Price
Domestic learners
Coming soon
Qualification
MSFI
180 points
Duration
3 years part-time
Entry times
2 February 2026
13 July 2026
2027
Overview
Designed for real-world impact, our postgraduate programmes in Sustainable Futures and Innovation will enable the next generation of sustainability professionals to lead transformative change.
With flexible study options, you’ll build the confidence and capability to address today’s complex and wide-ranging sustainability challenges — from environmental systems and energy transitions, to business strategy and social equity. Start with four core courses in our one-year postgraduate certificate, expand your expertise with specialist courses in an endorsed area of your choice to earn a postgraduate diploma, then tackle a real-world challenge within your organisation or community to complete your master’s degree.
Blending the best of online and in-person learning, all core courses can be studied fully online, while endorsement options in business, environment, energy, or social impact are available on-campus at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Whether you're beginning your sustainability journey or are ready to lead change, your future — and the future of our communities — starts here.
*Postgraduate study options in Sustainable Futures and Innovation are subject to Universities New Zealand regulatory approval, expected by November 2025.
Specialist endorsements
Become an expert with our specialist endorsements, available in the Postgraduate Diploma or Master of Sustainable Futures and Innovation. Looking for more flexibility? Choose the unendorsed option to explore courses across the range of speciality subjects.
Structure
Our flexible part-time study options in sustainable futures and innovation enable you to complete your postgraduate certificate in one year, your postgraduate diploma in two years, or your master's degree in three years. Sign up to stay updated on full-time availability.
Time commitment
Unless otherwise stated, Tuihono UC | UC Online learners study across terms, rather than semesters. We have four terms per year which consist of nine-weeks of study (including a one-week study break), followed by a two-week period of marking and feedback.
Part-time learners complete one 15-point course every term, requiring approximately 18.5 hours of study per week. Study time includes taking in course material, reflection time and writing assessments. Our courses are flexible, enabling you to plan your study around your other commitments.
Upcoming term dates
Our current nine-week learning dates can be found below (please note: these dates exclude our two-week period of marking and feedback).
- 2 February – 5 April 2026
- Study break: 2 – 8 March 2026
- 27 April - 28 June 2026
- Study break: 25 – 31 May 2026
- 13 July - 13 September 2026
- Study break: 1 – 16 August 2026
- 28 September - 29 November 2026
- Study break: 26 October - 1 November 2026
Please note: these dates are provisional and may be subject to change.
What you'll study
We'll be sharing more news about courses and learning outcomes soon - sign up to stay updated.
Grow
Begin your sustainability journey with four core courses in sustainability innovation and transformation. You'll explore disruptive innovation and practices for next generation sustainability transformation and regenerative futures, as well as how to catalyse impact and build strategic influence to create lasting change.
Graduate with a PGCertSFI: at the end of these four courses you'll be eligible to graduate with a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Futures and Innovation.
Expand
Pick your endorsement, and advance your skills through four more flexible courses that will give you the analytical tools and capabilities you need to drive disruption for sustainable futures.
Endorsement options: choose to expand your skills in a specialisation of business, environment, energy or social impact. You'll complete specialist courses for each capability within the framework of sustainable futures and innovation.
Graduate with a PGDipSFI: at the end of these four courses you'll be eligible to graduate with a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Futures and Innovation, endorsed in your chosen specialisation.
Master
Put your learning into action through a 60-point challenge-led dissertation. You'll choose to tackle a project that you're passionate about, alongside a community or organisational partner and the support of our expert team.
Graduate with a MSFI: upon successful completion of your dissertation, you'll be eligible to graduate with a Master of Sustainable Futures and Innovation, endorsed in your chosen specialisation!
Our people
Our postgraduate programmes in sustainable futures and innovation are coordinated by Dr Kate Prendergast, with contributions from Professor Bronwyn Hayward (MNZM, FRSNZ), and other industry professionals and Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury academics.
Kate Prendergast is a Lecturer at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, where she works at the intersection of sustainability, health, and wellbeing, with a particular focus on urban governance and youth wellbeing in cities. Her research investigates how current and future generations of urban residents can flourish in sustainable ways in a time of widespread geopolitical, technological and environmental disruption.
She is a Research Fellow with Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) at the University of Surrey, where she manages the Children and Youth in Cities Lifestyle Evaluation (CYCLES) study in 7 world cities. Kate is also an investigator with the Mana Rangatahi: Climate Change and Decision Making project, using intergenerational storytelling and participatory methods to support culturally responsive climate action in Aotearoa communities. Her wider research background includes work on the links between the built environment and health, such as physical activity, nutrition, and obesity, and she was a lead researcher on the Sovereign Wellbeing Index, a large-scale study tracking the wellbeing of over 10,000 New Zealanders, and has contributed to multiple workplace wellbeing projects.
Bronwyn Hayward (MNZM, FRSNZ) is a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Sustainable Citizenship and Civic Imagination Research group at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury. Her research sits at the intersection of sustainability, youth, climate change and democracy. She has contributed to major international climate reports, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR6 (Synthesis report 2023), Cities & infrastructure (2022) and leading the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 Degrees C (2018). Bronwyn is co-primary investigator with the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) at the University of Surrey, where she leads the Children and Youth in Cities Lifestyle Evaluation (CYCLES) study in 7 world cities. She is also a co-primary investigator of the Mana Rangatahi: Climate Change and Decision Making project, supporting Indigenous young people facing climate change.
She was an Erskine Fellow with University College, Oxford in 2017 and has published numerous books, including Children, Citizenship and Environment and Sea Change: Climate Politics and New Zealand. Bronwyn has served in leadership roles for international research initiatives and contributed to UNEP’s global youth survey. Outside academia, she has worked in children’s media and served on the NZ Broadcasting Standards Authority, SPARK Foundation, and Give A Little. Her work has earned her numerous honours, including the 2019 Kiwibank Local Hero Award, and 2021 Supreme Woman of Influence Award.
Stay updated
If you’re keen to know more, stay updated on when enrolments open or ask a question, please sign up for updates below.
Cap & minimum enrolment threshold: a minimum number of learners is needed for effective interaction and feedback, while a maximum cap of learners ensures high quality learning and support. If the minimum number of enrolments required for a course isn’t met, or the maximum cap is exceeded, learners will be given the option to defer their study or receive a refund.
FAQ
All four core courses (which make up the Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Futures and Innovation) are available fully online, so you can study anywhere, anytime.
However, depending on your chosen endorsement area, some of the specialist courses that contribute to the Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Futures and Innovation are currently offered on-campus only.
Learners have access to the same support services as on-campus students, including academic advising, technical support, and library resources. There are also great resources for both Canterbury based and remote learners at the UC RecCentre. Learn more here.
Learners also have the support of our Tuihono UC Learner Experience team.
Sign up to stay updated on tuition fees.
There are a range of options you can use to finance your study, which you can learn more about here.
Whether you need advice finding the right course for you or support with the enrolment process, we’re here to help! Contact our enrolment support team for course information, technical help and enrolment support.
Applications are made online through our Tuihono UC | UC Online website – please sign up for updates to stay in the loop about when applications open.
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