Environmental Management

Addressing environmental issues has never been more pressing. Climate change, biodiversity loss and water pollution are just some of the environmental challenges that are being faced. Increasingly, policy makers and researchers are realising that understanding and making effective management interventions in these environmental issues requires an inter-disciplinary approach i.e. knowledge of both physical and social systems. This course draws on the School of Geography’s cross-disciplinary research strengths in the environment (i.e. in both physical and human geography), together with a wide range of environmental expertise from other schools across the university including Biology, Biosciences, Business, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Economics, History, Law, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering and Politics. The MSc/MA in Environmental Management is aimed at students wishing to gain a deeper understanding of environmental issues from an interdisciplinary perspective and to acquire knowledge and a range of skills and techniques that can be applied in a variety of environmental management contexts.

The formulation, research, and writing of a dissertation form an integral part of the course. The list of past dissertation titles provides a sense of the range of interests of students on the Environmental Management programme. Dissertation topics have included the sustainability of UK higher education institutions, water literacy, corporate social responsibility in the construction industry, community initiated environmental action, eco-hydrology and river restoration, contaminated land remediation and lake ecology. Dissertation opportunities have been provided by external organisations, including other universities, companies and organisations in the public and voluntary sectors who identify research projects for students, some of whom go on to take up positions of employment with the ‘commissioning’ organisation. Research for dissertations has been undertaken in the UK and further afield in places such as India, Honduras and Greece.

As well as exploration of the foundations and frameworks of environmental management, the MSc/MA provides training in the collection, processing and analysis of environmental data. The course equips students with the necessary knowledge and skills to go onto further research and prepares them for careers beyond higher education. Student profiles provide a sense of students’ experience of the course. Graduates of the MSc/MA have gone onto pursue successful careers in a wide range of environmental jobs including consultancy, national government departments and statutory agencies, local government, non-governmental organisations, as well as PhD study.

Employers to date include:

• The Environment Agency
• The Coal Authority
• DEFRA
• Nottinghamshire County and City Councils
• Buckinghamshire County Council
• Atkins
• Conestoga-Rovers & Associates
• Envirowise