The Erasmus Mundus Joint programme in Global Environment and Development (MERGED) is a leading international two-year master. The language of instruction is English.
All students study together for the first year at the University of Copenhagen. In the second year, you move to study in either Milan or Warsaw, depending on specialisation:
The choice of specialisation is made at the time of application and is binding. We accept up to 40 students each year, distributed equally between the specialisations.
The first year focuses on obtaining interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, including supervised data collection in the field and in-depth knowledge preparing you for your specialisation.
In the second year, the first semester is dedicated to coursework and the second semester to the thesis. The programme ends with a two-day End of Programme Employment Workshop.
The first year at University of Copenhagen provides knowledge and experience of interdisciplinarity, a thorough and broad introduction to environment-development issues, and preparing you for your second-year specialisation while also developing your generic skills and academic potential.
More specifically, the first year:
- provides you with an understanding of the principles and processes that underpin environment-development challenges and solutions, with particular importance assigned to interdisciplinarity
- provides you with methods to collect primary data in the field, then takes you to the field (at various global destinations) to practice these methods
- prepares you for your second-year specialisation
- develops your intellectual, practical, numeracy, communication, information and communication technology, interpersonal/teamwork, self-management, and professional development skills
- inculcates the values of scholarship: inquiry, reflection, integrity, open-mindedness, evidence-based thinking, and collegiality
First-year programme overview
At University of Copenhagen, there are four blocks (each is nine weeks) of teaching each year. Each block is 15 ECTS, with 1 ECTS equivalent to around 28 work hours. The restricted elective courses must be selected from the specific list of courses (see below) for your line of specialisation.
The following programme overview is for students with study start in September 2025. If you are already a MERGED student, please find your programme overview on UCPH Study Information.
Compulsory courses: 30 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 30 ECTS
| Year | Block 1 | Block 2 | Block 3 | Block 4 |
| 1 | Global Challenges in Environment and Development (7,5 ECTS) | Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Environment and Development (7,5 ECTS) | Practicing Interdisciplinary Field Research on the Environment (15 ECTS) | Restricted elective course (7,5 ECTS) |
| 1 | Restricted elective course (7,5 ECTS) | Restricted elective course (7,5 ECTS) | see above | Restricted elective course (7,5 ECTS) |
30 ECTS must be covered as restricted elective courses from the list below. Click on each course for a detailed description:
| Course Code | Course Title | Block | ECTS |
| LPLK10367U | Tropical Crop Production | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NPLK16001U | Advanced Crop Production | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIGK13003U | Tropical Forest Restoration | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NPLK19002U | Experimental Soil Analysis | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NPLK14004U | Life Cycle Assessment within Biological Production Systems | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| LPLK10287U | Agroforestry | 2 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NPLK18001U | Applied Insect Ecology and Biological Control | 2 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NFYK13011U | Applied Statistics: From Data to Results | 2 | 7.5 ECTS |
| LNAK10072U | Global Environmental Governance | 31 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NPLK20000U | Plant Ecophysiology in a Changing Climate | 31 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIGK17000U | Land Use and Environmental Modelling | 31 | 7.5 ECTS |
| LNAK10010U | Environmental Impact Assessment | 4 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIFK14026U | Entrepreneurship and Innovation | 1+4 | 7.5 ECTS |
| LOJK10292U | Agricultural Value Chains in Developing Countries | 4 | 7.5 ECTS |
| Project in Practice | 4 | 15 ECTS | |
| Project outside the course scope | 1-5 | 7.5 ECTS |
The restricted elective courses (a total of 15 ECTS) must be chosen from the below list. Click on each course for a detailed description:
| Course Code | Course Title | Block | ECTS |
| NIGK24014U | Applied Ethnobotany | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIFK15004U | Political Ecology | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIGK14009U | Land Use Transitions in the Global South | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| LOJK10272U | Applied Econometrics | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIFK22002U | Global Forests and People | 1 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIFK23005U | People, Poverty and Environmental Change | 2 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIFK16006U | Participatory Natural Resource Governance | 2 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NGEK10024U | Globalisation and Dynamics in Global Value Chains | 2 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIFK17004U | Environmental Justice | 2 | 7.5 ECTS |
| LNAK10072U | Global Environmental Governance | 31 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIGK13012U | Human Adaptation to Climate Change and Variability | 31 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIGK20001U | Rural-Urban Transformations in the Global South | 4 | 7.5 ECTS |
| LOJK10292U | Agricultural Value Chains in Developing Countries | 4 | 7.5 ECTS |
| NIFK21000U | Gender, Environment and Sustainable Development | 4 | 7.5 ECTS |
| LNAK10010U | Environmental Impact Assessment | 4 | 7.5 ECTS |
| Project in Practice | 4 | 15 ECTS | |
| Project outside the course scope | 1-5 | 7.5 ECTS |
Specialisation: Agricultural Development
With the specialisation in Agricultural Development at the second-year at University of Milan, you will get the qualifications to be an innovative professional figure equipped with
- a solid technical-scientific culture
- a broad multidisciplinary vision of the environmental and agricultural system
- a high operational preparation to manage economic and productive activities related to agriculture and natural resources in a global framework and long-term sustainability
You will be able to operate in international contexts, both in the Northern and the Southern parts of the world.
