Environmental geochemistry provides strong employment opportunities for appropriately skilled graduates. Research amongst chemistry, science and general employers suggests the majority of employers are seeking additional skills from graduates, particularly numeracy (including data analysis), independent learning, commercial/business awareness, flexibility/adaptability, leadership, interpersonal and research skills. Similarly, the last relevant environmental research council review published by NERC (2012) cited most important skill gaps identified by employers as modelling, multidisciplinarity, data management, numeracy, translating research into practice, fieldwork and risk and uncertainty. These are all central to the field of environmental geochemistry which, in comparison to other environmental management postgraduate programmes, places a particular focus on understanding the chemical nature of environmental issues and a rigorous approach to data acquisition, data management, modelling and uncertainty thus providing graduates with unique and desirable skill set.
Environmental geochemistry graduates would be ideally suited to both environmental consulting, specialising in interpretation of complex data sets and chemical behaviour, or as an analytical scientist for a commercial or research laboratory. The MSc Environmental Geochemistry programme has been developed in response to this demand for high level skills in this field. Specifically, the MSc programme is designed to be an effective transition between the typically scientific focus of an undergraduate education in geoscience and chemistry (or a closely related discipline) and a career in the application of environmental geochemistry within the private or public sector. The programme also develops students’ professional skills, such as understanding business and the environment ethics, with those required to work in an interdisciplinary environment such as stakeholder engagement and communicating risk and uncertainty.
