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BSc ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE F851

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Full Time: 3 Years

On this BSc Environmental Science programme you will study the environment from a scientific perspective and discover how to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the Earth today.

This course will enable you to explore the Earth’s natural systems and their physical, chemical and biological interactions. This knowledge can then be used to create strategies for solving major environmental issues, including pollution and climate change. Taught by the Department of Geography and Environmental Science, the course has a strong practical basis and you will learn the essential skills needed by today’s professional environmental scientists. 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 and will carry out assessments, liaise with key stakeholders, and report your findings to the Environment Agency.

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 final year there is an optional field trip to Iceland.

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. You can decide to pick and choose options for yourself or can stick to specialist pathways in water resources and quality, conservation and sustainability, climate and palaeoclimate change, and pollution and remediation.

During your final year you will complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice, such as water quality, carbon budgets or soil. You may have the chance to run it in conjunction with an outside society and gain experience of completing research for a major organisation. In the past, students have worked alongside Natural England and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. There may also be the chance to spend a term studying abroad in areas such as Svalbard and Rhode Island.

This course is accredited by the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES).

Placement

You can choose to carry out a short placement, which will involve working on a small project for a local company or organisations. This will provide 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.

Alternatively, you can opt to take the four-year version of this course, incorporating a year in industry.

During the final year you may also have the chance to spend a term studying abroad. 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

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

BBB, including grade B in an A level science

OR

to qualify for an Academic Excellence Scheme offer:

  • GCSE minimum requirement: two A* and six A
  • Example profile: A*A*AAAAAABBC

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.

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
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

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:

  • Geography and environmental science dissertation

Optional modules include:

  • People, plants and environmental change
  • Plants, animals and climate change
  • Plants, greenspace and urban sustainability
  • Soil, atmosphere and vegetation modelling
  • Water, agriculture and irrigation
  • Applied and environmental soil microbiology
  • Aquatic environments: problems and management
  • Carbon and global change
  • Climate change and food systems
  • Conservation biology
  • Conservation and biodiversity: global and local scales
  • Contaminated land management
  • Earth systems field class
  • Environmental and ecological weed management
  • Environmental management
  • Environmental science literature project
  • Forensic zoology
  • Holocene climate change and human society
  • IWLP language module (details unspecified)
  • Rural policy and countryside planning
  • Study Abroad (40 Credits)
  • Study Abroad (50 Credits)
  • Study Abroad (60 Credits)
  • 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: £20,315 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

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?

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 BSc Environmental Science graduate you will be well placed to move into a variety of technical and scientific roles within areas such as 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 have always been fascinated by the immense power and complexity of the natural world. I wished to study Environmental Science to further my understanding of how natural processes act together to create Earth as we know it. I find it interesting to learn how seemingly small processes or changes have the capability to influence humans, organisms and the physical landscape on such a large scale.

Jonathan Tanner
BSc Environmental Science

About the Department


Visit the Department of Geography and Environmental Science website

Contextual offers


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Related Courses

  • BSc Environmental Science with Professional Experience F852
    Full Time: 4 Years
  • BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation CD94
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BSc Environmental Management F750
    Full Time: 3 Years
  • BSc Environmental Management with Placement Year D447
    Full Time: 4 Years


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Subjects A-B

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Science
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management, Accounting and Finance

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

Subjects F-G

  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Science
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physics
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Science foundation programmes
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre

Subjects U-Z

  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Conservation of Buildings
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise

Subjects D-G

  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Science
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Management and Digital Business
  • Information Technology
  • International Business Studies
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Medieval Studies
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Planning
  • Plant Sciences
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Social Policy
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Strategic Studies
  • Teacher Training
  • Theatre
  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

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