Description
Programme Specification for the 2023/4 academic year
MSci (Hons) Environmental Science
1. Programme Details
| Programme name | MSci (Hons) Environmental Science | Programme code | UFX4GAEGAECB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study mode(s) | Full Time |
Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Campus(es) | Cornwall Campus |
NQF Level of the Final Award | 7 (Masters) |
2. Description of the Programme
This programme is the University’s flagship environmental degree and promotes a truly interdisciplinary systems approach to environmental science. In this degree you will learn the science behind the complexity of the Earth’s biotic and abiotic environmental processes, which will allow you to understand and respond to the biggest debates in contemporary environmental science. You will begin the degree by thinking about the “grand challenges” facing society and the way that science and technology can help respond to these challenges. The four-year programme provides you with all the training of a BSc but also catapults you into the Masters-level of independent and collaborative research and training in the fourth year. In this fourth year you will have the unique opportunity to develop and test your own environmental hypotheses in a range of settings: from the wetlands and catchments of Cornwall to the awe-inspiring landscapes offered by our international, residential field courses. The programme structure is designed to give you the essential skills that environmental employers demand, meanwhile allowing you to pursue your interests in the wider subject area. The degree covers a broad range of disciplines, from environmental chemistry and physics, to environmental management and law. It is led from the Centre for Geography and Environmental Science within CLES, but other departments feed in (Biosciences and Law) to provide an interdisciplinary flavour. The degree draws on the international research excellence of teaching staff and is supported by the University’s Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) – an interdisciplinary centre leading cutting-edge research into the consequences of environmental change and the mitigation and management of its effects.
The final year provides an opportunity to work on two intensive research projects, each focused on a specialised area aligned with one of our leading research groups. One of these projects will be carried out in partnership with an external organisation, and will develop your understanding of how these partner organisations work. You will spend two weeks on an intensive, international field course in which your scientific field-research, debating and presentation skills will be further developed. You will also learn the research toolkit required by professional environmental scientists in the modern world.
At our Penryn Campus we offer a welcoming atmosphere, where you are encouraged to make the most of Cornwall’s unique environment, both in your studies and in your free time. Our programmes treat Cornwall as a ‘natural laboratory’, taking learning into the field to explore the incredible diversity of natural landscapes in the region.
When participating in field courses, you will be required to cover any visa costs and, if necessary, purchase anti-malarial medication and relevant immunisations. You will also need to provide your own specialist personal equipment appropriate to the field course destination, e.g. walking boots, rucksack, mosquito net, sleeping bag, binoculars. You may incur additional costs dependent upon the specific demands of the research project chosen. Details of specialist equipment, vaccinations and visas that you must supply at your own expense are provided at http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=6569.
3. Educational Aims of the Programme
This programme is designed to train the next generation of environmental practitioners. It achieves this in several ways:
- The programme seeks to introduce a broad range of theoretical concepts in environmental science from a solid physical foundation in the first year, through to more management- and practice-focused modules in years 2-4.
- The programme offers an integrated interdisciplinary curriculum to allow you to make connections between physical processes, ecological patterns, and environmental policy and practice.
- It aims to equip you with the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical skill-sets required by environmental employers. This includes hands-on training in the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing analysis and field data collection and analysis.
- It uniquely combines the study of the natural and semi-natural environment with consideration of environmental policy and law, enabling you to make science-into-policy connections and to facilitate environmental decision making.
- The programme encourages you to think about human interactions with the environment, through understanding complex issues such as climate change and ecosystem services.
- Through fieldwork and other activities, this programme promotes intellectual curiosity about the environment and how it functions.
- The programme provides training in a range of general and transferable skills (e.g. IT, statistics, data handling, writing and presentation) to propel you to high level careers in the environmental sector.
- The programme trains you in how to understand the political, economic, social and natural opportunities and constraints that shape the way environmental scientists work.
You will be taught by internationally recognised research-active staff through a range of methods including lectures, seminars, tutorials, field work, and laboratory sessions. Throughout the programme emphasis is placed on developing practical hands-on expertise, grounded by sound theoretical knowledge. We embed important environmental science skills within modules, including GIS, remote sensing and practical data analysis. We include a range of fieldwork from local to international venues and you will engage in fieldwork of all varieties and in many different environments throughout the programme of study.
