Testimonials
Milica Kocovic De Santo, Serbia, Master’s in Degrowth, Ecological and Economic Policy
As a PhD, scientific researcher, and university lecturer with seven years of experience in this field, I can unequivocally state that enrolling in the MA program in Degrowth, Ecological and Economic Policy at the Autonomous University of Barcelona was my finest professional decision.
The program connected me with an extraordinary international network of students and instructors who share my “immodest ambition” – changing the world. Through intensive interaction (classes four times weekly), we developed an incredible synergy that transcends the limitations of the online format.
From personal experience, I recommend part-time study rather than the full-time option I chose. Although I successfully completed the program within one academic year, this content-rich curriculum deserves more time for thorough examination, especially for those who are simultaneously working.
The most valuable aspect of the program is the community of “disobedient dissidents” who critically reflect on “dangerous” ideas that are, in fact, deeply humane. Fellow students and professors from all continents have become my intellectual family and inspiration.
The program has empowered me to launch new modules at several universities in Serbia, spreading degrowth ideas within our academic space. I warmly recommend it to anyone wishing to understand systemic dynamics from a perspective that challenges the status quo, regardless of educational level or professional experience.
Once a year, the alumni of the Political Ecology Master and the Online Degrowth Master meet up in person in Barcelona to connect, discuss and share convivial moments.
Tom Linaberry, US, Online Master’s in Degrowth
I found the Online Master’s Program for Degrowth while on a desperate and disparate road, searching for answers to questions I have long-held. Discovering Degrowth felt intrinsically like recovering a missing segment to a puzzle that had once seemed unfinishable.
Being fortunate enough to be accepted into the inaugural online cohort, I was in awe as I was welcomed and connected into a global camaraderie that far outstretched the capacities of mainstream environmentalism in the US. The interdisciplinary material presented in the program should be a mandatory prerequisite for existence in the 21st century. The pluralistic perspectives and spaces that opened as I became a part of the online Degrowth community will forever illuminate a new path.
The future is together, and it is only with a sense of compassionate conviviality that we can learn to slow down and ecologically build ourselves a new route.
Gisela, Spain, Online Master’s in Degrowth
My intention since young years has been to try to understand why our societies have taken such a perverse course. Originally a social psychologist- interested in post-development and decolonial thought, I had always become more interested in environmental issues, agroecology and alternative economies. I eventually got to know the work of Joan Martinez Allier which eventually got me to master. Up to that point, I had been a part time essayist and columnist, writing in non-academic media. Also, in my private life, I have experimented with alternatives ways of living and agroecological local movements.
The reason for explaining all of this is to say that coming from a very eclectic background, I found in the master a very satisfying, very profound and rich spring of highly interesting discussions and literature, somehow organizing my previous various paths, giving me a profounder vision, and, perhaps specially, a prospect of possibilities for our societies.
If I had to highlight one aspect of the master I would say it is its multidisciplinary depth. This could seem a contradiction, but alumni can gain a bird’s eye view of many disciplines and at the same time a depth in their critical eye, questioning deeply what we take for granted, thus reinforcing the possibility to provoke deeper and necessary transformations.
The “we” in Degrowth is perhaps mostly a person socialized in modernity (/coloniality) but in a movement to reach beyond this: in itself a difficult undertaking, and as such also not exempt from conflicts. Degrowth is alive! And thus an exciting area to delve into. Highly recommendable to whoever wants to be updated about new ideas and ways to face the multiple crises in which we are immersed, how to re-understand ourselves and our societies and head for new, sustainable, just and plural ways of living.
You can find out more about former master’s students on Humans of Degrowth.
Alumni Network
Over 500 alumni from 7 years of the Political Ecology Master and 4 years of the Online Degrowth Master are connected via the Degrowth Alumni Network. https://degrowth-alumni-network.mn.co/
Once a year, the alumni of the Political Ecology Master and the Online Degrowth Master meet up in person in Barcelona to connect, discuss and share convivial moments.
The Degrowth Alumni Conference will bring together students from all seven past editions of the Political Ecology and Degrowth Master’s, as well as teachers, researchers and practitioners from Research & Degrowth and ICTA-UAB on March 27 and 28, 2025 at the UAB Campus Bellaterra, Barcelona.
Here you can download the updated program.