Marine Resource Development and Protection MSc/Diploma/Certificate

Tropical Coral Reefs: Monitoring and Management (A11CR) is an optional course available to all students on any of our PGT Marine programmes. It involves a two week field trip to the Maldives where students are given the opportunity to explore the marine environment whilst learning different techniques for surveying and monitoring coral reefs. See this short film.

From its years of academic research and industrial consultancy experience as one of the main UK Marine Technology Centres, the University recognises the need for an interdisciplinary approach to both the development and the protection of ocean resources.

In these times of rapid global change, it is essential that scientists and environmental decision-makers understand the fundamentals of the technologies involved in different development options, whilst engineers should be encouraged to adopt an understanding of the environmental, socio-economic and political aspects of any proposed project.

This programme covers all of the above areas and its structure is sufficiently flexible to meet the wide variations in background of entrants - and their respective individual career plans. A major aim of the programme is to provide students with training in holistic approaches to addressing and solving environmental problems and we strive to maintain a mix of entrants from different disciplines, from UK, EU and overseas, and from both recent graduates as well as entrants with industrial experience. This mix has previously proven extremely useful in widening the horizons of the individual class members.

The programme has courses that aim to cover topics corresponding to priority areas of NERC's science strategy, particularly in the marine sustainability and climate change area of Marine Science and Technology (i.e. impacts of exploitation, role of biodiversity, water quality, climate change measures). In addition, also covered within several modules are the general priority areas of Biodiversity, Environmental Risks and Hazards, Natural Resource Management, Pollution and Waste, and, as described above, all with an emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach.

In addition, the general priority areas of Biodiversity, Environmental Risks and Hazards, Natural Resource Management, Pollution and Waste are also covered with an emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach. The aim of other training, such as collaborating with colleagues from other disciplines in teamwork exercises and generic and transferable skills included in the programme, provides a good grounding for graduates to go into relevant employment and further study.

The duration of the MSc is 12 months, starting in September, finishing in August. It consists of eight courses, split into two semesters (four courses per semester). The masters research project is conducted at the end of the second semester, with a final submission date in August. Graduation for Masters students normally takes place in November.

Below are just a few examples of the wide breadth of employment or PhD positions our recent graduates have secured:

