This course is accredited by the Institution of Environmental Sciences
Gain an in-depth and holistic understanding and knowledge of contaminated land and freshwater environments, as well as strategies to prevent, manage, and control contamination of these environments
You'll have the opportunity to undertake a work placement to experience working with employers in a range of settings, from practical-based training to practitioner-based learning
This course will prepare you to apply the knowledge gained to real world situations and critically evaluate the outcomes to make strategic decisions
This course provides study aspects that develop an insight and skills for professionals in the government, industry, consultancy, academia, and other statutory bodies within the UK and overseas to evaluate contaminated land and freshwater management policies and strategies to achieve effective governance of these environments
We offer a learning approach suitable for recent graduates seeking a full-time study approach, and mature students in current employment a part-time route to suit their time commitments.
This is a creative programme that addresses human intervention strategies towards problem-solving in the real world, on examples such as flood defence, through the processes involved in decision-making at local authorities. This will be achieved by linking with external organisations to include practical experience through field and laboratory work, and practitioner training through placements.
Aspects of contaminated land will include legislation and regulation, identification, analysis and remediation, and human health exposure assessment through a case study approach using research informed teaching, as well as practitioner training. Within the water aspects of our course, you will focus on the environmental monitoring and assessment of freshwater, legislation and regulatory aspects, management of freshwater towards prevention and control of contamination, drinking water quality and human health, and a focus on flood defence.
A number of factors ensure you are prepared for the workforce you will seek to join on completion of the programme; these include placement experience with employers, and field and laboratory skills. Additionally, the course is currently undergoing accreditation with the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES), meaning students could be studying on a professional body accredited course with free student membership of the professional body and eligibility to apply for higher levels of membership upon completion.
Face-to-face delivery of modules and placements will aid your development of transferrable soft leadership and management, and communication skills required to meet the demands of current employers. Most of our student employment will be within collaborative and multi-disciplinary teams. Moreover, you will be supported in your PDP through reflection upon your own learning, performance and achievement, and planning for your personal, educational, and career development.
The Earth's resources are under strain from a growing population. Now, more than ever, we need to monitor, manage and maintain our environment. This vocationally relevant Masters provides you with an in-depth critical understanding of today’s major environmental challenges.
You can keep your learning broad or you can specialise in one of four areas: Water, Energy, Food Security or Pollution. There are specific core modules for each specialist area:
Several modules include field trips to the beautiful and topographically varied countryside around Lancaster, and beyond.
All options include a dissertation project, which will enhance your practical and analytical skills and give you the chance to apply your learning to a real-world challenge. Our many research projects and partners across the globe provide exciting possibilities when you are choosing your dissertation subject. Alternatively you can do a six month research placement with a private sector company, government body or voluntary sector organisation instead of a traditional dissertation. Examples of previous dissertations include:
This very popular course will equip you to pursue a broad range of careers including environmental monitoring, resource management and consultancy.
You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.
Core
Optional
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research.
Coursework, presentations, examinations and dissertation
This course offers a broad curriculum studying the relationships between human and natural components of the environment alongside developing the capacity to implement measures for analysing and managing environmental impacts of organisations.
Designed to produce graduates sufficiently equipped to play a leading role in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of environmental policy initiatives within the environmental industries, this course will enable you to develop essential knowledge and skills to progress into a professional career in environmental management, regulation or consultancy.
You will be engaged with a number of ideas drawn from law, economics and the social and physical sciences which are of relevance to the theory and practice of environmental assessment and management. Modules address existing and emerging challenges and explore contemporary management, technological and regulatory systems designed to reduce environmental risks.
A key feature of this course is applied learning and an emphasis on authentic, experimental problem based learning ensuring that you will benefit from experience as well as being supported in reviewing your own progress towards career goals.
For the MSc, the full-time and part-time routes comprise three 14-week trimesters or five 14-week trimesters, which you can take within one or three years respectively. There are two intakes per year allowing flexibility in regards to the time you wish to begin your study (September or January).
Within the full-time course, you will study four taught modules as well as completing a dissertation. Three modules are compulsory with two studied in trimester 1 and the remaining one in trimester 2. For the remaining module in trimester 2 you have an optional choice, see below for available choices.
For part-time students the taught components span two academic years each consisting of two trimesters between September and May. Year 1 involves the study of two core modules. Year 2 involves the study of one core and one optional module. During your third year of the course you will complete a dissertation.
Teaching is delivered through lectures, tutorials, case studies and workshops. Simulated business projects are utilised to develop practical, observational and analytical skills. In addition, you will take part in field work and site visits and will have many opportunities to discuss and exchange your own professional experiences with the course team and invited specialist speakers. You will work with an organisation and/or relevant stakeholder on a real project as part of a team thereby enhancing your network with external clients and developing your real world experience of environmental assessment and management, engaging with a range of research methods relevant to your field.