We apply novel methods of interactive teaching in the Environmental Science degree. From your first year you will engage with hands-on enquiries using databases, maps and satellite data, developing GIS tools to facilitate understanding of the local, regional, national and global picture of the natural world and all of its processes. Lecture material will be global in scope but practical work will build from a local focus in year 1 to a global perspective by the final year. By the end of your degree you will be able to use spatial datasets to answer environmental questions important to the future of our planet. We believe that teaching, learning and research inspire each other, and we encourage collaborative work to be disseminated via conferences, presentations, posters, reports and research papers.
4. Programme Structure
The MSci (Hons) Environmental Science programme is a four-year full-time programme of study at National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 7 (as confirmed against the FHEQ). This programme is divided into four stages. Each stage is normally equivalent to an academic year.
5. Programme Modules
http://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/current/
http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/currentstudents/
http://medicine.exeter.ac.uk/programmes/programme/modules/
https://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/emps/studentinfo/subjects/mathematicspenryn/modules/
http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/students/undergraduatemodules/
You may take optional modules as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module.
You may take elective modules up to 30 credits outside of the programme in the first, second and third stages as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module.
If you have mobility or health disabilities that prevent you from undertaking intensive fieldwork, reasonable adjustments and/or alternative assessment can be considered. This could include replacing a fieldwork module with an alternative in agreement with the Director of Education.
You are also permitted to take the five-credit module LES3910 Professional Development Experience in any year. Registration on this module is subject to a competitive application process. If taken, this module will not count towards progression or award calculation.
Stage 1
90 credits of compulsory modules, 30 credits of optional modules
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEO1405B | Earth System Science | 15 | No |
| GEO1408B | Global Issues in Environmental Science | 15 | No |
| GEO1416 | Environmental Science Tutorials | 15 | No |
| GEO1421 | Marine and Environmental Science Field Course | 15 | No |
| GEO1419 | Introduction to data science | 15 | No |
| LAW1016C | A Legal Foundation for Environmental Protection | 15 | No |
Optional Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeoP S1 BSc-MSci ES opt 2021-2 | |||
| BIO1411 | Genetics | 15 | No |
| BIO1426 | Ecology and Conservation | 15 | No |
| GEO1401B | Approaches to Geographical Knowledge | 15 | No |
| GEO1420 | Atmospheric and Oceanic Systems, Their Interactions and Importance | 15 | No |
| BIO1431 | Introduction to Human Sciences | 15 | No |
| GEO1413 | The Geography of Cornwall | 15 | No |
Stage 2
90 credits of compulsory modules, 30 credits of optional modules
a You may not take GEO2449 and LES2002 in the same academic year.
b The field course module, GEO2460, is compulsory. If you are unable to take the field course, you will be required to take another optional module.
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEO2440 | Geographical Information Science and Systems | 15 | No |
| GEO2441 | Remote Sensing for Environmental Management | 15 | No |
| GEO2460 | Environment and Sustainability on the Isles of Scilly [See note b above] | 15 | No |
| GEO2461 | Second Year Tutorials | 15 | No |
| GEO2462 | Research Design and Methods | 15 | No |
| LAW2016C | Environmental Regulation and Redress | 15 | No |
Optional Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeoP S2 BSc-MSci ES opt 2021-2 | |||
| BIO2406 | Biodiversity and Conservation | 15 | No |
| BIO2407 | Population and Community Ecology | 15 | No |
| BIO2425 | Introduction to Ecological Consultancy | 15 | No |
| BIO2432 | Exploitation of the Sea | 15 | No |
| BIO2441 | Applied Insect Ecology | 15 | No |
| BIO2451 | Evolution of Human Societies | 15 | No |
| CSC2010M | Oceans and Human Health | 15 | No |
| CSC2021 | Health, Place and Wellbeing | 15 | No |
| GEO2442 | The Politics of Climate Change and Energy | 15 | No |
| GEO2444 | Landscape Evolution | 15 | No |
| GEO2445 | Rural Social Issues | 15 | No |
| GEO2450 | Biogeography | 15 | No |
| GEO2451 | Ice Sheets: Glaciology, Climate and the Oceans | 15 | No |
| GEO2454 | Waste and Society | 15 | No |
| GEO2457 | Physical Ocean Processes | 15 | No |
| GEO2458 | People and Nature | 15 | No |
| GEO2456 | Social and Cultural Geographies | 15 | No |
| POC2114 | Green Politics in Theory and Practice | 15 | No |
| GeoP Employability opt 2021-2 [See note a above] | |||
| GEO2449 | Green Consultants | 15 | No |
| LES2002 | Workplace Learning | 15 | No |
Stage 3
45 credits of compulsory modules, 75 credits of optional modules (you will have the option of taking a field course in your final stage but the location has not yet been finalised)
a You may not take GEO2449 and LES2002 in the same academic year.
c Changes to your dissertation topic will not be possible beyond 1 December in stage 3.
