Master in Climate Change

Program Presentation

The 1992 signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was the beginning of a series of initiatives aimed at curbing the indifference that had existed until then regarding the emissions of certain gases into the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, causing an increase in the overall temperature of the earth.

Later, with the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and its subsequent entry into force, it was given definitive recognition by being included, more or less successfully in government agendas of developed nations, in private investment and ultimately, in the day to day perception of civil society.

Nevertheless, other than specific interests, there exists much ignorance about the mechanisms of climate change and its impact on biodiversity, production systems and the general population, hence the need for qualified personnel to carry out actions and make decisions in the fight against global warming.

The Masters in Climate Change that we present here responds to the need to train critical professionals in different sectors, who can find alternatives and business opportunities arising from this phenomenon to develop plans for the adaptation and mitigation through Research, Development and Innovation projects.

For this reason, it is considered essential to train the student with a previous environmental background, so as to allow them to understand the basic issues of climate change and, thus, achieve, after the study of the second part, a comprehensive view of the problem at the environmental, socio-political and economic levels.

Who is the programme for?

The Master in Climate Change is aimed at university graduates from middle grade or higher, that from their personal characteristics or by their experience, may desire quality training in this area.

Diploma

Successful completion of the Program will enable you to be awarded the degree in Master in Climate Change.

After successfully completing the Program, the student will receive the degree as awarded by the University where they have enrolled.

Program Structure

The estimated duration of the Master Program in Climate Change is 920 hours (92 credits).

With regard to the distribution of the time it is established that:

Being a distance learning program and not subject to instructor-led classes, a specific beginning date is not set, and so the student can register at any time, provided that there are places available.
For academic and learning reasons, the program has a minimum duration of a year.
The maximum time available to perform the program is two years. In this period of time, the student should have supplied all the appropriate evaluations, as well as the Final Project or Thesis.

The credit structure of the Master program in Climate Change is collected in the following table:

	CREDITS^a	DURATION^b	HOURS
1^st part: Marco Theoretical and conceptual framework	40	9	400
2^nd part: Climate Change	32	9	320
3^rd part: Scientific research methodology and the Master’s Final Project	20	6	200
TOTAL	92	24	920

a. The equivalence in credits may vary according to the university that awards the degree
b. Duration in months

Objectives

General Objective

To train multidisciplinary professionals in climate change, who are able to develop projects and design strategies for sustainable development in vulnerable communities.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

To understand the approach to sustainable development in the natural, political, territorial and socio-economic dimensions.
To become familiar with the conventions and treaties existing between nationsthat establish management policies oriented toward sustainability, highlighting the concern with these issues, particularly, climate change within international politics.
To understand the magnitude and importance of the transformations that, at the global level, affect the operation of the planet as a result of human progress.
To analyze the current panorama and transformation processes in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean from the point of view of sustainable development.
To describe the atmospheric pollutants arising from the use of fossil fuels, in particular, the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG).
To identify the regulatory framework of atmospheric pollution that applies to business.
To become familiar with the preventative measures of control and end-of-line of industrial processes.
To understand the laws of dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere.
To recognize the importance of minimization as a preventative tool in management, and in the incorporation of clean technologies and the adoption of best practices in industrial activities.
To describe the principles of recycling policies and the study of composting and biomethanisation, as a particular case of conversion for fermentable organic matter.
To analyze how climate change affects the balance of the water cycle.
To relate the causes which lead to the loss of biodiversity and the forms of action in the face of climate change.
To become familiar withnow the specific characteristics of the current endangered species, which steps to take and the successes that have been obtained.
To understand the meaning of management and sustainable exploitation of the forest and its role as a carbon sink.
To analyze the alternatives for using the best techniques for soil remediation in different cases, from the standpoint of technical and economic viability.
To describe techniques of carbon sequestration employed in soil as well as others for monitoring and sanitation and/or recovery used in the remediation of contaminated soil.
To learn how to implement ISO 14001 in any type of business.
To learn how to develop an environmental impact study.
To understand the relationship between the emission rights market and the variables that determine the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
To learn how to calculate carbon footprints in different scenarios.
To emphasize the role that environmental education can and must assume in the stages of reconstruction and development after a disaster, in order to ensure, through the incorporation of risk management, the medium and long term sustainability of the processes.
To propose the features that environmental education must include in such a way that it effectively turns into a tool for the reduction of individual and collective vulnerability as a result of the dynamics of nature and society.

Career Opportunities

Some of the professional opportunities for the Master’s program in Climate Change are the following:

Diagnostics, planning and development of mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate change.
Design and dimensioning planner of energy-efficient facilities, management and maintenance
Consulting Services
Climate change office technician
Environmental Management
Teaching

Study Plan

The Master Program in Climate Change consists of a total of four parts, the first three of which are formative, and the fourth is comprised of scientific research and a Masters thesis.

1^st PART: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK (400 HOURS)

A series of subjects regarding environmental issues, directly or indirectly related to the phenomenon of climate change, the goal of which is to provide the student with sufficient technical expertise in order to continue with the Program.

The subjects and corresponding hours that make up the first part are shown in the following table:

1^st PART: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
#	SUBJECTS	HOURS
1	Introduction to sustainable development	10
2	Treatment of gaseous effluents	100
3	Waste Management	40
4	Water cycle	30
5	Natural Resources	40
6	Soil Contamination	40
7	Business Environmental Management	40
8	Environmental impact assessment	40
9	Product life cycle analysis and carbon footprint	30
10	Risk management and environmental education	30
TOTAL		400

These subjects, in spite of being independent of each other, are structured according to a coherent teaching sequence that facilitates their understanding. Each subject is divided into chapters, the content of which includes printed material that should be studied to satisfactorily answer the assessment activities.