Research & Professional Practice (30 credits) - Project & Learning portfolio (100%)
Risk: Perception & Management (30 credits) - Literature review (30%); Case study portfolio (70%)
Techniques for Environmental Assessment and Management (30 credits) - Case study analysis (50%); Environmental Management Project (50%)
Environmental Investigation and Remediation (optional) (30 credits) - Coursework 1 (40%); Coursework 2 (60%)
Energy, Resources & Sustainability (30 credits) - Poster presentation (30%); Case Study Report (70%)
Dissertation (60 credits) - Research protocol (15%); dissertation (85%)
Many employment opportunities exist in this field including positions as environmental managers, environmental regulators and environmental consultants working in fields as diverse as contaminated land, planning and environmental impact assessment, environmental management in organisations, and waste, water and energy management.
Previous graduates of this course are working in energy companies at the forefront of environmental innovation (e.g. Uniper and EDF Energy), national and local environmental regulators (e.g. the Environment Agency and local authorities), environmental consultancies with an international dimension (e.g. Royal Haskoning, Scott Wilson, WS Atkins, Mouchel) and utilities companies (e.g. United Utilities, Viridor-Laing).
The course emphasises the development of professional skills and capabilities supplemented by practice-based learning opportunities. Your employability is developed through project work with external clients and through opportunities to work on a specific business problem for your dissertation. You will work in a team on a project with an external client organisation to develop your research and analytical skills and to enhance your employability profile. Recent projects include an analysis of the air quality benefits of trees in urban areas (City of Trees), evaluation and enhancement of environmental management procedures for a large multinational manufacturing company, analysis of energy management measures implemented in schools for a local authority and the assessment of environmental management options for a large national charitable organisation.
You are encouraged to undertake voluntary work for which assistance is provided. The programme has links with a range of volunteering organisations including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Groundwork organisations and the Bolton Community Development Partnership.
Full-time students also have the opportunity to work with a business on an environmental management project of relevance to the organisation as part of their dissertation. Past projects include work with E.ON UK, United Utilities, Groundwork and Manchester City Council on a range of projects including contaminated land investigation, feasibility studies of sustainable technologies for business and stakeholder perceptions of sustainable environmental practices.
After completion of this course, you may wish to specialise in a chosen subject area in one of the School’s two main research centres: Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre (EER) or Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
This course starts in September 2017 and January 2018.
The Environmental Management MSc degree provides you with a range of skills, knowledge and expertise to pursue a career in the field of environmental management.
We have successfully trained hundreds of graduates for analytical, managerial and policy making roles since 1994. Our graduates have had career success with government agencies, commercial organisations, independent environmental consultancies, universities, colleges and research institutions.
The MSc course can be completed in 12 months full time with options to extend that period up to 3 years for part-time study. Two-thirds of your time is spent studying taught modules that equip you with the knowledge and skills to undertake a Masters project that occupies the final third of your programme.
National governments, local authorities, industrial companies, commercial enterprises, conservation agencies as well as environmental consultancies are keen to recruit employees who possess a broad range of environmental skills that this course can offer.
There is a set of 6 mandatory taught modules that underpin the essentials of environmental management followed by a choice of 2 from 6 optional modules. The mandatory modules are designed to reflect the requirements of government, industry and consultancy – at present these are: Global Environmental Issues & Solutions, Clean Energy Climate and Carbon, Environmental Law, Environmental Management & Auditing, Pollution Modelling & Control.
The optional modules allow you to focus on subjects that are either of interest to you or fundamental to career aspiration. Be it the industrial environment, ecological environment or a more technical environmental approach, options allow you to concentrate on forward planning especially with regard to your Masters thesis.
If you are more focused on issues such as contaminated land and remediation or laboratory skills in analysing soil, air and water samples then we have the modules for you. Our laboratories are furnished with state of the art computer controlled instruments allowing monitoring and analysis of most chemical pollutants encountered in the environment.
If a more ecological specialism is for you then we offer modules in Ecological Management as well as in the Regulation & Assessment of Water Pollution – both of these have practical / field work components. The Environmental Impact Assessment module combines many skills across a wide suite of environmental areas.
We also offer a module that uses Geographical Information Systems – this is a style of computerised mapping of data increasingly used in environmental applications. For this we have a dedicated specialised computer laboratory.
Indicative Course Content
A range of modules are available allowing you to either broaden your experience of environmental management and its applications or to focus on more specific areas.
Many modules are based around case studies, industrial or field visits and extensive laboratory facilities allow practical work in the analysis of soils, airs and waters for physical, chemical and biological properties.
