Master of Science in Environmental Protection and Management

The Environmental Protection and Management studies are addressed to English-speaking students who seek specialist education in contemporary environmental conservation and natural resource management. Our experienced staff and external high-class experts, possessing well-entrenched scientific achievements, impart deepened and always updated knowledge with a focus on teamwork plus planning, and conducting valorization or monitoring works.

The interdisciplinary study program provides a large number of practical activities in well-equipped, modern laboratories as well as during field classes.

Knowledge

The graduate knows and understands

• The complexity of natural phenomena and processes and their impact on nature and the environment;
• Methodology of environmental sciences, especially including valorization and evaluation of environmental risks;
• The necessity to protect the environment, to manage common resources, and also legal aspects of such activities. They understand mutual dependencies, risks, and consequences of administrative decisions on various levels of environment functioning;
• Contemporary problems of the natural environment, and is able to point out new threats;
• Legal changes in environmental protection and natural resources management;
• The rules of planning research and verifying research hypotheses, as well as research techniques and tools used in the analysis and evaluation of the quality of the natural environment;
• The rules of acquiring and settling academic and implementation projects in environmental protection and natural resources management;
• The rules of analyzing empirical data, research results and their interpretation, as well as the rules of predicting the course of biological phenomena and processes while using relevant mathematical, statistical, and computational methods;
• New trends and direction changes in environmental protection and in management of natural resources;
• The rules of protection of intellectual property and copyrights;
• The rules of creating and developing various forms of individual entrepreneurship using acquired knowledge and skills of evaluating investment and negative impact on the natural environment.

Skills

The graduate is able to

• Use research procedures and tools appropriate for measures of environment protection and managing natural resources;
• Use appropriate statistical tools and software to collect and interpret data;
• Use specialist knowledge necessary to interpret collected empirical data and to draw appropriate conclusions;
• Prepare public presentations related to environment and nature protection using various techniques of verbal and multimedia communication;
• Write a text on environment protection issues presenting their own research and describing the results of their professional evaluations and environmental analyses;
• Search for, select, and use necessary information found in various English-language sources;
• Plan and evaluate the condition of the environment and natural resources under the guidance of an academic supervisor, and to evaluate the risks of planned actions and investments for the environment;
• Use specialist terminology related to environment protection and natural resources management;
• Communicate fluently in a foreign language, enter a debate, and present issues related to their line of study in the field of environmental sciences in accordance with the requirements set for the B+ language fluency level;
• Manage the work of others, set tasks, and evaluate their completion;
• Continuously acquire knowledge and raise their qualifications, inspire and help others, set and achieve career objectives.

Social competences

The graduate is able to

• Critically appraise acquired information, use reliable and well-established sources of scientific information and draw appropriate conclusions when settling practical problems;
• Lead discussion and present scientific arguments related to environment protection and nature;
• Take responsibility for an appropriate evaluation of job risks and take care of safety and ergonomics while completing various tasks;
• Think and act independently to protect the natural environment and to manage common resources in a sustainable way;
• Plan his/her further career, shape the course of activities pursued by others, and use entrepreneurial skills while achieving set goals;
• Pursue teamwork while assuming different roles, and also is able to plan the work in terms of sharing responsibilities and managing time;
• Identify and settle dilemmas related to his work following the rules of ethics and legal requirements.

The Jagiellonian University in Krakow

Join us at Jagiellonian University, the best and the most prestigious university in Poland, with a very rich tradition of academic excellence that dates back to the fourteenth century.

Live and study at the academic heart of Central Europe, the home of excellent researchers in many disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, medicine, mathematics, and natural sciences. The University has many international partners, and our students benefit from various forms of study exchange, shared virtual classrooms, visits of guest professors, and many other aspects of international cooperation. The Faculty of Biology, which will be your home department, is widely recognized for its research on ecology, evolutionism, biomedicine, and related fields.

Structure

To complete the program of studies, it is necessary to earn at least 120 ECTS. To achieve this, one has to pass all the obligatory courses from the list below. The remaining ECTSs could be earned by passing elective courses from other courses taught in English at the Faculty of Biology.

First semester

• Experimental design, data analysis, and presentation
• Practical Aspects of Environmental Conservation - part 1
• Avian Ecology and Conservation - part 1
• Tropical ecology
• Governance of natural resources
• Foreign language B2+
• Seminar
• Health and Safety
• Master Project in environmental protection
• Elective courses

Second semester

• Applications of GIS
• Aquatic ecosystems – structure and function
• Environmentally friendly agriculture
• Practical Aspects of Environmental Conservation - part 2
• Avian Ecology and Conservation - part 2
• Fundamentals of environmental catalysis
• Foreign language B2+
• Seminar
• Master Project in environmental protection
• Elective courses

Third semester

• Ecotoxicology and ecological risk assessment
• Solid waste management
• Seminar
• Master Project in environmental protection
• Elective courses

Fourth semester

• Conservation genetics
• Biotechnological methods of fuels production
• Social and Economic Aspects of Nature Conservation
• Ecological assessment and evaluation
• Seminar
• Master Project in environmental protection
• Elective courses

Graduate’s profile

The program’s participant acquires a profound understanding of contemporary determinants and challenges to environmental conservation and understands the legal complexity and principles of management of the commons. Graduates can plan and execute actions towards effective monitoring, protection, and sustainable use of natural resources. They recognize current threats to the environment and can indicate preventive and repair actions. They obtain social and mediation expertise in order to successfully apply such competencies in real-world environmental management. Graduates are able to raise funds and apply for grants. The accomplishment of studies allows employment either in public or private sectors worldwide: administration of protected areas, environmental agencies, various research units likewise non-governmental organizations and private enterprises.