MSc Environmental Assessment and Management

Program Overview

The MSc Environmental Assessment and Management program equips students with the skills to analyze and manage environmental impacts within organizations. Accredited by IEMA, it prepares graduates for careers in environmental management, regulation, or consultancy. The program combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills development through industry-focused modules and real-world projects, preparing graduates to address contemporary environmental challenges and contribute to sustainable development.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

Overview:

• The MSc Environmental Assessment and Management program focuses on the relationship between humans and the natural environment.
• It equips students with the ability to implement measures for analyzing and managing environmental impacts within organizations.
• This program prepares graduates for careers leading environmental policy initiatives within the environmental sector.
• It provides graduates with the core knowledge and skills needed by environmental management, regulation, or consultancy professionals.
• The program is accredited by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA).
Successful completion automatically qualifies graduates for GradIEMA professional status.
• Graduates can fast-track to PIEMA (Practitioner Status) by completing a work-based competence assessment.

Objectives:

• Develop skills to formulate, implement, and evaluate environmental policy initiatives.
• Gain advanced knowledge of environmental assessment and management principles.
• Prepare for professional careers in environmental management, regulation, or consultancy.
• Achieve GradIEMA professional status and the potential to attain PIEMA Practitioner Status.

Program Description:

• This program is designed for individuals looking to advance their careers in the environmental field.
• The program combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills development through industry-focused modules and real-world projects.
• Graduates are equipped to address contemporary environmental challenges and contribute to sustainable development.

Outline:

Content:

• The program covers a range of topics relevant to environmental assessment and management, including:
• Environmental law, economics, and social and physical sciences
• Existing and emerging environmental challenges
• Contemporary management, technological, and regulatory systems for reducing environmental risks
• Authentic, experimental problem-based learning
• Students develop the capacity to apply relevant concepts in various circumstances and manage rapid social, technological, and organizational change.

Structure:

• The program consists of six credit-bearing taught modules and a 60-credit research-based dissertation project.
• Students have the option to study full-time or part-time, both on campus and online.
• The program is offered in three intakes: January, September, and alternate years in February.

Course Schedule:

• The program is delivered over three trimesters, with each trimester lasting 10-12 weeks.
• Students take two modules in each trimester, in addition to the dissertation project.
• The dissertation project is completed in the third trimester for full-time students and across the third year for part-time students.

Modules:

Trimester One:

• Postgraduate Scholarship Skills: Develop key research skills for postgraduate studies, focusing on big issues in environmental sciences.
Explore research ethics and bioethics, enhancing critical thinking skills.
• Standards and Auditing: Examine tools and approaches for businesses to improve health, safety, and environmental performance, addressing the sustainability agenda.
Explore internal and external drivers, undertaking audits of business processes.
• Choose two options from:
• Environmental Pollution and Remediation:
Study major environmental pollutants, their behavior, fate, and remediation technologies. Analyze key pollution problems like acid rain, smog, contaminated lands, and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Energy Sustainability: Gain critical awareness of environmental, technical, economic, and political factors influencing sustainable energy and resource management policies.
Formulate strategies for reconciling development and environmental protection. Analyze the challenges and opportunities related to resource management from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Trimester Two:

• Professional Practice: Design and execute a research program, engaging in active inquiry and analysis.
Apply research skills in real-world projects, collaborating with external organizations, developing professional skills in communication, project management, and networking.
• Research Design and Delivery: Prepare for the dissertation by designing, planning, and executing a research program.
Acquire essential research skills relevant to your discipline, gaining valuable experience for your dissertation.
• Environmental Impact Assessment: Examine and evaluate processes for investigating and mitigating the impacts of development through impact assessment and planning procedures.
Explore case studies, interacting with professionals in the field.
• Risk Regulation: Explore risk-based approaches to regulation, examining the role of law in health, safety, and environmental management.
Analyze legal frameworks, enforcement procedures, and regulatory authorities.

Trimester Three:

• Dissertation: Conduct an independent research project, contributing to the body of knowledge in your chosen area.
Develop as a reflective practitioner through independent, self-motivated critical thinking.

Assessment:

• Each module is assessed through coursework assignments.
• Formative assessments provide feedback and monitor progress without contributing to final grades.
• Some modules involve project work with external stakeholder organizations, demonstrating practical application of knowledge and skills.

Teaching:

• Teaching methods include lectures, tutorials, case studies, field work, site visits, and workshops.
• Simulated business projects help develop practical and analytical skills.
• Students may work with organizations on real-world projects.
• Formal and extra-curricular engagement with businesses, public sector organizations, and the third sector is facilitated.

Careers:

Potential career paths:

• Environmental manager
• Regulator
• Consultant
• Careers in energy companies at the forefront of environmental innovation (e.g., Uniper and EDF Energy)
• National and local environmental regulators (e.g., Environment Agency and local authorities)
• Environmental consultancies with an international dimension (e.g., Royal Haskoning, Scott Wilson, WS Atkins, Mouchel)
• Utilities companies (e.g., United Utilities, Viridor-Laing)
• Postgraduate research at the Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, exploring topics such as energy, food security, ecosystem services, and environmental assessment.
• Doctoral School training, support, and opportunities for research-focused careers.

Other:

• The program provides opportunities for professional development through practice-based learning opportunities, including project work with external clients or businesses for the dissertation.
• Recent projects include analyzing air quality benefits of urban trees, energy management in schools, and environmental management options for a national charity.
• The course team has links with volunteering organizations like the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Groundwork organizations, and the Bolton Community Development Partnership.
Students are encouraged to pursue volunteer opportunities for invaluable subject insight.
• Full-time students may choose to work with a business on an environmental management project as part of their dissertation.
Past projects have involved contaminated land investigations, feasibility studies of sustainable technologies, and stakeholder perceptions of sustainable environmental practices.
• The program offers a unique and comprehensive learning experience, combining theoretical knowledge, practical skills development, and industry connections.
It prepares graduates for successful careers in the environmental sector, addressing pressing environmental challenges and contributing to a sustainable future.

• Full-time home
2024/25 £9,990.00per year
• Full-time international
2024/25 £16,380.00per year
• Part-time
2024/25 £1,665 per 30 credits
• Full-time home
2025/26 £10,350.00per year
• Full-time international
2025/26 £17,000.00per year