Environmental Science

Master of Science in Environmental Economic

The Master of Science in Environmental Economics is a postgraduate programme that prepares professionals for advanced practice in environmental economics, natural resource economics, environmental policy, and sustainable development. The programme combines economic theory with practical environmental analysis, policy evaluation, and research application.

Core areas include environmental economics, natural resource economics, environmental valuation, climate change economics, pollution economics, environmental policy, cost-benefit analysis, sustainable development, research methods, and thesis. Students engage with both economic theory and practical environmental and policy analysis through coursework and research.

The programme is offered by the University of Eldoret as MSc in Environmental Studies (Environmental Economics) through the School of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, and Moi University as MSc in Agricultural Economics and Resource Management. Both are public universities offering programmes over two academic years through full-time modes of study.

Students develop competencies in environmental economics, natural resource valuation, policy analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and sustainable development. The programme includes coursework, examinations, policy analysis projects, and a supervised research thesis.

University of Eldoret charges similar fees to other public university environmental science masters programmes, estimated at approximately KES 200,000/year. Moi University charges similar fees for agricultural economics and resource management programmes. Entry requires a Bachelor's degree with Second Class Honours in economics, environmental studies, agriculture, or related fields from a recognised university.

Graduates pursue careers as environmental economists, natural resource economists, environmental policy analysts, sustainability consultants, research scientists, and lecturers in environmental economics across environmental agencies, research institutions, government ministries, consulting firms, international organisations, and universities.

Skills Required

Environmental Economics and Valuation
Natural Resource Economics and Management
Environmental Policy Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Economic Appraisal
Climate Change Economics and Carbon Markets
Pollution Economics and Environmental Regulation
Sustainable Development and Green Economy
Econometric Analysis and Environmental Modelling
Research Methods in Environmental Economics
Academic Writing and Thesis Research

Key Subjects

Environmental Economics and Valuation
Natural Resource Economics and Management
Environmental Policy Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Economic Appraisal
Climate Change Economics and Carbon Markets
Pollution Economics and Environmental Regulation
Sustainable Development and Green Economy
Econometric Analysis and Environmental Modelling
Research Methods in Environmental Economics
Thesis Research

Certifications

NEMA Environmental Certification
IAEE Environmental Economics Certification

Specializations

Natural Resource Economics

Focuses on natural resource economics, covering forestry, fisheries, minerals, water, and managing natural resource economics.

Environmental Valuation

Examines environmental valuation, covering contingent valuation, hedonic pricing, travel cost, and managing environmental valuation.

Climate Change Economics

Covers climate change economics, covering mitigation, adaptation, carbon markets, and managing climate change economics.

Environmental Policy

Focuses on environmental policy, covering regulation, instruments, governance, reform, and managing environmental policy.

Pollution Economics

Examines pollution economics, covering externalities, Pigouvian taxes, tradable permits, and managing pollution economics.

Sustainable Development

Covers sustainable development, covering green economy, circular economy, indicators, and managing sustainable development.

Duration: 2 years
Public, up to: Ksh 200,000
Job market: Moderate

The programme

What you study, how long it takes, and how it is delivered.

Practicalities

Study mode: Full-time
Attachment: 0 months
Average class: 15 students
Award: Masters

What you study

10 subjects

Environmental Economics and Valuation
Natural Resource Economics and Management
Environmental Policy Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Economic Appraisal
Climate Change Economics and Carbon Markets
Pollution Economics and Environmental Regulation
Sustainable Development and Green Economy
Econometric Analysis and Environmental Modelling
Research Methods in Environmental Economics
Thesis Research

Modules

12 in the programme

Environmental Economics and Valuation
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines externalities, market failure, public goods, Pigouvian taxes, and managing environmental economics.
Natural Resource Economics and Management
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers forestry, fisheries, minerals, water, exhaustible resources, and managing natural resource economics.
Research Methods in Environmental Economics
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers research design, data collection, analysis, environmental economics research methods, and conducting environmental economics research, preparing students for their thesis.
Environmental Policy Analysis
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines regulation, instruments, governance, reform, and managing environmental policy.
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Economic Appraisal
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers discounting, NPV, IRR, sensitivity, environmental CBA, and managing cost-benefit analysis.
Climate Change Economics and Carbon Markets
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines mitigation, adaptation, carbon markets, CDM, climate finance, and managing climate change economics.
Pollution Economics and Environmental Regulation
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers externalities, Pigouvian taxes, tradable permits, standards, and managing pollution economics.
Sustainable Development and Green Economy
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines green economy, circular economy, indicators, sustainability, and managing sustainable development.
Econometric Analysis and Environmental Modelling
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers regression, time series, panel data, environmental modelling, and managing econometric analysis.
Environmental Impact Assessment Economics
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines EIA economics, cost estimation, mitigation, compensation, and managing EIA economics.
International Environmental Economics and Trade
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers trade, environment, WTO, MEAs, climate agreements, and managing international environmental economics.
Research Thesis
Year 2Semester 29 creditsCore
Original supervised research thesis on an environmental economics topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and environmental economics knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Specialisations

