Module manager: John Marsham
Email: J.Marsham@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
Familiarity with: Basic social science relevant for climate change. Basic principles and concepts of climate science.
SOEE5868M
This module is not approved as an Elective
What happens when climate change is understood as a question of ‘risk’? This module addresses climate risks and their management, including risk perception and communication, analysis of climate hazards, risk assessment and management approaches. By the end of the module students should be able to understand risk assessments and decision-making strategies, and contribute to their delivery, but also to understand underlying theory and critically assess evidence and approaches to risk and uncertainty in climate futures.
By the end of this module, students will have gained:
• Knowledge of current understanding of how climate change affects hazards and impacts, and
approaches to uncertainty (online lectures, in-person seminars).
• An understanding of how to use peer-reviewed and other information to inform and interpret
climate change risk assessments (computer-lab classes, online lectures, seminars, individual
assessment).
• An understanding of how to communicate assessed risk to diverse audiences and discuss
different approaches to decision making based on risks (online lectures, seminars, individual
assessment).
• Experience relating theoretical concepts taught and explored in the module to real-world
contexts (throughout – and including individual assessment).
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1 Outline approaches to defining, perceiving, and measuring risk.
2. Explain what can be determined about the likelihood and magnitude of climate events (e.g., ice sheet change, sea level rise, mid latitude storms and flooding).
3. Analyse diverse climate risk problems and apply appropriate risk framings.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
1. Critical thinking (academic, work-ready, sustainability): The ability to weigh up different arguments and perspectives, using supporting evidence to form opinions, arguments, theories and ideas.
2. Academic integrity (academic): The ability to search for, evaluate and use appropriate and relevant information sources to help strengthen the quality of academic work and independent research.
3. Academic writing (academic): The ability to write in a clear, concise, focused and structured manner that is supported by relevant evidence.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Lectures | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Seminars | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Seminars | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Practicals | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Independent online learning hours | 1.5 | ||
| Private study hours | 119.5 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 29 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 150 | ||
Formative feedback will be provided in seminars throughout the module. There will also be a group project on critiquing a risk assessment which will be presented to the class with teaching staff providing formative feedback which will scaffold the individual critique for the assessment.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Critique of an existing Risk Assessment | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team