MEnvSci Environmental Science with Professional Experience

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. We have numerous links with universities in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, and you may have the opportunity to study at one of them, depending on your course. Additionally, field trips will enable you to travel to a variety of locations to carry out research.

Typical offer A Level BBB | IB 30 points overall

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we will guarantee you a place if you achieve one grade lower than the published offer.

Typical offer

BBB, including grade B in an A level science

International Baccalaureate

30 points overall, including 5 at higher level in a science subject

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.

BTEC Extended Diploma

DDM

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.

Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students

For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.

International Foundation Programme

If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.

Learn more about our International Foundation programme

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

What will you study?

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?

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.

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

**EU students

For more information on fees, loans and grants for EU students, see fees and funding for home/EU students.

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

Financial support for your studies

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.

MEnvSci ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE WITH PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE F755

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.

Placement

* UK and EU fee changes

**EU students

Additional costs

Financial support for your studies

* UK and EU Fee Changes

Additional costs

Financial support for your studies

Ready for more?