IESD launched the International Master’s Program in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development on September 18, 2006, at the Joint Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Asia-Pacific Leadership Programme and associated Events. This is a milestone for IESD, representing an important step towards one of its strategic goals that is to develop a new model of education - a degree education reoriented to sustainable development. The instructors are not only from Tongji University, but also from RUC member universities, UN agencies, experienced scholars of China SEPA, etc. The curriculum design is also innovative, especially for Tongji, a university known for its strength in science and technology.

A total of 13 students comprised the first intake. Four international students, from Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Thailand, and Samoa, and nine Chinese students form the first batch. During the 2006 Fall Semester, their first semester of study, students pursue six core courses - Human Dimensions and Sustainability; Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Development; Social Dimensions of Sustainable Development; Circular Economy and Economic Dimensions of Sustainable Development; Sustainable Development: Tools and Frameworks; and Sustainable Development: Institutions and Policies. As part of the curriculum of the Master’s Programme, students will spend at least one semester to study in one of the RUC-member institutions or other partner universities, to take courses or to do research of their interest.  The students return to IESD to complete their research, thesis writing and defense, by their final semester. The degree will be awarded by Tongji University, with UNEP certification.