
course structure is varied with learning activities on the development of sustainability science, broader systems thinking/tools for measuring sustainability, and a block
on inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability research. Students are evaluated both
B. Ness