A Multidisciplinary Approach to Climate Change

“A Multidisciplinary Approach to Climate Change” (CCSS) is a unique opportunity to broaden your knowledge by attending classes with world-class university professors and expand your horizons in one of the most beautiful and lively cities in the world.

The CCSS is an exclusive 2-week study program that offers a high-quality multidisciplinary course, taught in English by top professors of many disciplines (Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Economics, Engineering, Geography, Humanities, Law, Marketing, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology) and by top practitioners from the business world. The CCSS brings together students from all over the World and some local students in a truly international environment. The course is complemented by social and cultural events, as well as academic field trips.

The course contents (and the areas of knowledge or disciplines that each subject deals with) are the following:

1. What is Climate Change? Earth's Energy Balance and Greenhouse Gases (Physics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry)

2. Science Consensus: Why we know that we are to blame (Physics, Earth Sciences)

3. Feedbacks, tipping points, and future global climate (Physics, Earth Sciences)

4. Impacts on Physical Systems (Earth Sciences, Geography)

5. Consequences of Climate Change on Cities, Settlements and Key Infrastructure & Adaptation (Geography, Economics)

6. Consequences of Climate Change on Biological Systems & Adaptation (Biology, Earth Sciences)

7. Sociology of Climate Change (Sociology, Psychology)

8. Art and Climate Change (Art, Humanities)

9. Science Consensus and the Climate Change Debate (Interdisciplinary)

10. International Response to Climate Change (Political Science, Law, Economics)

11. Introduction to Climate Change Policy (Economics, Political Science, Law)

12. Mitigation Strategies (Engineering, Economics, Business)

13. From Mitigation Strategies to Policy (Economics, Political Science)

14. Climate Change and Business (Business, Finance)

15. Conclusions: The Transition to Net Zero by 2050 (Interdisciplinary)

NOTE: the webpage requires choosing ONE discipline, so Environmental Studies has been chosen, but the course is multidisciplinary and all of the above-mentioned disciplines should appear under "discipline"

Course leader

Check the syllabus on our website for a complete list of our Faculty.

Target group

Undergraduate students in any field.
Bachelor’s degree graduates may also apply (professionals or graduate students).
A good command of English language (minimum B2 level recommended) is a general requirement for all applicants.

Course aim

A) Introduction

Climate change is the main global environmental problem and one of the main economic and social problems facing humanity. And citizens increasingly perceive it as such. For example, the latest Eurobarometer survey, published in 2023 by the European Commission, shows that 93% of EU citizens believe that climate change is a serious problem, and 77% that it is a very serious problem. Moreover, climate change ranks as the third most serious problem facing the world as a whole, after ‘poverty, hunger and lack of drinking water’ and ‘armed conflicts’.

On the other hand, climate change is a multidimensional problem that must be studied from all disciplines of knowledge. However, our curricula do not usually offer a multi- or interdisciplinary understanding of the problem. Furthermore, although the population perceives it as a very serious problem, there is a notable lack of knowledge about its nature, effects, possible scenarios, policies, and responses to the challenge it poses for humanity.

B) Objectives

The main objective of this course is to alleviate the shortcomings of our curricula and the lack of knowledge of a large part of the population mentioned in the introduction. To this end, the course offers a multidisciplinary and rigorous vision of the problem of climate change. Experts in each subject offer this comprehensive, university-level vision. Although academically rigorous, their classes are adapted to the necessary introductory level. This is necessary given the heterogeneous profile that students will have.

In addition to the primary objective, the course has a secondary objective. The complementary objective is to provide an enriching study abroad experience. Studying abroad provides students with extraordinary benefits in terms of academic, cultural, and personal enrichment.