Master of Science in Sustainable Tourism and Conservation Economics
The economics of conservation tourism decide whether Africa's wildlife survives, whether communities near protected areas prosper and whether destinations capture value or export it, and the professionals who can do that economics rigorously are scarce. Tourism boards, conservation organisations, ...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2032.
Roles
- Sustainable tourism specialist
- conservation economist
- destination development and planning lead
- tourism policy adviser
- protected area business and finance manager
- tourism investment and impact analyst
- tourism research and monitoring lead
- destination consultant
Employer types
- National tourism and wildlife authorities
- conservation organisations and protected area managers
- development finance and impact investors
- destination management organisations
- tourism boards and regional bodies
- Forward University · School of Hospitality
- Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume tour operators and lodge groups
- consulting firms
- research institutes and universities
- and the graduate's own venture
- incubated through the Forward Venture Studio
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- This programme is built for tourism, conservation, economics and development professionals moving into senior destination and conservation roles, and supports international careers. Progression routes include doctoral study.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Work integrated learning is carried by the applied project or dissertation, which is commissioned wherever possible by an external host organisation under a written brief, and by the practice components inside the taught blocks. Working professionals may site the project inside their own employment under Part D4, with the host's verification entering the assessment. The Capability Passport records the capability claims the project evidences, signed by the supervisor and, where applicable, the host. Read the co-op commitment
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Master of Science in Sustainable Tourism and Conservation Economics. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 501 | Applied Intelligence for Professionals Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 502 | Research Evidence and Method Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| MSTC 510 | Sustainable Tourism Systems and Destination Economics Both | 6 | 3-2-2 |
| MSTC 511 | Conservation Economics Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume and Natural Capital Valuation Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| MSTC 512 | Tourism Data, Remote Sensing and Intelligent Destination Analytics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| MSTC 513 | Destination Planning, Carrying Capacity and Design Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 503 | Governance, Ethics and Leadership of Intelligent Systems Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| MSTC 520 | Conservation Finance and Tourism Investment Performance | 7 | 3-2-4 |
| MSTC 521 | Community, Rights and Benefit Sharing in Tourism Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| MSTC 522 | Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Measurement Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| MSTC 523 | Advanced Sustainable Tourism Elective Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| MSTC 524 | Conservation and Destination Elective Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSTC 530 | Sustainable Tourism Project and Dissertation Performance | 20 | 0-2-12 |
| MSTC 531 | Doctoral and Research Preparation Seminar Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Objective | 5 | 3-2-0 |
| MSTC 532 | Research Translation and Policy Impact Objective | 5 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 90
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Assessment follows Part E without variation. Taught units are assessed inside their blocks by built artefacts, defended analyses and oral examination, with not more than 40 per cent written examination in any single unit. The major project or dissertation is supervised under Part F, examined with an external examiner, and defended orally; where the commissioning host is external, the host's verification enters the assessment under Part E6. Assessment principles. Assessment is authentic, criterion referenced and, for every capability claim above Level 2, verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer. There is no compensation between competencies: a student must master each one, and a marginal performance in one cannot be offset by strength in another. Feedback is returned quickly, within seven days of a block closing in the Block Sequence, so that it can inform the next unit. A student who does not yet meet the standard is given a further, structured attempt under Part E rather than being carried forward, which protects the value of the award while Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume supporting progression. Reasonable adjustments for disability are made under Part D without altering the competency standard.
Work-integrated learning
Work integrated learning is carried by the applied project or dissertation, which is commissioned wherever possible by an external host organisation under a written brief, and by the practice components inside the taught blocks. Working professionals may site the project inside their own employment under Part D4, with the host's verification entering the assessment. The Capability Passport records the capability claims the project evidences, signed by the supervisor and, where applicable, the host.
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Master of Science in Sustainable Tourism and Conservation Economics
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
SEMESTER 1 | YEAR 1 | 30 COMPETENCY UNITS
Year 1 · this step is worth 30 CU
Cumulative
30
Programme total
90
30 CU of 90 CU completed by the end of this step (33%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C2Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual Judgement CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning · Ethical and Contextual Judgement · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Model a visitor economy and value the natural and cultural assets it depends upon.
- PLO 2Design a sustainable destination strategy with carrying capacity, benefit sharing and financing.
- PLO 3Price, finance and structure conservation through tourism and blended finance.
- PLO 4Design and run monitoring that proves tourism's economic, social and ecological outcomes.
- PLO 5Apply data, remote sensing and intelligent tools to destination and ol of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and conservation decisions.
- PLO 6Apply tourism and conservation policy, governance and community rights to real decisions.
- PLO 7Communicate and defend a destination or conservation case to governments, investors and communities.
- PLO 8Deliver a major destination or conservation economics project for a real host with a measured outcome.
- PLO 9Lead across the tourism, conservation and community interface.
- PLO 10Acquire and demonstrate a new capability without formal instruction, evidenced in the Capability Passport.
Why this programme exists
The economics of conservation tourism decide whether Africa's wildlife survives, whether communities near protected areas prosper and whether destinations capture value or export it, and the professionals who can do that economics rigorously are scarce. Tourism boards, conservation organisations, development finance and investors all need people who can model visitor economies, price and finance conservation, design sustainable destinations and prove outcomes. This research weighted masters builds that specialist, connecting the School's tourism practice to the University's climate finance and data capability, and terminating in a major destination or conservation economics project delivered for a real host.
Admission requirements
A good first degree (second class or above) in tourism, economics, environment, conservation, business or a cognate field, or substantial relevant experience admitted through recognition of prior learning; plus a quantitative and reasoning task scored against Capabilities C2 and C7. All applicants must demonstrate competence in English, the language of instruction, through their qualifications or an approved proficiency test under Part A. International and non standard qualifications are assessed for equivalence against the profile above under the Credential Portability provisions, so that a suitably prepared applicant may enter from anywhere in the world. Selection considers the whole application, including the structured admission task, and is conducted without discrimination under the University's admissions policy. Alternative pathways: recognition of prior learning against the admission profile under Part G, including substantial professional practice in lieu of the named first degree field. Online components require the Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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