PGDip in Sustainable Development

The Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Sustainable Development is an honours-level qualification and comprises of eight taught modules that can be completed over one or two years. The programme is presented at venues on Stellenbosch University main campus and external venues in and around Stellenbosch and Cape Town.

The programme is aimed at working professionals, activists and practitioners, and recent graduates who want to strengthen their engagement with current sustainability thinking, research and practice.

The PGDip provides the entry point into the CST’s wider research and postgraduate training environment. Students who graduate from the PGDip and are eager to continue their academic research training can apply for the MPhil in Sustainable Development, and thereafter the PhD in Sustainable Development.

Curriculum

The programme consists of eight modules reflecting the core research areas of the CST, which speak to the heart of our global polycrisis in the ways that students approach challenges and solutions. Modules provide a global perspective on sustainability transitions and transformations while delving into the dynamics and trends across biodiversity and climate change, just energy transitions, water and food nexus, and sustainable urbanisms. The programme also emphasises complexity literacy, governance and institutional change, and leadership and ethics to support just and sustainable futures.

Case studies, field trips and immersive experiences allow students an opportunity to connect with local initiatives experimenting with sustainability challenges. The teaching, learning and assessment approach facilitates rigorous theoretical engagement to internationally relevant bodies of knowledge alongside considered application of knowledge to a diverse range of contexts.

Modules:

  • Sustainability transitions and transformations
  • Complexity literacy and systems worldviews
  • Biodiversity and climate change
  • Financing just energy transitions
  • Water and food nexus
  • Just and sustainable urbanisms
  • Governance and institutional change
  • Leadership for sustainability transitions and transformations

Admission requirements and selection process

Admission into the PGDip is possible via two routes:

Option 1:

Any bachelor’s or BTech degree or a relevant four-year diploma with a 65% pass mark in one of the following major subjects. Relevant work experience will also be considered for admission.

Option 2:

If you wish to apply to the programme on the merit of recognition of prior learning (RPL) for access are required to have any tertiary three-year programme of formal studies (NQF level 6) and five years’ working experience. Your qualifications and experience must comply with the recognition of prior learning (RPL) regulations of the University, the Faculty, and the Centre for Sustainability Transitions, respectively.

The number of students selected will be influenced by, among other things, staff capacity and the availability of resources within the Centre, as well as academic merit and University transformation objectives. As staff capacity and resources may fluctuate from year to year, the number of students selected can also differ from year to year.

Application process and additional resources

Applications for the PGDip in Sustainable Development is closed for the 2025 academic year.

Contact information

Dr Megan Davies
PGDip programme leader
megandavies@sun.ac.za

Ntobsie Ngcwenga
PGDip programme administrative officer
ngcwenga@sun.ac.za

FAQ’s

The Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development is ideal for working professionals as well as those interested in doing the programme full-time. Students have two years to complete the programme. For working professionals, modules are spread over the course of the year allowing you to design your academic programme around your work commitments. The programme carefully considers time commitments for each module, ensuring that these are as feasible as possible in the context of ongoing work commitments.

All students must attend the compulsory orientation and foundation module (Sustainability Transitions and Transformations) at the start of the programme. The only other requirement is students register and attend the compulsory capstone module, Leadership for Sustainability Transitions and Transformations, in their final year of registration. The first and last modules are always fixed, but the combination of electives that you select in your first and second year can be done to best suit your schedule and availability. This might look like taking four modules in the first year, and four modules in the second year, with variations in between.

The CST does not offer any funding for the PGDip programme. We encourage students to visit the Postgraduate Office for funding options.

Individual assignments are the equivalent of exams. The assessment approach for each module draws on a combination of individual, group, and reflective assignments.

The teaching and learning approach prioritises vibrant and dynamic place-based learning. The contact periods for all modules take place in person in Stellenbosch, at venues around Stellenbosch University main campus. The in-person contact blocks run from Monday to Friday, every day from 08:30 – 17:00. It is compulsory to attend. No online participation is permitted. During this period, you will need to take study or annual leave to be fully present for the teaching and learning experience.

Stellenbosch is a vibrant student town. Unfortunately, formal university accommodation for postgraduate students is limited and therefore, you are required to arrange private, short-term accommodation for the duration of the in-person modules or over the course the programme, depending on your personal circumstances.

PGDip and Honours qualifications are pitched at NQF level 8. This means the qualifications are the same in terms of the level of accreditation. The main difference is that a PGDip does not require students to complete a mini-research project. Instead, a PGDip is pitched towards students who are looking for an interdisciplinary qualification oriented towards a diversity of real-world applications.

Applicants must have a pass rate of 65% in a bachelor’s or BTech degree, or a relevant four-year diploma (NQF level 7) to qualify for access into the PGDip. If you wish to apply to the programme on the merit of recognition of prior learning (RPL) applicants are required to have any tertiary-level, three-year programme of formal studies (NQF level 6) and five years’ working experience. For both options, relevant work experience is considered for admission. While you may qualify for access into the PGDip, selection into the programme is done according to a careful set of criteria and procedures spelled out in the Yearbook of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

Applications for the 2025 academic year are open until 30 September 2024. By this date, you must complete your formal application via the Stellenbosch University student application system. This includes relevant additional document that you must complete and upload as part of your application, including the departmental ppplication form, letter of motivation and CV.

The qualification can empower you to continue in your current professional pathway, by strongly integrating a multi-faceted understanding of sustainability. More than just knowledge about sustainability, the PGDip cultivates skills and values that are vital for supporting change processes across a diversity of settings. If you are seeking a new personal or professional mission, the PGDip offers a space for curiosity, learning and exploration. If you are eager to continue in an academic direction, there are possibilities to continue your studies and become more involved in transformative sustainability research. One option is the CST’s MPhil in Sustainable Development programme.

The schedule for the 2025 academic year will be finalised in November 2024. These dates will be communicated on our website. The schedule for the year takes into consideration the structure of modules, which each run over five weeks, with the in-person block contact period taking place in the second week. These five-week modules run back-to-back during the year, which means you will only have to focus on one module at a time, including preparation, in-person learning, and assessments. In addition, block contact periods are evenly spaced out and you will be required to attend in-person every six weeks or so.

Each year we offer the module, Introduction to Sustainability Transitions, for students who are not part of our full-time or part-time PGDip in Sustainable Development programme. Keep an eye out for the module dates, format and module description on the CST website.