MSc Conservation Science
Canterbury, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
31 Aug 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 23,900 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
Collaborate with world-leading conservation scientists and gain the knowledge, skills and practical experience needed for a successful career in conservation.
Develop interdisciplinary solutions needed to tackle the global biodiversity crisis. Understand the issues we face when conserving natural habitats and ecosystems upon which human communities depend. Please become a member of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), which in 2019 received the highly prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its world-leading research and training in conservation science. On our MSc programme, which is delivered by DICE staff, you will collaborate with world-leading conservation scientists and gain the knowledge, skills and practical experience needed for a successful career in conservation.
You will gain an interdisciplinary perspective on conservation issues, drawing on over 30 years of DICE expertise on what it takes for effective conservation management. You will receive state-of-the-art training across the full breadth of conservation disciplines, learning the approaches needed where local communities also rely on natural resource use, as well as the skills required to restore threatened species and habitats. You will gain practical and methodological tools to succeed as a conservation scientist who can operate across the natural and social sciences.
Our Conservation Science MSc course reflects your interests, with the option to take our 'Conservation Biology' pathway depending on the modules you take - meaning your Master's will represent your interests and specialism.
About The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE)
DICE is Britain’s leading research centre dedicated to conserving biodiversity and the ecological processes that support ecosystems and people. It pursues innovative and cutting-edge research to develop the knowledge that underpins conservation, and sets itself apart from more traditionally-minded academic institutions with its clear aims to:
- Break down the barriers between the natural and social sciences in conservation
- Conduct research that informs and improves policy and practice in all relevant sectors
- Disseminate knowledge and provide expertise on conservation issues to stakeholders
- Build capacity in the conservation sector through research-led teaching and training
- Strive for sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation that benefits people
Our staff have outstanding international research profiles, yet integrate this with considerable on-the-ground experience working with conservation agencies around the world. This combination of expertise ensures that our MSc programme delivers the skills and knowledge that are essential components of conservation science and practice.
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Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Curriculum
Stage 1
- Research Methods for the Social Sciences
- Research Skills and Advanced Analytical Methods
- Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Conservation
- Research Project Skills
Stage 2
Research Project
Program Outcome
Teaching and assessment
Assessment is carried out primarily through coursework with written examinations for some modules. The research dissertation is written in the format of a paper for publication.
Programme aims
This programme aims to:
- produce postgraduates equipped to play leading roles in the field of international conservation and biodiversity management
- develop new areas of teaching in response to the advance of scholarship and practice
- provide you with opportunities to gain an interdisciplinary perspective on conservation issues through collaborative exchange between DICE and the wider University
- develop your competence in applying theoretical and methodological skills to the implementation of conservation practice and biodiversity management
- develop your critical and analytical powers in policy formulation data analysis and interpretation
- provide you with the skills to adapt and respond positively to change
- develop critical, analytical problem-based learning skills and the transferable skills necessary for professional development
- enhance the development of your interpersonal skills
- assist you in developing the skills required for both autonomous practice and teamwork.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You will gain knowledge and understanding of:
- fundamental ecological concepts and how they apply to conservation biology and biodiversity management
- conservation at the species, population, community and ecosystem levels
- fundamental social science perspectives on conservation, and the principles of interdisciplinarity
- principles and significance of resource economics
- biodiversity law, policy and legislative frameworks
- principles and practices involved with sustainable resource use
- principles and practices involved with managing protected areas for conservation
- principles of conservation research design, implementation and analysis, including problem-led interdisciplinary approaches
- principles and practice in conservation, business and rural development.
Intellectual skills
You develop intellectual skills in:
- the ability to marshal ideas and examples into well-organised written and oral presentations
- critical analysis of case studies
- reflective evaluation of theoretical and methodological frameworks
- design, implementation, analysis and write-up of a substantial research project (your Master’s dissertation)
- linking theory to practice in conservation science and social science.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in:
- field biology skills
- social science methodologies
- experimental design and statistics
- methodologies for analysing and appraising conservation case studies
- population assessment and assessment of threat status
- methodologies for estimating sustainable wildlife management
- methodologies for protected areas management and planning.
Transferable skills
You will gain the following transferable skills:
- IT: Word, Excel, statistical and modelling programmes, email, bibliographic and web searches
- presentation skills
- writing reports and funding proposals
- time management
- using a library
- working in groups
- the skills to exercise initiative and personal responsibility
- independent learning skills required for continuing professional development.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
The School has a very good record for postgraduate employment and academic continuation. DICE programmes combine academic theory with practical field experience to develop graduates who are highly employable within government, NGOs and the private sector.
Our alumni progress into a wide range of organisations across the world. Examples include:
- Consultancy for a Darwin Initiative project in West Sumatra
- Wildlife Management Officer in Kenya
- Chief of the Biodiversity Unit – UN Environment Programme; Research and Analysis Programme Leader for TRAFFIC
- Freshwater Programme Officer, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- Head of the Ecosystem Assessment Programme, United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)
- Community-Based Natural Resource Manager, WWF
- Managing Partner, Althelia Climate Fund
- and Programme Officer, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Why study at University of Kent
- Learn from DICE staff, all of whom have practical conservation experience from around the world and have published internationally excellent research (we are ranked first in the UK for our research publications).
- Conduct fieldwork anywhere in the world or use outstanding facilities on-campus for your research project, including modern laboratories in molecular genetics and wildlife ecology and the DICE field site to support your research.
- Learn outside the classroom with a residential field course at the Durrell Conservation Academy, based at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey, and gain insight into cutting-edge population recovery techniques.
- Build your professional network by becoming part of the global DICE alumni network that includes award-winning conservation scientists and practitioners from over 100 countries.
- You’ll have an opportunity to focus your research project on one of DICE’s many long-term research programmes in the UK or overseas. Watch a brief documentary about one of DICE’s long-term research programmes to help conserve the threatened echo parakeet on Mauritius.
- The School of Anthropology and Conservation provides a rich postgraduate learning environment that spans conservation, geography and anthropology, and perfectly reflects the DICE mission of focusing on applied conservation that breaks down the barriers between the natural and social sciences.