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MEnvSci ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE WITH PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE F755

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Full Time: 5 Years

With the MEnvSci Environmental Science with Professional Experience you will study the science of the environment to master's level and enhance your employability with a paid work placement at a major organisation.

Taught by the Department of Geography and Environmental Science, this masters-level course will enable you to study the physics, chemistry and biology of the Earth’s systems. It has a particular emphasis on soil and water quality, pollution and management, although a vast range of optional modules will allow you to pursue your own interests. The course has a strong practical basis and you will learn the essential skills needed by today’s professional environmental scientists. You will also have the chance to experience life in another country by spending a term abroad during your final year.

Our staff are actively engaged in research and will tailor their teaching to reflect changing trends and emerging technologies within the sector. You will also benefit from small class sizes, enabling staff to support you better through your studies.

Fieldwork is a major part of this degree, and you will benefit from regular local trips and longer residential visits. The University of Reading’s award-winning campus is home to over a thousand different animal species and is extremely useful for learning fieldwork skills. It offers multiple habitats for study, including lakes, hay meadows and woodlands, and allows you to step straight from the classroom to the field. Meanwhile, the University's large farms provide access to hedgerow, marshland and the Thames.

During the first year you will visit Somerset to study topics such as flooding, geology and soil formation. In your second year you will be able to visit Almeria in Spain, which is the driest area in mainland Europe. Here you will visit a solar research station and examples of greenhouse horticulture, and investigate issues such as pollution and water supply. In the third year there is an optional Mediterranean bio-geography field trip.

Furthermore, you will have the option to work as an environmental consultant for a real client. You will be assigned a stretch of the River Loddon, carry out assessments, liaise with key stakeholders, and report your findings to the Environment Agency.

The structure of this course enables you to pursue your own interests and even allows you to study modules from other subjects, such as biological sciences or meteorology. During the third and final years you will study masters-level modules on topics such as contaminated land management, quantitative data analysis and soil microbiology.

Placement

This four-year degree course includes an industry placement or a year's study at a university abroad. The placement will involve working on a project for a local company or organisations, providing you with valuable experience of professional work, as well as enabling you to develop your research, survey, data analysis and presentation skills. Our Department has a dedicated member of staff in charge of placements, who can provide you with advice and support. For example, you could experience life in the Arctic with the University Centre in Svalbard and spend time on research ships, gathering marine cores. On the other hand, if you prefer warmer climates, you may be able to study marine biology on Rhode Island.

Quick look entry requirements A Level AAB | IB 34 pts overall

At Reading, we reward commitment. Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS, and we will guarantee you a place should you achieve the lower grade in the offer range (shown below):

Typical offer

AAB including one from Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Environmental Studies or Geology

International Baccalaureate

34 points overall including 5 at higher level in a subject from the above list

Extended Project Qualification

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with no component below 5.5

For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.

Further requirements

If you are an international student planning to apply for one of our degree programmes, you may need to take a foundation course or pre-sessional course if you do not have qualifications that are equivalent to British A levels or if you need to improve your English language level.

  • Look at entry requirements by country.
  • Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme.
  • Learn more about our international foundation programme.

What will you study?

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4

Year 1

Core modules include:

  • Chemistry of the Earth and environment
  • Earth structure and processes
  • Environmental science field class
  • Introduction to environmental science
  • Introduction to physics of the environment
  • Soils in the environment

Optional modules include:

  • Bones, bodies and burials: the archaeology of death
  • Mammals: diversity, behaviour and conservation
  • Biogeography and soils
  • Climatology
  • Countryside and the environment
  • Earth materials
  • Ecology: species and their interactions
  • Economics 1
  • Environment and development
  • Fundamental concepts in chemistry 1
  • Geomorphology
  • Hydrology
  • IWLP language module (details unspecified)
  • Introduction to agricultural and food systems
  • Introduction to meteorology
  • Physical processes for biologists
  • Practical field ecology
  • Practising archaeology: methods and approaches
  • The living cell
  • Weather and climate fundamentals
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 2

Core modules include:

  • Career and placement learning for environmental science
  • Chemistry of natural and contaminated environments
  • Environmental science field class 2
  • Excel data management and analysis
  • Soil ecology and functions
  • Transport processes in the environment

Optional modules include:

