MSc Environmental Management (Conservation) University of Stirling

We’ve offered our innovative Environmental Management course with a specialisation in Conservation since 2013. With this Masters degree, you’ll gain the scientific knowledge and learn the approaches for conservation science and practice.

You’ll get the opportunity to specialise in particular areas with the selection of relevant modules and in your research project. Areas of potential specialisation include:

• Ecosystem services
• Environmental economics
• Conservation conflicts
• Habitat and biodiversity management
• Application of geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing

You’ll get plenty of practice in environmental conservation and management field skills, as there’s a compulsory residential field trip which takes place in the Cairngorm National Park. We also offer a two-week field course on tropical ecology and conservation in Gabon. Find out more about the Gabon field course.

This course is relevant to both recent and mature graduates who are seeking a career in environmental management and conservation science, either in governmental or non-governmental organisations. Graduates from this course are knowledgeable in the broad field of conservation science. They have skills in collecting and analysing relevant data for sustainable decision-making, as well as transferable skills relevant to future employment at national and international level.

Top reasons to study with us

#1 85% overall student satisfaction for Environmental Management - Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2021

#2 Opt to specialise in a pathway of your choice: Energy, Conservation or Informatics

#3 100% of our research was rated as having either outstanding or very considerable impact – ranking us joint 12th in the UK for Geography and Environmental Studies research (REF 2021)

Course objectives

Our course will give you:

• An understanding of the scientific principles that underpin environmental management.
• An understanding of the ecological, economic, social, political and legal frameworks for conservation.
• Sound training in the relevant practical, investigative, research and all-encompassing skills that are the most sought after by employers.

Course details

You’ll take three modules in each semester followed by a dissertation. Each module is worth 20 SCQF credits at level 11 and the dissertation is worth 60 credits.

If you meet the requirements of the taught course you’ll qualify for the Diploma and may proceed to the MSc. This involves completion of a three-month Research Project, often in collaboration with an outside agency. Students frequently choose a topic complementary to their option selection, allowing them to develop a high level of competence in aspects of environmental management relevant to their future employment.

Teaching

Research-led teaching is at the core of your learning as our staff conduct world-leading research conservation and environmental science.

Our teaching makes use of both our campus-based teaching facilities and online learning environment. Teaching methods will include a mixture of conventional lectures, online materials, workshop sessions, field excursions, student-led debates and oral presentations.

Fieldwork

You’ll take a residential field module and immediately begin to learn practical identification, surveying, measuring and sampling skills.

Assessment

Modules will be assessed by coursework which is based on various types of written work and/or individual or group oral presentation. MSc research projects are submitted in early September or December depending upon when you start the course. Coursework is designed to have real world relevance.

Classroom hours

Contact hours in all modules will be 27 to 30 hours with three modules taken per semester for full-time students or 1 or 2 modules taken per semester for part-time students.

The residential Cairngorms National Park field course takes place in early October over six days.

Course director

Professor Nils Bunnefeld
+44 (0) 1786 467804
[email protected]

Professor Nils Bunnefeld is a leading researcher in conservation science.