Conservation Biology MSc

What you will study

This course is made up of three stages: Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, and MSc. Some modules are available in a distance learning format - if you study through distance learning, you will have access to the course notes and assignment details online.

You’ll study modules such as:

Postgraduate Certificate

Conservation Biology in Principle and Practice - You’ll look at the current state of the biosphere and the reasons why conservation biology is needed. You’ll study the wide range of problems that conservation biology needs to address from a theoretical perspective and contrast this with the realities of conservation biology in practice

Ecological Surveying - You’ll explore different approaches to surveys for ecology and conservation, including Phase 1 habitat survey, GPS surveying, GIS mapping, and the analysis and classification of freshwater and terrestrial habitats. You will also look at sampling methods and census techniques for a range of freshwater and terrestrial plant and animal groups

Identification for Conservation Biology - In this module, you will examine the importance of individual species identification to conservation biology. You’ll consider the relative importance of different species to the conservation of ecosystems, exploring concepts including keystone species, indicator species and flagship species

Postgraduate Diploma

• Analytical Methods for Ecologists - During this module, you’ll become confident and proficient at applying basic univariate statistical analyses and basic multivariate visualisation and analysis methods. Towards the end of the module, you’ll learn about more sophisticated univariate analysis techniques to cope with more complex data structures. The module will also introduce you to the widely used analysis software ‘R’

You’ll also choose two modules from the following:

• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Environmental Policy and Law
• Environmental Pollution Management Strategies
• Habitat Management
• Tropical Conservation Biology

Optional module:

Practical Training-Based Placement Module - This placement module is an opportunity for you to work with a host organisation, experience real world scenarios, and gain experience towards future employment. The module provides links between theory and problem-solving through practical applications. This will be achieved through investigation of current aspects of the environmental sector in a range of areas such as biodiversity, conservation, flood defence, and environmental contamination and remediation

MSc

Independent Scholarly Activity in Biosciences - In this triple module, you will plan, conduct, and present a piece of original research on a topic of your choice within the area of Conservation Biology. This is a major part of this course and can be designed to suit your individual interests. You will have the flexibility to research into a topic of your choice, so you can tailor it to meet your career aspirations. Previous students have researched areas such as ecological tipping-points of woodland butterflies, the effect of the diversity of hedgerow plants on insect diversity, the effects of urbanisation on bat ecology, and impacts of human habitation on lion distribution in Kenya.