  • Birds: diversity, behaviour and conservation
  • Vertebrate zoology - structure, form and function
  • Animal behaviour
  • Biogeography and conservation
  • Energy resources
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Forecasting: practice and presentation
  • Forestry and woodlands
  • Geomorphological hazards
  • Human activity and environmental change
  • Introduction to entomology
  • Invertebrate zoology
  • Methods in ecology and environmental management
  • Nature conservation
  • Quaternary global climate change
  • Spatial data in the digital age
  • Sustainable resource management
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 3

Core modules include:

  • Professional experience
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 4

Core modules include:

  • Carbon and global change
  • Contaminated land management
  • Earth systems field class
  • Environmental management
  • Environmental science literature project

Optional modules include:

  • Creating revisions, monographs, floras and information systems
  • People, plants and environmental change
  • Plants, greenspace and urban sustainability
  • Water, agriculture and irrigation
  • Aquatic environments: problems and management
  • Climate change
  • Climate change and food systems
  • Conservation biology
  • Conservation and biodiversity: global and local scales
  • Environmental and ecological weed management
  • Environmental modelling
  • Forensic zoology
  • Holocene climate change and human society
  • IWLP language module (details unspecified)
  • Rural policy and countryside planning
  • Urban biodiversity
  • Water resources
  • Wildlife in the farming environment
Please note that all modules are subject to change.

How much will it cost?

How much will it cost?

New UK/EU students: £9,250* per year

New international students: £19,815 per year

* UK and EU Fee Changes

UK undergraduate fees are regulated by the government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK and EU** students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

Information on this page is based on 2019/20 figures and is likely to change slightly for 2020/21 entry. We will publish up-to-date information about 2020/21 entry as soon as it becomes available.

From 2020, the UK government may link tuition fees to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

**EU students in 2019/20

EU home students starting in the academic year 2019/20 will pay the same fees and have the same eligibility for loans and grants as UK home students for the duration of their course. The situation for students starting in 2020/21 is not yet known and may be affected by UK Government policy following the outcome of any negotiations regarding the UK’s exit from the European Union. The UK Government will confirm future arrangements for EU students in due course.

Additional Costs

These course fees cover the cost of your tuition. Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK and other EU countries may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

* UK and EU Fee Changes

Subject to the Government passing legislation to raise the minimum fee cap, we will raise undergraduate tuition fees from £9,000 to £9,250 for new UK/EU students applying to start courses in the 2017/18 academic year. You will not be affected by this rise if you have deferred entry to the 2017/18 academic year. The Government will confirm future arrangements for EU students in due course.

The tuition fee will remain £9,000 per year for the full duration of this course if you start in the 2016/17 academic year or have accepted an offer but deferred your entry until the 2017/18 academic year. This is unlike other institutions who are planning to raise fees midway through courses.

For further information, please see our webpage on the Teaching Excellence Framework and future tuition fees.

Additional costs

These course fees cover the cost of your tuition. Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK and other EU countries may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

What career can you have?

What career can you have?

Your practical and scientific knowledge combined with teamwork, writing and presentation skills, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances will make you highly desirable to a range of employers.

As an environmental science graduate you will be well placed to move into a variety of technical and scientific roles within areas such as pollution, land remediation, environmental protection, renewable energy, sustainable transport, water, environmental consultancy and geological consultancy. Recent students have gone on to work for a range of major organisations including the Environment Agency, Sustrans, Thames Water, the Atomic Weapons Establishment, WS Atkins, Card Geotechnics and TV Energy.

Alternatively you can choose to further develop your skills by moving into research, teacher training or postgraduate studies.

I've enjoyed keeping as broad a spectrum as possible, which has helped me get my placements as a farmland ecology research student. As an environmental scientist, you have the opportunity to take modules of other disciplines such as agriculture, geography and biology. It's surprising how much new subject areas can spark a new passion.

Tom Elliott
BSc Environmental Science with Professional Experience

About the Department


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Related Courses

  • MEnvSci Environmental Science F754
    Full Time: 4 Years
  • BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation with Professional Experience CD96
    Full Time: 4 Years
  • BSc Environmental Management with Placement Year D447
    Full Time: 4 Years
  • BSc Physics of the Environment F331
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BSc Environmental Science F851
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BSc Environmental Science with Professional Experience F852
    Full Time: 4 Years
More
View all Environment degree courses courses

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