Environmental Change & Tourism BSc (Hons) (with Foundation Year)
UCAS Code: F812|Duration: 4 years|Full Time|Hope Park|UCAS Campus Code: L46Accredited|Work placement opportunities|International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Environmental change particularly that associated with climate change poses one of the most important environmental challenges facing the world today. Tourism and tourism development may be directly affected by aspects of environmental change. The environmental impact of people on the physical and ecological world is also of significant concern. The expansion of tourism into environmentally sensitive areas is an example of the potential impact of people on the natural world.
This degree involves an interdisciplinary study of environmental geoscience and tourism. It will involve studying the complex relationships between geology, landscape, tourism and the environment from both spatial and temporal perspectives. A key focus is on exploring the relationships between the Earth’s natural features and tourism, in a way that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation. In addition, it will develop a greater awareness of sustainable tourism practices through the context of environmental change.
An enthusiastic and friendly team of geographers, environmentalists and tourism experts with wide research interests teach on the Environmental Change and Tourism course at Hope. You will find that Liverpool is a great place to study Environmental Change and Tourism, being an excellent case study of economic, environmental and social regeneration; an international tourism destination; and having surroundings that include stunning upland and coastal landscapes.
A Placement Year option is available for this course. Undertaking a placement year as part of your degree programme offers you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience alongside your studies.
Professional Membership
Liverpool Hope University is a member of the Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE), the subject association for tourism in higher education in the UK. Its objectives include promoting the development and recognition of tourism as a subject of study in the UK at foundation degree, undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels, and encouraging high standards in learning, teaching and research.
Course structure
Teaching on this degree is structured into lectures, where all students are taught together, seminars of smaller groups of around 20-25 students, and tutorials which typically have no more than 10 students. There are also a number of fieldtrips each year, as well as the opportunity to have a one-to-one meeting with your tutor each week.
In your first year there are approximately 12 teaching hours each week, which reduces to approximately 10 teaching hours in your second and third years. On top of teaching hours, you are also expected to spend a number of hours studying independently each week, as well as group study to prepare for any group assessments you may have.
Assessment and feedback
Throughout your three years of study, you will be assessed in a number of ways, including written exams, coursework (consisting of both essays and reports), portfolios, a literature review, academic posters, and presentations. In your final year you will also complete a dissertation.
You will be given written feedback on your assessments, and you will have the opportunity to discuss this with your tutor in more detail.
Foundation Year
The Foundation Year is a great opportunity if you have the ability and enthusiasm to study for a degree, but do not yet have the qualifications required to enter directly onto our degree programmes. A significant part of the Foundation Year focuses upon core skills such as academic writing at HE level, becoming an independent learner, structuring academic work, critical thinking, time management and note taking.
Successful completion of the Foundation Year will enable you to progress into the first year (Level C) of your chosen honours degree. Further details can be found here.
Year One
The Dynamic Earth
An introduction to key concepts in geoscience/geology; the geological history of the Earth, and the geological processes in landscape development.
Applied Environmental Geoscience
You will investigate applied aspects of environmental geoscience (including anthropogenic dimensions) such as environmental change, environmental resources and environmental resource management.
Earth Materials
An introduction to the formation and significance of selected Earth materials e.g. minerals, rocks, fossils, and sediments/soils and their practical study.
World Regions: Understanding the World
You will investigate selected world regions and explore themes and topics at a range of scales (global to local) including, for example, the environment (physical and human); globalisation and development; geopolitics; human processes (social, cultural, economic); and tourism dimensions.
Hazards, Risk and Society
You will investigate various dimensions of vulnerability and resilience in relation to the risks associated with natural hazards. These will be explored particularly from a social and cultural perspective and will consider aspects such as impacts on, for example, society; communities; culture; heritage; urban environments; tourism destinations; and tourists.