• Mairi Capper (MRDP1998) is now an Assistant Professor at ICIT, Orkney.
  1997-1998 Heriot-Watt – MRDP (Distinction) with NERC scholarship and tuition fees. NERC funded thesis at the Fisheries Dept, Penang, Malaysia: The use of antibiotics in penaid prawn cultivation in Malaysia and an analysis of sustainability, management and policy development
  1999-2003 University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia – PhD Thesis: Ecotoxicology of the cyanobacterium Ly...ngbya majuscula (Gomont) and five herbivores in Moreton Bay, South East Queensland, Australia
  2003-2004 University of Queensland Research Associate Ecophysiology of the cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula – nutrient dynamics, bloom productivity and toxicity
  2004-2007 Smithsonian Institute, Florida, USA Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Grazer interactions with toxic cyanobacteria; trophic transfer of dinoflagellate toxins to green sea turtles and manatees
  2007-2008 Career break (maternity leave)
  2008-2009 A&M University, Galveston, TX, USA. Research Associate – Identification and quantification of phytoplankton, Galveston Bay, Texas.
  2009-2015 James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. Lecturer and Research Scientist.
• Dimitris Nasopoulos​ (2016) has securred a position as Maritime Operations Officer with the Royal Navy.
• Gillian Mackay (2014) is Parliamentary Assistant at The Scottish Parliament, Falkirk
• Clara Obregon Lafuente (2014) initially a volunteer/Research assistant at WWF Madagascar, has secured an internship with the Zoological Society, London.
• Kenneth Armit (2013) has secured a PhD studentship with SAMS and the University of Edinburgh researching the photochemical emission of methane in the marine environment.
• David Bradley (2013) has secured a position as British Sea Fisheries Officer with Marine Scotland.
• Bethany Graves (2013) has secured a position as Offshore Industry Advisor with JNCC in Aberdeen.
• Donal McGee ( 2013) has secured a PhD at Sligo IT on the Molecular biology & physiology of microalgae for biorefining valuable metabolites
• Caroline Pringle (2013) is now Project Assistant at Energised Environments.
• Katrina Hall (2012) initially secured a position as assistant Marine Biologist with Thomson ecology's Marine Office and is now a scientist with Intertek
• Rachel Wensley (2012) is now a Water Strategy Planner with Southern Water in Brighton.
• Kirst Barclay (2011) is now Assistant Scientist (marine plants and zooplankton) at Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
• Peter Frey (2011) has secured a position as a fisheries analyst with ProVantage Software, Inc.
• Jenny James (2011) initially spent 18 months with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) monitoring seabird populations on Bird Island and has now secured a PhD position at the University of East Anglia. [Link]
• Callum Burns (2010) is now an Environmental Consultant at ERM. Previously he worked as a Marine Environmental Consultant at RSK Group plc, Aberdeen. and as a Marine Environmental Scientist for URS Corporation Ltd, Perth, Western Australia.
• Adam Chivers (2010) has secured a funded PhD position at Scottish Association of Marine Science in Oban.
• Iain Hannah (2010) has secured a MASTS-funded PhD at the Centre for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology in collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University and Veolia Environmental Services, Edinburgh.
• Siobhán Mannion (2010) was Marine Policy and Advice Officer at Scottish Natural Heritage. She is now Marine Environmental Consultant at RoyalHaskoningDHV
• Sally Rouse (2010) was awarded a prestigious Rubenstein Fellowship by the Encyclopaedia of Life developing >500 species web pages for the British and Mediterranean Bryozoa project. Sally has now also secured a MASTS-funded PhD at the Centre for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology in collaboration with the Natural History Museum in London.
• Laurie Winter (2010) worked initially for Ventus Green Energy limited, assisting in environmental impact assessments for new small scale renewable energy developments. She has now moved on and works as a project developer for SSE Renewables, focussing on theSeagreen project in the Firth of Forth.
• Fanchon Wright (2009) is now working for Frontier as an Assistant Research Officer on their Madagascar Marine Research Project.
• William Davies (2008) is now working as a Seafood Supply Chain Consultant for the Humber Seafood Institute in Grimsby.
• Cordelia Denby (2008) is now working for Kite Innovation to help support their growing portfolio of FP7 projects.
• Ciaran McLaverty (2008) is currently working for APEM Ltd as a marine ecologist, having previously worked for RSK Environment as a marine environmental consultant.
• Clare Reed (2008) is currently a Marine Conservation Officer with the RSPB.
• Emelie Sinet (2008) is now an Environmental Business Analyst for Oil & Gas UK, Aberdeen.
• Alexia Chapman (2007) initially a Marine Consultant for Entec, is now a Senior Marine Ecology Consultant at AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited
• Laura Bush (2006). Following graduation Laura joined SEPA and has now secured a PhD at Bangor University.
• Alice Walters (2006), is Scottish Conservation Officer for the Whale and Dolphin Society
• Jade Berman (2005) is working as Living Seas Manager for the Ulster Wildlife Trust. and is now also an honorary lecturer at Queen's University, Belfast
• Erini Glyki (2005) is now Assisting Professional Secretary, ICES Advisory Secretariat at ICES - International Council for the exploration of the Sea.
• Peter Mackelworth (1999) is now the Conservation Director at Blue World Institute
• Katherine Bradshaw (1991) worked for Hyder Consulting as Technical Director Water & Environment and now works for RPS heading up their Scottish Marine Renewable Energy business.

You can find more examples and discuss the course and the effect it has had on their careers with current students and alumni at our dedicated Facebook site.

See our current and future session dates.