OVERVIEW
Why choose this course?
- 100% of our students agree staff are good at explaining things (National Student Survey 2022)
- Explore a wide range of habitats at our own 40-hectare environmental field centre
- Residential field trips to amazing destinations in UK and the Swiss Alps, at no extra cost
Our accredited Environmental Management and Ecology degree will equip you to start tackling our biggest environmental issues. We address key themes of climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, water resource management, pollution, landscape restoration and rewilding, among others - our course will help you gain the professional and practical field skills to lead future environmental management.
We are one of a handful of UK universities with our own environmental field centre. Just 20 minutes from our main campus, this incredible resource will give you a distinct advantage with a wide range of habitats (woodlands, grassland, lakes, ponds, rivers, parkland, glasshouses, an apiary, and on-site laboratory facilities). You will have the amenities to conduct surveys, carry out research and gain practical skills in conservation, monitoring and habitat management, leaving you well ahead of the pack when it comes to applying for jobs in environmental management and ecology.
Other great features of the course include:
- High student satisfaction and a good study community, with wonderful pastoral care.
- Regular opportunities for students to assist staff and local conservationists with environmental and ecological training and research. This includes training to carry out surveys that require a license such as amphibian, reptiles and small mammal trapping; bat surveys and bat box monitoring and bird ringing.
- Opportunities to get involved in ecological activities at our 40-hectare environmental field centre, such as beekeeping, bat detecting, badger monitoring and habitat management such as coppicing, etc.
- This degree has accreditation from the Institution of Environmental Sciences, meaning our graduates are eligible to become Associate Members of the Institution.
- Working with employers in Hertfordshire to address pressing environmental challenges, helping them save energy, reduce waste and put effective techniques in place to manage their environmental impact.
How will I study?
The Herts Environmental Management and Ecology BSc degree combines traditional lecture theatre and classroom learning with highly interactive laboratory and field experience. With our own 40-hectare environmental field centre nearby you will have unique opportunities to put into practice in the field what you learn in the lecture theatre. What's more, you will have abundant opportunities to do fieldwork as well as develop and undertake your own research projects.
Our modules include lectures, workshops, practicals, seminars, and field visits. This variety of teaching combined with access to state-of-the-art facilities will allow you to develop academically, professionally and as both an independent and team-worker.
Assessments on our course are widely varied and focus on developing your research, communication and digital skills. These range through written coursework, verbal presentations, practical portfolios of work, exams and a research dissertation.
Through our personal tutoring system you will be allocated a tutor who will be your academic mentor and first port of call on any academic or personal matters you need to discuss from Day 1. Staff are regularly available for students beyond timetabled sessions and one-to-one or small group support is often available.
What's the course about?
The Herts Environmental Management and Ecology BSc degree will help you gain the professional and practical field skills to lead future environmental management. Whether it’s the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, environmental hazards, invasive species, food and water security, or rewilding, our teaching will equip you with the tools to help tackle these contemporary challenges. Many of these issues are fundamentally ecological in nature and hence the course has a very strong focus on ecological theory, application and management.
Fieldwork and self-driven research will be fundamental to your studies and you will develop skills and gain experience directly related to a variety of environmental career paths. Our residential field courses to the Swiss Alps, Lake District, Peak District and Scottish Highlands (and many day visits to a wide range of locations) are fully-funded. You will have access to our specialist laboratories and our environmental field centre, where you will receive extensive field and lab training. Our GIS teaching in our state-of-the-art computer facilities will equip you with cutting edge spatial skills for the digital age.
You will have the opportunity to study a wide variety of topics founded around staff expertise in freshwater ecosystems, environmental change, sustainability, climate change and agriculture. With a Herts Environmental Management and Ecology BSc degree you will gain an abundance of skills and knowledge, preparing you for your future career.
What's next for my career?
Our graduates are highly employable and have excellent opportunities in a wide range of careers because of our varied curriculum, with strong emphasis on field and practical experience, the industrial placement year and strong ties with professional bodies and employers in business, industry, regulatory bodies and government. We are currently ranked as 9th nationally for the employability of our graduates in department’s offering environmental science degrees and physical geography.
Graduates have found successful careers within the Environment Agency, United Nations Environment Programme, Water companies, Environmental resource management, in private environmental consultancies, local government, town and country planning, recreational and habitat management, teaching and, as well as more general graduate recruitment schemes and postgraduate study.
Typical job titles of recent graduates
Conservation Officer, Environmental Consultant, Environmental Developments Officer, Environmental Management Systems Developer, Environmental Manager, Environmental Officer, Environmental Support Officer, Assistant Surveyor, Estates manager, GIS assistant, Land Charges Assistant, Planning Officer, Production Systems Development Engineer, Senior GIS Technical Officer, Trainee Emergency Ambulance Technician, Trainee Logging Geologist, Transport Coordinator, Transport Planner.
Typical employers of recent graduates
Environment Agency, Affinity Water, South-East Water, Sustrans, Buildings Research Establishment, Banks Cargil Agriculture Ltd, Beds and Herts Ambulance and Paramedic Service, Channel Tunnel Rail Link, Coors Brewers, Datalog Technology Ltd, , Granada Business Technology, Merck Sharp & Dohme, National Grid, University of Hertfordshire, Vaux.
Our graduates have found successful careers within local government, town and country planning, recreational and habitat management, environmental resources management, teaching and in private environmental consultancies. Some join more general graduate recruitment schemes while others stay at the University for postgraduate study.
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