Exploring Geography and Tourism
You will investigate a range of themes and topics, for example, interpreting and representing the world/place/space; understanding natural and human processes (including tourism) and their interactions; sustainable development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (consideration of geographical and tourism contexts); and data analysis (including statistics and spatial data analysis).
Laboratory- and field-based Environmental Investigations
Fieldwork (residential and/or non-residential)
Year Two
Environmental Policy, Planning and Management
An exploration of, for example, legislation; policy; planning; environmental impacts and management.
Landscape Assessment
An exploration of applied dimensions of environmental geoscience through landscape assessment (e.g. Landscape Character Assessment).
Geospatial Data Analysis and GIS
An exploration of geospatial data analysis/GIS that includes practical applications.
Niche and Alternative Forms of Tourism
An exploration of new and alternative forms of tourism, including heritage and cultural tourism; dark tourism; volunteer and backpacking tourism.
Contemporary Human Geographies and Tourism
An exploration of, for example, contemporary social, economic, cultural and environmental contexts (e.g. socio-cultural awareness; urban/economic geography; urban regeneration; and tourism dimensions).
Research Methods
An exploration of a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, which considers data collection and data analysis.
‘Experiential Learning Block’
An applied project based study block that can be undertaken as one of several formats e.g. fieldwork based (residential and/or non-residential); problem-based task; work placement related; or a block of work-based learning.
Fieldwork (residential and/or non-residential)
Year Three
Sustainable Futures
A consideration and evaluation of themes and debates surrounding the human-environment nexus, for example, sustainability; sustainable development; environmental resource management; climate change; and the Anthropocene.
Environmental Change
A consideration and evaluation of environmental change throughout Earth history. A key focus will be on environmental change in the Quaternary.
Destination Management
An exploration of global trends and advances in destination management, for example, strategic marketing, planning and management of destinations; organisational management principles and practices at international destinations and attractions; as well as, economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts on destinations.
International Fieldwork
You will undertake fieldwork internationally. Past countries have included Malta. Following a brief introduction to the international fieldwork destination, this will comprise the design and execution of individual project-based fieldwork involving data collection relating to a negotiated topic of relevance to the destination.
Honours Project (dissertation)
Entry requirements
There may be some flexibility for mature students offering non-tariff qualifications and students meeting particular widening participation criteria.
Careers
The expansion of the tourism industry – both nationally and locally – means there will continue to be a need for trained graduates in this field. In the future this will increasingly focus on how tourism impacts on the natural world and how aspects of environmental change may affect tourism and tourism development.
Graduates in Environmental Change and Tourism are well suited to a wide variety of careers associated with both natural world and the tourism industry. Within the tourism industry, these could include tourism marketing, arts/heritage/attractions management, tour operations, tourism product development, public sector tourism, urban regeneration, resort/destination management, transportation, or hotel and hospitality management. Practical, numerical and computational skills and knowledge and understanding the natural environment are valued by many employers. In particular, with the increasing demands of legislation and global environmental policy, there are growing employment opportunities in environmental management and consultancy.
In addition, this degree develops valuable transferable skills, which prepare students for many graduate jobs and for other careers in both the private and public sectors.
There are also increasing opportunities to study Environmental Change and Tourism at postgraduate level and an increasing number of our students go on to train to be teachers of Geography or Tourism and Leisure.
Enhancement opportunities
Work Placement Opportunities
In your final year, your Honours Project can be completed through a work placement. This placement enables you to gain relevant work experience so that you can apply your environmental and tourism knowledge and experiences into a work setting. Please note that you must organise this work placement yourself.
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2023/24 academic year are £9,250 for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,250.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
Additional costs
As well as your tuition fees, you need to consider the costs associated with compulsory and optional residential and other fieldwork trips. Cost depends on the nature of the fieldwork or location, but we estimate you will need around £400. You also need to budget for key textbooks (£200) and around £100 for fieldwork equipment such as boots and a waterproof coat.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2023/24 are £12,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
With Foundation year, this degree is only available to study as a Single Honours course.