2^nd PART: CLIMATE CHANGE (320 HOURS)

This part takes into account the current implications and future regional scenarios in relation to the political-strategic, environmental and socioeconomic nature of the climate change phenomenon, with an emphasis on adaptation and mitigation strategies in different sectors.

The subjects and corresponding hours that make up the second part, are shown in the following table:

2^nd PART: CLIMATE CHANGE
#	SUBJECTS	HOURS
1	Agreements, negotiations and instruments on climate change	80
2	Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change	90
3	Climate change mitigation	80
4	Science and Politics of climate change	70
TOTAL		320

3^rd SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND THE MASTER’S FINAL PROJECT THESIS (200 HOURS)

Finally, the third part is devoted to the study of Scientific Research Methodology as a step prior to the development of the Master's Thesis.

Scientific Research Methodology (50 hours) presents the stages of the research process and its techniques, so that the student becomes familiar with the scientific method, allowing them to make contributions to the field. We also review some of the main statistical tools that further help totest hypotheses, by providing mathematical support to the observations made.

In order to be awarded the master’s degree in Climate Change, the presentation and completion of the Master’s Final Project or Thesis (150 hours) is necessary. The aim is to produce a complete document that develops the proposed project, contemplating the possibility of its actual implementation. It must contribute to the fields studied or to their relationship, both theoretical and applied, and reflect the doctrines, theories, and related disciplines.

3^rd SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND THE MASTER’S FINAL PROJECT THESIS
#	SUBJECTS	HOURS
1	Scientific Research Methodology	50
2	Master’s Final Project or Thesis	150
TOTAL		200

Note: The contents of the academic program may be subject to slight modifications, depending on the updates or the improvements made.

Management

Academic Administration

Dr. Eduardo García Villena. Director of the Environment Area in the International Ibero-american University (UNINI)

Teaching staff and Authors

Dr. Ángel M. Álvarez Larena. Dr. in Geology. Prof. at the Autonomous University of Barcelona
Dr. Roberto M. Álvarez. Prof. of the University of Buenos Aires.
Dr. Óscar Arizpe Covarrubias. Prof. at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, Mexico
Dr. Isaac Azuz Adeath. Prof. at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, Mexico
Dr. David Barrera Gómez. Doctor from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia
Dr. Brenda Bravo Díaz. Prof. of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico
Dr. Rubén Calderón Iglesias. Prof. of the European University Miguel de Cervantes
Dr. Leonor Calvo Galván. Prof. of the University of León. Spain
Dr. Olga Capó Iturrieta. Dr. Industrial Engineering. Prof. of the Research Institute in Agropecuarias, Chile
Dr. Alina Celi Frugoni. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. José Cortizo Álvarez. Prof. of the University of León. Spain
Dr. Antoni Creus Solé. Dr. in Industrial Engineering
Dr. Juan Carlos Cubría García. Prof. of the University of León. Spain
Dr. Raquel Domínguez Fernández. Prof. of the University of León
Dr. Luís A. Dzul López. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. Xavier Elías Castells. Director of the By-product Exchange of Catalonia
Dr. Milena E. Gómez Yepes. Dr. in Project Engineering. Prof. of the University of the Quindio, Colombia
Dr. Ramón Guardino Ferré. Dr. in Project Engineering. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. Emilio Hernández Chiva. Dr. in Industrial Engineering. Spanish National Research Council, CSIC
Dr. Cristina Hidalgo González. Prof. of the University of León
Dr. Francisco Hidalgo Trujillo. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. Víctor Jiménez Arguelles. Prof. of the Autonomous Metropolitan University. Mexico
Dr. Miguel Ángel López Flores. Prof. of the National Polytechnic Institute (CIIEMAD-IPN)
Dr. Izel Márez López. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. Carlos A. Martín. Prof. of the National University of the Littoral, Argentina
Dr. Isabel Joaquina Niembro García. Dr. in Project Engineering. Prof. of the Monterrey Institute of Technology
Dr. César Ordóñez Pascua. Prof. of the University of León
Dr. José María Redondo Vega. Prof. of the University of León. Spain
Dr. Gladys Rincón Polo. Prof. of the Simón Bolívar University, Venezuela
Dr. José U. Rodríguez Barboza. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. Ramón San Martín Páramo. Dr. in Industrial Engineering. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. Raúl Sardinha. Prof. of the Piaget Institute, Portugal
Dr. Héctor Solano Lamphar. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. Martha Velasco Becerra. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Dr. Alberto Vera. Prof. of the National University of Lanús, Argentina
Dr. Margarita González Benítez. Professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain.
Dr. Lázaro Cremades Oliver. Professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain
Dr. (c) Pablo Eisendecher Bertín. Professor of the Environment Department in FUNIBER
Dr. (c) Kilian Tutusaus Pifarré. Professor of the Environment Department in FUNIBER
Dr. (c) Karina Vilela. Professor of the Environment Department in FUNIBER
Dr. (c) Erik Simoes. Prof. of the International Ibero-american University
Ms. Omar Gallardo Gallardo. Prof. of the University of Santiago in Chile
Ms. Susana Guzmán Rodríguez. Prof. of the Central University of Ecuador
Ms. Icela Márquez Rojas. Prof. of the Technological University of Panama

FUNIBER Training Scholarships

The Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER) allocates periodically an extraordinary economic item for FUNIBER Training Scholarships.

To apply, please fill out the information request form that appears in the web of FUNIBER or contact directly the Foundation’s headquarters in your country that will inform you if you need to provide some additional information.

Once the documentation is received, the Evaluation Committee will determine your application's eligibility for the FUNIBER Training Scholarship.