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEO3513 | Dissertation in Environmental Science [See note c above] | 40 | Yes |
| LES3001 | Preparing to Graduate | 5 | No |
Optional Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeoP SF BSc-S3 MSci ES opt 2021-2 | |||
| BIO3131 | Trends in Ecology and Evolution | 15 | No |
| BIO3135 | Human Behavioural Ecology | 15 | No |
| BIO3411 | Science in Society | 15 | No |
| BIO3420 | Evolutionary Biology of Health and Disease | 15 | No |
| CSC4013M | Frontiers of Global Health | 15 | No |
| CSC4011M | Living with Environmental Change | 15 | No |
| GEO3437B | Climate Change and Society | 15 | No |
| BIO3428 | The Complexity of Human Societies | 15 | No |
| GEO3448 | Quaternary Environmental Change | 15 | No |
| GEO3452 | Literature Review in Environment and Society | 15 | No |
| GEO3454 | Antarctica: Science from a Frozen Continent | 15 | No |
| GEO3457 | Geographies of Democracy | 15 | No |
| GEO3455 | Marine Climate and Environmental Change | 15 | No |
| GEO3458 | Marine and Coastal Sustainability | 15 | No |
| GEO3459 | Whole Energy Systems | 15 | No |
| GEO3461 | Arctic Frontiers: Can We Preserve the Arctic Environment? | 15 | No |
| GEO3466 | Biological Oceanography | 15 | No |
| GEO3467 | Human-Animal Interactions | 15 | No |
| LAW3016C | Legal Response to Environmental Destruction | 15 | No |
| BIO3434 | Major Transitions in Evolutionary History | 15 | No |
| BIO3433 | Ocean Management and Conservation | 15 | No |
| POC3117 | The Politics of Climate Change | 15 | No |
| GEO3469 | Catastropolis | 15 | No |
| CSM3409 | Politics, Mining and Sustainable Development | 15 | No |
| GeoP Employability opt 2021-2 [See note a above] | |||
| GEO2449 | Green Consultants | 15 | No |
| LES2002 | Workplace Learning | 15 | No |
Stage 4
105 credits of compulsory modules, 15 credits of optional modules
d If you cannot take the field course, you will take instead LESM003 Literature Review in the Life Sciences, and 15 other credits from the MSc suite of modules.
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEOM052 | Academic Research Project | 60 | No |
| LESM007 | Global Challenges Field Course (MSci) [see note d above] | 30 | No |
| LESM005 | Applied Data Analysis | 15 | No |
Optional Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeoP SF MSci ES opt 2021-2 | |||
| GEOM363B | Themes in Climate Change | 15 | No |
| GEOM404 | Policy and Governance for Sustainability | 15 | No |
| GEOM406 | Marine and Coastal Sustainability | 15 | No |
| HUMM011 | Heritage and Environmental Change | 15 | No |
6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods
Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
1. Describe in detail the scientific theory underpinning the study of the environment. | Primarily through subject-based learning in core modules throughout the degree. Through fieldtrips including a specialised training in years 3 and 4. Implicitly through lectures, field classes, practical classes at all levels, tutorials in year 1, seminars in years 2-4, and independent dissertations in years 3 and 4. | ILO1 – Explicitly through essay and exam in core modules throughout the degree programme. ILO2 – Year 1 is highly interdisciplinary and modules are assessed against students’ understanding about interconnections through essays and exams. Field course modules explore inter-relationships between human and physical environments through assessed presentations and applied examples. ILO3 – Explicitly through essays in year 1, and project work in years 2 and 3. ILO4 – Through group discussions and debates in core modules, law modules in all years, and field classes. ILO5 – Training in the year 1 and year 3 field classes, core statistics module in year 1, and as a component of all research project modules in years 3 and 4. |
Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
6. Evaluate the diversity of approaches towards the generation of environmental knowledge and understanding, with detailed knowledge of essential facts and theory. | Explicitly introduced as a concept in GEO1408B. Discussed in first year tutorials and field class module, and expanded through subject-based learning in GEO2424, GEO3415B and GEO3426B. Explored in fieldtrips including a specialised training in GEO2506. Applied by student in independent dissertation in year 3. | ILO6 – Explicitly through module-based assessment in all years. Assessment of performance in modules is through written examinations, short answer tests; practical work and reports; quantitative problems; project report or dissertation; oral presentations; and formatively through Q&A in lectures and practical classes. ILO7 – Year 1 is intentionally designed to expose students to a range of ideas and theories from science to social science, all of which underpin the integrated understanding of global environmental science. Concepts then assessed through essays, projects, field trips and dissertations in all years. ILO8 – Assessment will be through essay and review assignments in most modules at all years. Students are made aware of the marking criteria for all major pieces of work and receive detailed feedback on their performance. ILO9 – Assessment is primarily in the dissertation and research projects in years 3 and 4. ILO10 – Assessed during sector-based work placement and field course modules in years 2-4. |
Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
11. Work effectively independently and as part of a team.Work effectively independently and as part of a team. | Personal transferable employment skills and knowledge are embedded in all modules. All year 1 and 2 modules are strongly focused towards developing applied skills for use in the dissertation and in real life situations. Practical skills are taught during directed practical exercises in years 1 and 2; through the field courses in years 2-4, and developed during independent and collaborative research projects in years 3 and 4. | ILO11 – Independent work through written and oral assessments in all modules, and through examination assessment in years 1-4. Teamwork: through group presentations and activities in field classes in years 1, 3 and 4. Group projects embedded in year 2 Key Skills module and in various core and optional modules in all years. ILO12 – In the projects during Key Skills, GIS and Remote Sensing modules, and in sector-based research in year 4. ILO13 – Assessed through essay, seminar, presentation and literature review components of most modules through years 1-4. ILO14 – Through coursework, essays, projects and exams in all modules in all years. ILO15 – Through coursework, essays, projects and exams in all modules in all years. ILO16 – Through critical writing tasks assessed in a range of modules through years 2 and 3 and in the dissertation and year 4 research modules. ILO17 – Explicitly through coursework in Key Skills, Data Analysis and Research Project modules. ILO18 – Explicitly assessed via group projects during field courses in years 1, 3 and 4; project work during Key Skills module in year 2; and independent research modules in years 3 and 4. |
7. Programme Regulations
Programme-specific Progression Rules
To progress to Stage 3 you must achieve a credit-weighted stage average of at least 60% in Stage 2, otherwise you will be required to transfer to the relevant three year BSc programme.
Programme-specific Award Rules
At the end of Stage 3, you may be permitted to exit with a BSc (Hons) Environmental Science provided that you have achieved 360 credits in total, you have taken no more than 120 credits at level 4 and at least 90 credits at level 6 or 7. If you do exit with a BSc (Hons) the award will normally be based on the degree mark formed from the credit weighted average marks for stages 2 and 3 combined in the ratio 1:2 respectively.
Classification
8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning
You will be located in the Centre for Geography and Environmental Science (Penryn Campus), where close working relationships are fostered. You will receive formative feedback from various discussion groups/in-lecture exercises throughout the delivery of each module and therefore receive essentially continuous feedback during the taught component of the programme. Project supervisors provide academic and tutorial support once you move on to the research component of the programme. In addition, the Programme Director will offer every student a meeting each term with an academic who provides guidance and feedback on assessment performance. Your progress will be monitored, and you can receive up-to-date records of the assessment, achievements and progress at any stage.
9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning
10. Admissions Criteria
11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards
12. Indicators of Quality and Standards
The programme is not subject to accreditation and/ or review by professional and statutory regulatory bodies (PSRBs).
13. Methods for Evaluating and Improving Quality and Standards
14. Awarding Institution
University of Exeter
15. Lead College / Teaching Institution
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy (ESE)
16. Partner College / Institution
Partner College(s)
Not applicable to this programme
Partner Institution
Not applicable to this programme.
17. Programme Accredited / Validated by
0
18. Final Award
MSci (Hons) Environmental Science
19. UCAS Code
F751
20. NQF Level of Final Award
7 (Masters)
21. Credit
| CATS credits | ECTS credits |
|---|
22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group
[Honours] Earth sciences, environmental sciences and environmental studies
23. Dates
| Origin Date | 01/02/2012 |
Date of last revision | 30/03/2021 |
|---|