MSc Environmental Consultancy

• Embark on an eight week work placement in the environmental sector which will give you an invaluable insight into the environmental business sector and, in many cases, has led to permanent positions being offered by employers. See the organisations we partner with to provide student placements.
• Work towards achieving chartered environmentalist status through your masters. The award has also received considerable support and recognition from employers and professional bodies such as the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). 
• Benefit from our expertise in areas including species and habitat restoration, evaluation of contaminated water and terrestrial environments, environmental law, geographical information systems, waste management and marine surveys.
• Take the opportunity to carry out your own environmental impact assessment, from data acquisition to production of a full environmental statement.
• Investigate through field work how environmental issues and constraints have been managed in the South West and further afield.
• Use the University’s high specification analytical equipment for environmental monitoring and the research vessel, Falcon Spirit, for marine sampling.
• Undertake a research-based project – you’ll be encouraged to develop a solution to a problem-based research question, working where possible in association with industry and your academic advisor.
• All modules are assessed 100 per cent by coursework, designed to reflect the outputs of the industry, readying you for what you are likely to be asked to do in your job.

• Programme overview
• Learn from our environmental management expertise in areas including ecological impact assessment, protected species and habitat survey, pollution prevention, evaluation of contaminated environments, water resource management, geographical information systems, waste minimisation and marine ecological survey. The programme consists of a 12 week and 7 week period of taught modules with an 8 week environmental sector work placement and 18 week dissertation period. Modules are assessed 100 per cent by coursework and designed to mirror professional practice. You’ll be provided with subject-specific knowledge and training in research methods. You’ll carry out an environmental impact assessment, from data acquisition to public inquiry, and develop your field survey skills over the equivalent of two weeks. Practising consultants give you an insight into opportunities within the environmental sector and you’ll hear how environmental management can help protect the environment and save money.

  Core modules

  • ENVS5004 Work Placement Project

    This module is concerned with the acquisition of professional practice knowledge and skills through work experience with a professional consultancy organisation. It will allow students to apply their knowledge and training to real projects and gain an insight into potential careers within the environmental sector.

  • GEES515 Professional Practice in the Environmental Sector

    This module examines the place of sustainability and environmental management in modern business practice, and prepares students for professional work experience in semester 2. It also provides students with a critical understanding of the principles, ethics and methods of environmental law and regulation, and examines the role of economics in characterising and addressing human interaction with the environment

  • GEES517 Environmental Assessment

    This module examines current legislation and guidance on, and methods of, environmental assessment, focussing on strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA). Through critical investigation of case studies, students will learn how to use methodologies to evaluate impacts on environmental receptors and communicate outcomes, including impact statements, to professional standards.

  • GEES519 Environmental Knowledge: From Field to Stakeholder

    This module reviews qualitative and quantitative research methods relevant to professional and academic investigations in the field of policy-making, planning, management and consultancy in the built and natural environments. It encompasses the complete lifecycle of research (design, planning, data collection, knowledge dissemination and application), including stakeholder engagement across these stages.

  • GEES520 MSc Dissertation

    The student will complete an independent research project that they have designed in semester 1 as part of their research skills development. The record of the research will communicate the project aims, research problem, methodology, data analysis, interpretation, discussion/synthesis and conclusions in the format specified and to a professional standard.

  Optional modules

  • ENVS5002 Investigation and Assessment of Contaminated Environments

    Students are introduced to the scientific principles underpinning pollutant behaviour in the environment including the use of modelling and the process of site investigation and risk assessments. Students undertake a risk assessment of a contaminated site using literature and field investigation. Case study examples are used to highlight environmental consultancy approaches to site investigation and evaluation.

  • ENVS5003 Ecological Survey Evaluation and Mitigation

    This module will examine UK and European nature conservation policy, species and habitat protection, ecological survey techniques and habitat mapping. Taught survey methodologies will follow statutory and developer guidelines for both protected species and habitat survey. Case study examples will be used to highlight environmental consultancy approaches to compensation and mitigation.

  • GEES505 Sustainable Management of Freshwater Ecosystems

    Sustainable environmental planning of land and water resources in the EU requires an ecosystem approach to river basin management. We explore the inherent challenges to this approach including the environmental legacy of earlier management approaches, how to work with natural catchment processes and flood regimes, and how to integrate diverse stakeholder viewpoints into a performance-based management framework.

  • GEES506 Climate Change: Science and Policy

    This module explores the science and policy of climatic change, including lessons from the past and the relevance of past climates to the global warming debate. We question climate change detection and attribution, feedbacks and uncertainty in climate change. We explore political actions through international political agreements and national policies and adaptation strategies and management of change in the UK

  • MATH500 Big Data and Social Network Visualization

    Sophisticated analytics techniques are needed to visualize today's increasing quantities of Big Data. Up-to-date R tools including dplyr for data manipulation, ggplot2 for visualization, and knitr/LaTeX for document presentation are studied. These are applied to database interrogation, social network visualization and sentiment analysis. A professionally documented collaborative R package is produced using RStudio.

UK / EU

You will normally be a graduate with an upper second class (2:1) degree or higher from an environmental, geographical, chemistry, marine, geology or biological subject discipline who is looking for environmental sector training. If you apply with a 2:2 and relevant environmental management experience, this would also be acceptable.

Equally you could be a graduate from related disciplines who has worked within the environmental sector and is looking to gain a specialist qualification. If you apply without recent formal qualifications you may still be accepted.

INTERNATIONAL

If you are an overseas applicant you can check the comparability of your qualifications with the UK equivalent through the UK National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC), who provide an advisory service.

English language requirements.

If your first language is not English then evidence of English proficiency is required. The level of proficiency that is required can vary with the type of programme for which you are applying. For further advice on the appropriateness of overseas qualification and proficiency in the use of English, please contact our International Office.

The minimum IELTS score for acceptable English proficiency for entry is normally 6.5.

Applying for postgraduate taught study

The University aims to make the application procedure as simple and efficient as possible. Our Postgraduate Admissions and Enquiries team are on hand to offer help and can put you in touch with the appropriate faculty if you wish to discuss any programme in detail. If you have a disability and would like further information about the support provided by Plymouth University, please visit our Disability Services website. Support is also available to overseas students applying to the University from our International Office via our how to apply webpage or email international-admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.

If you would like any further information please contact the Postgraduate and Enquiries team:

Telephone: +44 (0)1752 585858

Email: admissions@plymouth.ac.uk 

Submitting an application

Apply for postgraduate study using our online postgraduate application form.

Alternatively you can download a copy of the application form to be submitted by hand, by post or via email with accompanying attachments.

Additional guidance information can also be downloaded on how to fill in the postgraduate application form.

Applying for postgraduate research study

The University aims to make the application procedure as simple and efficient as possible. The Doctoral College is available to answer any queries on our postgraduate research degrees.  If  you have a disability and would like further information about the support provided by Plymouth University, please visit our Disability Services website. Support is also available to overseas students applying to the University from our International Office via international-admissions@plymouth.ac.uk

If you would like any further information please contact the Doctoral College:

Telephone: +44 (0)1752 587640

Email: doctoralcollege@plymouth.ac.uk

Submitting an application

Apply for postgraduate study using our online postgraduate application form.

Alternatively you can download a copy of the application form to be submitted by hand, by post or via email with accompanying attachments.

Additional guidance information can also be downloaded on how to fill in the postgraduate application form.