Course summary

This four-year version of the BSc Environmental Science degree includes a year spent undertaking a professional placement between the second and final years. You will spend this third year working in an appropriate organisation and you will apply the skills learnt during the first and second years, improve personal and transferable skills, make new contacts and enhance employability. Do you want to make a difference and change the future of the planet? Are you inspired by the complexity of the natural environment? Could you help develop new ways to manage the world’s natural resources? If so, then environmental science is the subject for you. Our BSc and MSci Environmental Science programmes are the University’s flagship environmental degrees enabling you to learn the science behind the Earth’s amazing complexity and its environmental processes. These programmes are at the cutting-edge of current thinking in the environmental field: you will learn practical and theoretical insights from world leading research experts in a range of environmental disciplines. Our mission is to train you in measuring, evaluating and making decisions about environmental issues. From day one of your degree you will take a hands-on approach to the collection and analysis of environmental data in the field and laboratory. These challenging programmes will broaden your horizons by enabling you to learn about environmental processes at a range of scales from local issues affecting South West England to those with global impacts. You’ll engage with issues relating to climate change, its impact on the world and efforts to mitigate its effect. You will uncover the complexities of the legal processes which underpin environmental decision making and discover how the law facilitates the enforcement of environmental regulation. Throughout the programme you will develop a wide range of practical skills to increase your employability, working with satellite data and using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to guide real-world environmental decision making. You will have the opportunity to work and learn in inspiring places where you will gain practical field experience. You will benefit from exposure to cutting-edge interdisciplinary research through the programmes’ close relationship with the University’s Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) on the Penryn Campus. Cornwall is an exceptional place in which to study issues related to the environment and sustainability: the county is a perfect living laboratory which offers a diverse range of marine and terrestrial habitats, a wealth of natural resources and creative and resilient communities. Our programme structures allow you to pursue your interests and shape your ambitions. Importantly, throughout the degrees you will gain insights from industry leaders in the environmental sector and engage with other relevant organisations through field trips embedded in modules and work placement opportunities offered by the University.