Natural Resource Economics
Focuses on natural resource economics, covering forestry, fisheries, minerals, water, and managing natural resource economics.
Environmental Valuation
Examines environmental valuation, covering contingent valuation, hedonic pricing, travel cost, and managing environmental valuation.
Climate Change Economics
Covers climate change economics, covering mitigation, adaptation, carbon markets, and managing climate change economics.
Environmental Policy
Focuses on environmental policy, covering regulation, instruments, governance, reform, and managing environmental policy.
Pollution Economics
Examines pollution economics, covering externalities, Pigouvian taxes, tradable permits, and managing pollution economics.
Sustainable Development
Covers sustainable development, covering green economy, circular economy, indicators, and managing sustainable development.

A day as a student

A typical day during the MSc in Environmental Economics programme combines lectures, seminars, case studies, practical workshops, policy analysis exercises, and independent study. Sessions cover environmental economics, natural resource economics, environmental valuation, and environmental policy. Environmental economics sessions examine externalities, market failure, public goods, Pigouvian taxes, and managing environmental economics. Natural resource economics sessions cover forestry, fisheries, minerals, water, exhaustible resources, and managing natural resource economics. Environmental valuation sessions cover contingent valuation, hedonic pricing, travel cost, choice experiments, and managing environmental valuation. Climate change economics sessions cover mitigation, adaptation, carbon markets, CDM, and managing climate change economics. Pollution economics sessions cover externalities, Pigouvian taxes, tradable permits, standards, and managing pollution economics. Environmental policy sessions cover regulation, instruments, governance, reform, and managing environmental policy. Cost-benefit analysis sessions cover discounting, NPV, IRR, sensitivity, and managing cost-benefit analysis. Sustainable development sessions cover green economy, circular economy, indicators, and managing sustainable development. Econometric analysis sessions cover regression, time series, panel data, environmental modelling, and managing econometric analysis. Research methods sessions prepare students for their thesis, covering research design, data collection, and analysis. Case studies provide opportunities for analysing real environmental economics scenarios and policy issues. Practical workshops provide hands-on experience with economic modelling, cost-benefit analysis, and econometric tools. Policy analysis exercises provide hands-on experience with policy evaluation, environmental regulation, and economic appraisal. Seminars and discussion groups provide opportunities for debating current issues in environmental economics and presenting research findings. Guest lectures from experienced environmental economists, policy analysts, and researchers provide practical insights. The programme culminates in a supervised research thesis on an environmental economics topic.

The trade offs

In its favour

Programme addresses critical environmental and economic challenges in Kenya including climate change, natural resource management, and sustainable development.
Graduates are eligible for NEMA and IAEE certifications, enhancing career prospects.
KIPPRA provides research collaboration and career opportunities for environmental economics graduates.
Programme combines economics and environmental science, providing versatile skills for both economic analysis and environmental management.

Against it

Specific tuition fees for University of Eldoret and Moi University not independently verified.
No private university confirmed offering this programme.
Programme offered by limited number of universities, reducing institutional choice.
Career opportunities may be concentrated in government agencies and research institutions, with limited private sector demand.

What it costs

Tuition at both ends of the market, and how to pay for it.

What it costs, and where

Against 181 environmental science courses

Public179k to 200k

179k at Moi University200k at University of Eldoret

Annual tuition in Kenyan shillings, rounded. The upright tick is the median for this field, so a bar sitting entirely to its right is an expensive programme by the standards of its own subject.

The fine print

Moi ~187,200/yr (worldscholarshipforum). UoE 65,000/sem (uoeld.ac.ke). Unverified.

