Master in Ecosystem Services

The MSc in Ecosystem Services at Dresden University of Technology is a 4-semester programme starting in the winter semester, based in Zittau and delivered across multiple sites. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, examining their effects on ecosystem functioning and human well-being. The programme brings together the natural and social sciences, drawing on the expertise of the International Institute (IHI) Zittau, the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at TU Dresden, the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz, and the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development in Dresden. Core modules cover Ecosystem Services concepts, Applied Ecology, Introduction into Key Taxa, Empirical Social Research Methods, Intercultural Communication, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Governance, and Ecological Economics. From the second semester onward, students choose a focus area from five options: Environmental Social Sciences, Biotechnology, Ecology and Collections, Forestry, or Spatial Development and Natural Resource Management. Courses take place in Zittau and Görlitz in the first two semesters, with some courses in Dresden or Tharandt from the second semester depending on the focus area. Students may also opt for a mobility semester abroad in the third semester. An internship of three or six weeks is required, and the fourth semester is devoted to the Master's thesis. The programme is offered at Dresden University of Technology, based in Zittau, Germany.