More specifically, the second year at University of Milan:
- provides you with the knowledge to address global challenges in the food system and the agricultural production
- provides you with a technical understanding of sustainable agricultural practices
- provides you with methods to utilize the agricultural machinery efficiently and with minimal environmental impact; to optimize the livestock production also to reduce environmental footprint; to implement sustainable irrigation practices; to minimize soil degradation while maximizing its fertility and health
- develops your capacity to manage innovative agricultural systems, by using bioeconomic and statistical tools and building on international cooperation
- allows you to develop your master thesis work: for this purpose, collaboration with our Associate Partners can be explored
Second-year programme overview of the specialisation in Agricultural Development
At the University of Milan, the academic year is divided into two semesters. Each semester is 30 ECTS.
Compulsory courses: 19 ECTS
MERGED Intra-semester workshop: 3 ECTS
Elective courses: 11 ECTS
Master’s thesis: 27 ECTS
| Year | Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
| 2 | Laboratory in sustainability of agricultural mechanization (6 ECTS) | MERGED intra-semester workshop (3 ECTS) |
| 2 | Laboratory in sustainability of livestock systems (7 ECTS) | Master’s thesis (27 ECTS) |
| 2 | Laboratory in sustainability of water management (6 ECTS) | – |
| 2 | Elective courses (11 ECTS) | – |
You must choose elective courses of 6 ECTS credits. A list of further elective courses may be explored together with the Tutor at University of Milan.
You must choose 8 credits from courses of your choice. Among these is the Intra-semester workshop (3 ECTS) which is an integral part of the MERGED didactic program. A list of further elective courses may be explored together with the Tutor at University of Milan.
| Title | ECTS |
| Intra-semester workshop | 3 |
| Student choice teachings | Up to 8 |
| Internship | 3 |
| Additional language skills: Italian (compulsory for non-Italian speakers) | 3 |
Master’s thesis
The thesis corresponds to 20 ECTS obtained with internship work and 7 ECTS provided by the final thesis defense.
Specialisation: Sustainable Environmental Development
The second-year specialisation at University Warsaw is in Sustainable Environmental Development. The compulsory modules focus on studying environment and development issues in relation to contemporary social challenges.
With this specialisation you will:
- develop your understanding of the principles and processes that underpin sustainable development and be able to apply these principles to environmental development
- develop your abilities in the use of information technology, communication skills, and time management in an environment and development context
- develop your abilities to use methods, assess data, and design feasible environment-development interventions
- be equipped for a career in sustainable development and allied professions requiring an ability to synthesise concepts and ideas and to take a holistic view
Second-year programme overview of the specialisation in Sustainable Environmental Development
At the University of Warsaw, the academic year is divided into two semesters. Each semester is 30 ECTS.
Compulsory modules: 19 ECTS
MERGED Intra-semester workshop: 3 ECTS
Elective modules: 11 ECTS
Master’s thesis: 27 ECTS
| Year | Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
| 2 | Global problems in the Contemporary World (5 ECTS) | Merged intra-semester workshop (3 ECTS) |
| 2 | Emerging Sustainable Development Law (5 ECTS) | Master’s thesis (27 ECTS) |
| 2 | Sustainable Development Economics (4 ECTS) | – |
| 2 | Measuring, Evaluating and Reporting Sustainability and Innovation (5 ECTS) | – |
| 2 | Elective modules (11 ECTS) | – |
You must choose at least 11 ECTS elective modules from the list below:
| Course title | Semester | ECTS |
| Innovations and Knowledge Transfer | 2 | 4 |
| Global Justice and Human Rights | 2 | 6 |
| Challenges of the Social Dimension of Sustainability | 3 | |
| Research Study | 2 | 8 |
| International Environmental Law | 2 | 8 |
| Entrepreneurship, Leadership & CSR | 1 | 3 |
| Reclamation, Remediation and Renaturalisation of the Environment | 1 | 2 |
| The World at the Crossroads | 1 | 2 |
| Communication, Education and Cooperation | 1 | 3 |
| Climate Change | 1 | 3 |
Master’s thesis
You must write a Master’s thesis corresponding to 30 ECTS – the Master’s thesis includes the the MERGED intra-semester workshop (3 ECTS). The thesis must be written within the academic scope of the programme and itmust be based on empirical field work. The fieldwork can be combined with an internship at international organisations, NGOs, universities, or similar. The thesis must be submitted and examined.