HELB postgraduate loans are available for Kenyan students. KIPPRA may offer research grants for environmental policy research. NEMA may offer research grants for environmental research. Some international organisations may offer fellowships for environmental economics research.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
KIPPRA Research Grant
NEMA Research Grant

Scholarships

3 recorded

HELB Postgraduate Loan
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan students pursuing postgraduate studies at recognised universities.
KIPPRA Research Grant
ScholarshipKsh 500,000Kenyan
KIPPRA provides research grants for public policy research including environmental economics.
NEMA Research Grant
ScholarshipKsh 500,000Kenyan
NEMA provides research grants for environmental research.

Getting in

The grades, the alternatives, and who accredits the award.

What you need

KCSE mean grade: N/A (Postgraduate)
Alternative entry: University of Eldoret requires at least Second Class Bachelor's degree in economics-related field from University of Eldoret or equivalent from accredited university recognised by Senate. Moi University requires similar qualifications. Contact respective universities for specific admission requirements.

How you are assessed

4 components

Coursework and Continuous Assessment
Coursework30% of the mark
Continuous assessment through coursework assignments, case study analyses, policy analysis reports, seminar presentations, and class participation.
Written Examinations
Examination70% of the mark
Written examinations covering environmental economics, natural resource economics, valuation, and policy.
Policy Analysis and Project Assessment
Project30% of the mark
Practical assessment through policy analysis projects, cost-benefit analysis, economic modelling, and demonstrating environmental economics skills.
Research Thesis
Research100% of the mark
Original supervised research thesis on an environmental economics topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and environmental economics knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Accreditation

The programme is accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). University of Eldoret and Moi University (both public) offer MSc programmes in environmental economics and related fields. All programmes meet CUE standards for postgraduate training in environmental economics. Graduates are eligible for NEMA environmental certification and IAEE environmental economics certification.

Accredited by

Commission for University Education (CUE)
Academic accreditationRequired
Programme accredited by CUE. University of Eldoret and Moi University (both public) offer MSc programmes in environmental economics and related fields. All programmes meet CUE standards for postgraduate training in environmental economics. Graduates are eligible for NEMA environmental certification and IAEE environmental economics certification.

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

6 roles

Environmental Economist
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 550,000
Conducts environmental economics analysis, overseeing valuation, policy, and managing environmental economics.
Natural Resource Economist
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 550,000
Manages natural resource economics, overseeing forestry, fisheries, water, and managing natural resource economics.
Environmental Policy Analyst
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 550,000
Analyses environmental policy, overseeing development, evaluation, and managing environmental policy.
Sustainability Consultant
Moderate demandKsh 130,000 to Ksh 600,000
Provides sustainability consulting, overseeing advisory, strategy, reporting, and managing sustainability.
Research Scientist
High demandKsh 130,000 to Ksh 600,000
Conducts environmental economics research, overseeing experiments, analysis, publications, and managing research projects.
Environmental Economics Lecturer
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 500,000
Teaches environmental economics at university or college level, overseeing instruction, research, and academic supervision.

Graduate outcomes

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Tools you will learn

STATA
SoftwarePrimary
STATA for econometric analysis, covering regression, time series, panel data, and managing econometric analysis.
R Studio
Software
R Studio for data analysis, covering environmental data, statistics, modelling, and managing data analysis.
Microsoft Excel
Software
Excel for cost-benefit analysis, covering CBA, NPV, IRR, sensitivity, and managing economic analysis.
SPSS
Software
SPSS for statistical analysis, covering survey data, valuation, and managing statistical analysis.

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Environmental economics is just about putting prices on nature.
Environmental economics covers comprehensive valuation, policy, regulation, natural resources, and sustainable development beyond just pricing nature.
This programme is only for economists.
Environmental economics skills are valuable for environmental scientists, policy makers, and natural resource managers beyond just economists.
Environmental valuation is just about surveys.
Environmental valuation covers comprehensive contingent valuation, hedonic pricing, travel cost, and choice experiments.
Environmental policy is just about making regulations.
Environmental policy covers comprehensive regulation, instruments, governance, reform, and market-based mechanisms.
Climate change economics is just about carbon taxes.
Climate change economics covers comprehensive mitigation, adaptation, carbon markets, CDM, and climate finance.
Natural resource economics is just about depletion.
Natural resource economics covers comprehensive forestry, fisheries, minerals, water, and renewable and non-renewable resource management.