Environmental Science BSc (Hons)
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UCAS Code: F750|Duration: 3 years|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
Accredited|Work placement opportunities|International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Working towards a sustainable, healthy future for people and the environment is a priority. Climate change scenarios indicate the urgent need to work towards this. The Environmental Science degree at Liverpool Hope is designed to give you the best possible opportunities to develop practical skills relevant to the workplace and to deal with the growing global concerns over the environment.
The degree covers various aspects of Environmental Science through an investigation of environmental geosciences (geology, Earth materials, environmental resources and hazard management), biodiversity, ecology, aspects of environmental biology, and human/environment interactions. The degree also looks at environmental challenges such as habitat loss, climate change, resource management, and a range of other key environmental issues.
Environmental Science prepares you to work individually and collectively towards an environmentally sustainable and socially conscious future. After completing the degree, you will have appropriate knowledge and understanding that makes you well suited to contributing to the solutions presented by the environmental challenges facing modern society.
Liverpool is a great setting to study our BSc Environmental Science, due to having surroundings that include stunning upland and coastal landscapes of international conservation importance.
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.
Course structure
Fieldwork and practical laboratory sessions are a significant part of this degree. Fieldwork destinations include local and regional sites of national and international conservation importance along with opportunities for international field trips. The course makes use of the university’s own field centre, Plas Caerdeon, set within Snowdonia National Park on the banks of the beautiful Mawddach estuary and overlooking Cader Idris National Nature Reserve.
Fieldwork and practical sessions provide opportunities for you to engage with contemporary issues and improve employability through skill development, including the ability to use geographical information systems (GIS). Lectures teach the theories and concepts associated with Biogeography. Seminars are student-led sessions taught in smaller groups of around 20-25 students, while tutorials are tutor-led and typically have no more than 10 students. There are weekly opportunities to have one-to-one meetings with your tutors.
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 changes to approximately 10 teaching hours in your second and third years as students grow in competence to conduct independent but supported study. In addition to these teaching hours, you are also expected to spend time studying independently each week, as well as engaging in group study to prepare for some group assessments.
During your second year you will undertake a block of ‘experiential learning’. This is a block of independent learning that is practical in nature, the form of which you negotiate and agree with a supervising tutor. It can take the form of work-based learning, fieldwork or laboratory activities. It may be undertaken within the university or working with an external client such as an environmental consultancy, a planning authority or a non-governmental organisation
Accreditation
Our BSc Environmental Science degree is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. If you successfully complete this accredited degree you are eligible for graduate membership of CIEEM and use the letters Grad CIEEM after your name. Visit the CIEEM website for further details.
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.
Year One
Ecosystems and Ecology
You will be introduced to principles and theories of ecology, world biomes and the diversity of life (biodiversity). You will also undertake investigations into, for example, ecological niches and dichotomous keys.
Conservation Biology and Environmental Physiology
You will investigate approaches to in-situ and ex-situ conservation, practical conservation and, conservation management using Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). You will be introduced to biotic and abiotic interactions and physiological functions between organisms and their environment.
Developmental and Evolutionary Biology
You will investigate the development of life on Earth and the key evolutionary advances of species looking at the environmental conditions and selective pressures that shaped complex life on Earth.
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 eg. minerals, rocks, fossils, and sediments/soils and their practical study.
Laboratory- and field-based Environmental Investigations
Fieldwork (residential and/or non-residential)
Year Two
Principles of Ecology
You will develop your understanding of the underlying theories and principles of Ecology such as sustainability, biosphere cycles, natural resources, evolution and distribution of organisms (including abiotic/biotic dimensions).
Habitat Management
You will explore habitat management practice with the aim to conserve, protect and restore natural and semi-natural habitats. You will develop your knowledge and understanding of species action plans (SAPs).
Biodiversity Conservation
You will develop an in-depth and critical understanding of the value, importance and urgency of protecting species and their habitats from key threats including extinction.
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 (eg. Landscape Character Assessment).
Geospatial Data Analysis and GIS
An exploration of geospatial data analysis/GIS that includes practical applications.
‘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
Applied Ecology
Advanced studies of ecology through investigations of specific examples of applied ecological practice. This may cover, for example, ecological legislation, policy and guidance; ecological fieldwork methodologies and techniques; and, advanced approaches to the analysis and interpretation of ecological data.
Current Research and Practice in Ecology and Conservation
An exploration of the current knowledge, research and practice in ecology and/or conservation, for example, current research in conservation biology, terrestrial coastal ecology and palaeoecology.
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.
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
2024 Entry
Clearing is now open, over this period we can offer some flexibility on our entry requirements for courses that still have vacancies.
We are also offering a Foundation Year on many of our courses for students who have the ability and enthusiasm to study for a degree, but do not yet have the qualification level to enter directly into our degree programmes.
Whether you already have your results or are waiting for them please call us to discuss the options available to you: 0151 291 3636
Careers
The BSc Environmental Science is professionally accredited by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. If you successfully complete this accredited degree you are eligible for graduate membership of CIEEM and use the letters Grad CIEEM after your name. Visit the CIEEM website for further details.
Environmental challenges at all scales require specialist knowledge and skills to address them. As a graduate in environmental science you will be well equipped to meet the science or environmental management needs of many sectors of employment. Employment opportunities exist in particular in growth areas such as sustainable development, renewable energy industries and in the development of green economies, in both the private and public sectors. Course specific career options include:
- Environmental / sustainability consultant
- Nature conservation officer
- Environmental education officer
- Environmental manager
- Careers in local authorities for example a Waste Management or Recycling Officer
- Careers in statutory agencies such as the Environment Agency (EA), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Natural England
- Careers in the environmental charity sector
This BSc Environmental Science is particularly suited to those wishing to pursue a career working with ecology and / or environmental management and will equip you with the practical, numerical and computational skills that are valued by many employers. Some of our graduates go on to train to be teachers, while others go on to further study at Masters and / or Doctorate levels.
Students taking this BSc Environmental Science may wish to consider further study with us on our well-established and professionally accredited MSc Ecology and Environmental Management.
Enhancement opportunities
Work Placement Opportunities
During your second year you will undertake a block of ‘experiential learning’. This is a block of independent learning that is practical in nature, the form of which you negotiate and agree with a supervising tutor. It can take the form of work-based learning, fieldwork or laboratory activities. It may be undertaken within the university or working with an external client such as an environmental consultancy, a Wildlife Trust or a planning authority.
In your final year, your Honours Project can be completed through a work placement. This placement enables you to gain relevant biogeographical work experience so that you can apply your environmental and geographical 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.
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.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2024/25 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.
There is a small cost for Student CIEEM membership, and once you graduate, there is a registration fee and annual fee thereafter for Graduate Membership – full details of costs can be found on the CIEEM website.
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 2024/25 are £13,000.
Visit our International fees page for more information.