Course description
Course description
The BA (Hons) Environmental Management is a three-year degree programme about managing environmental resources and the interactions of human societies with them. To do this we need a good understanding of the environment and its many interactive processes, and of the wider environmental contexts within which interventions take place as societies develop and move forward. Understanding both the scientific principles and the relevant policy frameworks are essential if we are to change thinking about the environment and our behaviours towards it, as we aim to live in a more sustainable way.
Special features
You can switch to another programme in Planning and Landscape at the end of your first year if you wish.
Study abroad option in the second year, for either or both semesters, including Europe or Australia.
Rural field week in the second year, usually in a National Park.
Course content for year 1
The first year is a broad introduction to the background and problems of dealing with the environment in a variety of ways. You are introduced to the academic and professional disciplines that are concerned with studying, planning and managing the environment, while learning how to carry out practical work in the form of projects. You study a core course on Environmental Science and Management, which combines the study of basic scientific knowledge with investigating associated management implications.
All Planning and Landscape undergraduates share the first year and on completion students can switch programmes, if they wish, to any of the possible degree programmes that can be awarded after three or four years of study. Transfer from a Bachelor to a Master programme depends on the level of performance in the Year, but the vast majority of our students achieve the required level for such a transfer.
Course content for year 2
In the second year you begin to focus on the practicalities of environmental management. If you would like to gain some practical experience you can take the placement option where you spend time outside the university with an organisation in the environmental management field for a whole semester. You can also select an optional course unit from a range of course units offered across the university. And you also go on a rural field week, which usually takes place in a National Park at Easter, and involves a series of visits to examine how the environment there is being managed. You work in groups on a variety of topics leading to presentations on the final day. You may also elect to study abroad during your second year, for either or both semesters. This study can either be in Europe (with one of our partner Erasmus/Socrates institutions), or in Australia. We are currently looking at developing additional links with other universities in the USA.
Course content for year 3
In your third year you study environmental law and take a course in professional and career development. You also get the chance to select additional optional course units from a range offered across the university. In the second semester you undertake the major part of the work for your 12,000 word dissertation. You choose your own topic and often pursue issues arising from the earlier field course or time spent abroad.
Career opportunities
Students graduating from within Planning and Landscape are popular with a wide range of employers. In recent years a growing numbers of graduates have found jobs also in other public services or in business, where an ability to analyse and propose policies and implement strategies is vital and where a wide variety of generic management and communication skills is appreciated. The transferable skills you develop in strategic thinking, teamwork, creativity and communication are exactly what most employers are seeking in almost any area in which you may subsequently decide to develop your career.
