Marine and Coastal Resource Management

Programme Structure & Content

First Year

Courses in first year introduce coastal and marine environments from both the landward and seaward perspective. The relationships between the many types of environments, the organisms they support, along with interactions with man and technology are all examined. Questions surrounding the law of the seas, economics of fishing and aquaculture, advances in information technology and the importance of local cultures and traditions are explored both in the field and in the classroom.

All courses in first year are compulsory and include:

• Law and the Marine Environment
• Microeconomics
• Marine Resources
• Understanding Data
• Sustainable Development
• Marine and Coastal Studies

Second Year

Compulsory courses in:

• Mapping and Monitoring the Environment
• Civil and Offshore Engineering
• Coastal Ecology and Sustainability
• Skills and Techniques in Geoscience
• Space, Economy and Society

Students can also choose a number of options including:

• Conservation Biology
• Environment and Society
• Environmental Systems
• Introduction to Investment and Finance
• Managing People and Organisations
• Microeconomics
• Vertebrate Zoology

The four-day residential fieldtrip to the Fal estuary in Cornwall, UK, is an important component of the second year curriculum.

Third & Fourth Year (Honours)

The Honours years provide advanced and specialist knowledge in many different aspects of Marine and Coastal Resource Management. Students gain experience in applying their knowledge and skills learned from first and second year to topical issues, consultancy exercises, simulations, and practical projects.

Compulsory courses include:

• Professional Project Planning
• Research Methods

A range of optional courses offered include:

• Applied Geomorphology
• Coastal and Estuarine Environments
• Economic Development and Regeneration
• Environmental Change
• Environmental Hydrology
• Environmental Modelling
• Geographical Information Systems
• Geography of Law and Justice
• Geographies of Food
• Global Land Change
• Hydrography
• Ice and Climate
• Integrated Coastal Management
• Land and Marine Designations
• Natural Resources
• Palaeoecology
• Place and Cultural Identity
• Planning Methods and Environmental Appraisal
• Planning Theory and Ethics
• Planning and Environmental Law
• Principles of Design
• Remote Sensing
• River Ecosystems and Management
• Rural land Use
• Topographic Mapping
• Strategic Spatial Planning
• Transport Geography
• Sustainable Tourism
• Valuation and Marine Development
• Aquatic Biology, Conservation and Exploitation
• Animal Evolution and Biodiversity
• Animal Population Ecology
• Economics of Natural Resources
• Marine and Fisheries Biology
• Marine Biology in Depth
• Marine Ecology and Ecosystems
• Environmental Physiology

Note: some option courses run in alternating years.

At the end of third year intending Honours students undertake a dissertation supervised by an academic panel.

Teaching & Assessment

A wide variety of different methods of teaching and assessment are used including: lectures, tutorials, workshops, practicals, presentations, seminars, and field excursions. Courses are assessed using a combination of examination and continuous assessment.