Environmental Science

This module will explore some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing the world today, examining them at different scales and from different perspectives. This includes reviewing key finite and renewable natural resources (with an emphasis on energy), evaluating their nature and distribution, exploitation, and future sustainability.

In this module, you will gain an overview of geological and atmospheric systems including Earth history, Earth structure, global tectonics (including hazards), Earth materials (including resources), and weather.

This module covers the fundamental principles of environmental ethics, governance and management. It explains the complex interactions between the environment and human cultures.

The module introduces the fundamentals of working with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for environmental and ecological applications. The aim of this module is to introduce you to the use of GIS, and develop your critical spatial thinking skills and understanding of how environmental and ecological processes vary in time and space.

This module will develop key academic, professional, and investigative skills for environmental scientists, including laboratory and field-based techniques and data analysis, supported by workshops and tutorials.

This module will introduce you to the principles and practical applications of ecology.

This module provides practical experience in the design of a field-based (or equivalent) research project and training for the Level 6 independent dissertation.

This module provides practical experience in the implementation of a field-based (or equivalent) research project and training for the Level 6 dissertation.

This module introduces environmental pollution assessment, and follows a practical approach to the study of air, water, and land (soil) pollution.

This module examines climate change drivers and evidence for climatic and environmental changes at global, regional and local scales during the Quaternary period. This includes investigating recent and future climate change before focusing on impacts and responses needed to avoid dangerous climate change and adapt to future climate conditions.

This module introduces biogeochemical cycles (the cycling of matter through the Earth system) as fundamental constructs for an integrated study of Earth system science and global change.

This module will explore contemporary issues in landscape ecology, including connectivity, edge effects, disturbance, and fragmentation. Analytical GIS case-studies based on real-world examples will be fundamental to this module.

You will explore the challenges to organisations that arise from the need to shift to more sustainable patterns of operation. This module will introduce you to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and how the approach is adopted by organisations in an attempt to manage and communicate their contributions to sustainable development. It will examine how organisations can deliver against the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework by acknowledging the benefits of improving environmental and social performance alongside traditional models of profit maximisation. 

This module will introduce you to terrestrial ecology with a focus on the interactions between plants and soils and their mediation by soil micro-organisms.

In this module, you will undertake an independent research project completed on an environmental topic, involving a critical literature review and the collection, analysis and interpretation of primary and/or secondary data. The project may take a number of approaches and may include, but is not limited to, a combination of laboratory, fieldwork or secondary data collection and analysis and will consider any health and safety issues, and ethical issues as well as developing scientific communication skills.

This module explores the role of consumption, production and waste management in driving the transition from a linear (take-make-use dispose) to a circular economy.

This module examines a range of urban environmental issues, with a focus on brownfield sites, ecosystem services, contaminated land, and pollution assessment, tracking, and remediation. 

This module considers the impacts of different types of pollutants on coastal and marine environments, including inter-tidal settings, shelf seas and the open ocean.

This module provides a practical overview of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process and its requirements under the UK Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations. 

This module provides an overview of the historical and contemporary issues in biological conservation science and the practical applications of conservation research. 

In this module you will explore contemporary issues in coastal ecology, conservation and restoration, and examine the unique organisms that live where the land meets the sea. Example topics will include methods of coastal management and restoration, the basis of coastal ecosystem services and the links between coastal community livelihoods and coastal biodiversity.

This module investigates sensitivity to weather and climate in natural and socioeconomic contexts, applying the latest scientific tools to evaluate the impacts of climate change.

This module explores advanced Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing approaches to problem-solving in different environmental settings and applications.