Climate, Sustainability and Environmental Management with Foundation year

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Course summary

• Study the drivers and impacts of the climate emergency, combining multidisciplinary approaches to explore solutions for a sustainable future

• Gain anti-colonial, global perspectives of the varied dimensions of sustainability challenges, from environmental science, ecology, policy and social science

• Combine work placements and innovative classroom learning to develop applied analytical skills for sustainable environmental management

• Build your network with ethical business leaders, international partners and voluntary organisations

• Prepare for the degree with an extra foundation year at the start

This applied course will prepare you to tackle critical global challenges, with specialist knowledge in topics of critical importance. You’ll become a catalyst of change, harnessing practical skills relevant to business, the public sector, research and non-governmental organisations.

This course is professionally accredited by the Institution of Environmental Sciences.

How you learn

On this course you’re able to specialise in critical areas for green careers, building your education around your ambitions. Crucially, the course is centred on applied, real-world experience, developed through employers, international partnerships, and civic activities within the local community.

Learning and assessment is focused on hands-on, skills-based learning – taking a positive, solutions-based approach to the existential challenges posed by complex connections between the natural world and society. You’ll benefit from both classroom and real-world training – preparing yourself to face a future that demands urgent action.

High-quality teaching will be delivered by academics who conduct cutting-edge research – many of whom have professional experience in the environmental sector. Their specialisms include social patterns of resource consumption, rewilding and ecology, and environmental geoscience.

Key themes

This course is designed to ignite your passion for change. With inclusion at its core, the course takes an anti-colonial, international approach to climate, sustainability and environment teaching and learning. By bringing together natural and social sciences, you’ll explore a range of interconnected themes crucial to understanding and addressing the climate and biodiversity emergencies.

Pathway themes include:

• Energy, resources and consumption

• Environmental change

• Sustainable societies

• Nature’s recovery

Within these themes, topics include the energy transition, conservation and habitat management, adaptation and mitigation for a low-carbon future, sustainable waste and resource management, social and environmental justice, and disaster risk reduction.

You’ll also have the opportunity to study and work abroad, with the possibility of funding through the Turing Scheme.

Applied learning

Your course has been designed to embrace real-world challenges and provide you with the practical skills and knowledge to be successful.

Work placement and study abroad

You’ll have the opportunity to arrange a year-long work placement in between your second and final years. This gives you valuable work experience to prepare you for your future career and allows you to graduate with an Applied Professional Diploma to add to your CV.

A sandwich placement is recognised as the ‘gold standard’ opportunity to apply your knowledge within an industry of your choice, which we expect all our students to aspire to. Your course is designed to give you the knowledge, confidence and readiness to secure and succeed in your placement.