Sustainable Development Management, M.A.
With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community has sent a strong signal for a new global partnership: developing countries, emerging countries and industrialized countries have agreed on 17 ambitious goals for sustainable global development (SDGs). To implement the 2030 Agenda, international organizations need highly qualified experts with a broad understanding of the diverse development topics and problems to implement projects.
The master's program in Sustainable Development Management, which is not only the only internationally accredited degree at HSRW, but also the only internationally accredited development-related degree in Germany, integrates and connects the parts of economics and political science relevant to sustainable development. These are supplemented by empirical methods and modules of project management. This combination gives you the necessary qualifications to help shape both the academic discourse on sustainable development and project practice. Our courses are based on the project cycle: You learn to successfully plan, implement, critically question and evaluate sustainable development projects.
Programme facts
| Degree | Master of Arts (M.A.) |
|---|---|
| Duration | 3 semesters, 90 ECTS |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Required English | B2 |
| Study mode | Full-Time |
| Start | Summer semester, winter semester |
| Application | Via uni-assist, winter semester until 15.07, summer semester until 15.01 |
| Admission | Admission restriction (NC): a competition of school grades |
| Tuition fee | €0 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €365.10 per semester |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
The programme has an admission restriction: the average grade of your certificate, converted to the German scale, decides. The cut-off changes every year — last year's value shows the order of magnitude, not a promise.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →What you study
1. SEMESTER
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
Graduates of Sustainable Development Management from Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences will be valuable employees who are highly sought after by various institutions in the fields of technical as well as financial development cooperation. Moreover, the strong focus of the master’s programme on project management gives our students an additional edge in the labour market. They will be able to pursue a broad range of careers in the following areas:
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- Public institutions: governments and ministries of developing countries (e.g. ministries of finance, industrial policy, rural development, education etc.), as well as develpment banks
- Multilateral development institutions, including the World Bank, IMF, the United Nations and other international and national NGOs (such as Oxfam International or the International Red Cross)
- Private sector: in the fields of consulting and engineering (at firms like ICON Consultant Group, GFA Consulting Group or Lahmeyer International)
- PhD: our graduates are also eligible for admission to international postgraduate programmes, including the Postgraduate Training Programme for Development Cooperation at the DIE (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik) and the doctoral programme of the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn, amongst others
Cost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (North Rhine-Westphalia), international students | €0 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €365.10 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree in a discipline related to social sciences, economics or industrial engineering with a German grade point average of 2.5 or higher, or an ECTS grade of A or B. |
|---|---|
| Language | English B2 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | Via uni-assist, winter semester until 15.07, summer semester until 15.01 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 3Application via uni-assist until 15.01uni-assist checks documents for 4–6 weeks — send them well before the deadline.
- 4Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
What language level do I need?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 15.01.2027 (93 days left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.