In the core programme you will study:
Your programme of study can be personalised by selecting from subjects such as:
Your final period of study is based on your own area of interest in environmental management and involves an individual project on a subject of your choice.
Sample modules:
Please see our modules outline for further information.
Please note that all modules are subject to change. Please see our modules disclaimer for more information.
Our students go on to work in a wide variety of academic and research posts, as well as in public and private sector organisations within the UK and internationally.
Graduates are highly employable in the growing market for environmental managers and consultants. Our programmes also provide in-service training for those already working within the profession
The need for sustainable development is a global concern. This flexible Masters degree prepares you to address the challenges faced in safeguarding natural resources, livelihoods and the alleviation of development problems. The focus is on societies undergoing change or faced with resource pressures, in developing and developed countries.
This programme is ideal if you want a career in international development or in an environmental field, in the private, public, or not-for-profit sectors. It can be taken as an MA or MSc depending on your dissertation topic.
You will be based within one of the largest groups of geographers, resource management specialists and environmental scientists in the UK and modules will be taught by world-leading researchers. Their expertise includes mining and extractive industries; livelihoods and moral economies; the politics of land, water, and ‘green’ grabbing; environmental justice and the relationship between climate change and existing social inequalities; migration; food security and agri-food systems including fishing and marine ecosystems; forest policy; sustainable transport; poverty and service delivery; the political economy of global environmental change; the workings of international development; trade (legal and illegal), and biodiversity conservation.
You will complete six taught modules and a dissertation research project, with individual supervision from a research-active expert. There are two or three core modules which give you a solid foundation in the key theoretical issues around the environment and development and you will develop the social science research skills needed to explore them.
We offer great flexibility with over 30 modules to choose from, spanning the social and natural sciences. This enables you to construct a degree that fits your interests and career ambitions and to put your learning in a wider cultural context.
You can gain key practical skills that are valued by employers, such as environmental analysis of development projects, data analysis and programming, geo-informatics and auditing. There are opportunities to gain work experience through one of our many government, civil society and private sector partners – including those in Asia, Africa, Oceania and South America.
Your dissertation project forms a substantial part of your Masters degree. It will enhance your practical and analytical skills and give you the opportunity to apply your learning to a real-world challenge. Dissertation topics are available in both environmental and development themes: our research projects and partners across the globe provide exciting possibilities and fieldwork opportunities when you are choosing your dissertation topic. Most dissertations are anchored in the social sciences but this is not a requirement.
Examples of previous dissertation topics are:
You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.
Core
Optional
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research.
Coursework, presentations, examinations and dissertation
This Master's degree is designed for students who wish to practice across a broad range environmental engineering and apply new sustainable risk management strategies for complex environmental problems. Water, waste and environmental engineering has been traditionally referred to as public health engineering in the United Kingdom.
In this postgraduate course, the technical aspects of both natural and engineering environmental systems will be covered. There will be broad interdisciplinary subjects synthesizing knowledge from a wide spectrum of science and engineering, expanding the content of public health engineering, which in the UK has traditionally been responsible for developing the infrastructure for managing water and waste.
Students will develop engineering skills and be able to design, develop and apply concepts for water and waste as a resource based on environmental sensitivity and be competent in planning, modelling, design, construction, operations, maintenance and control of both engineered and natural water and earth resources.
Students who select this postgraduate programme will gain a skill set that will enable them to progress in the fields of:
The MSc in Water, Waste and Environmental Engineering will incorporate solid waste management, contaminated land treatment and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) with emphasis on management of the earth's resources.
The programme will explain the relationship between different earth resources including:
The aims of the programme are to:
Year 1
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.
Students are required to choose 15 credits from this list of options.
Year 1
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.
Year 2
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.
Students are required to choose 15 credits from this list of options.
Project work, assignments and laboratory exercises in addition to substantial written examination of course materials will occur in most modules. The Environmental Engineering Research Project will require submission of a substantial final report/dissertation. Assessment of this module will involve participation in a poster and seminar presentation and a final oral examination.
Postgraduate students from this programme will find such employment opportunities as engineers, scientist and technical managers in the private sector (engineering design firms, engineering consultancy, project management, risk management and waste management), in the public sector (environmental protection engineering, regulations and standards, local government) and in non-governmental sectors (NGOs, environmental advocacy) or may wish to pursue further qualifications such as a PhD within the Faculty of Engineering and Science at the University of Greenwich to become even more specialised.
Employers of environmental engineers include engineering consultancies (such as AECOM, Atkins, Mott MacDonald Group, Hyder), government agencies (such as Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency) and NGOs (such as Oxfam, Engineers without Boarders, Water Aid).
Environmental challenges require complex solutions, bringing together scientific, social, political and economic perspectives. GCU's MSc Environmental Management will provide you with the interdisciplinary perspective and diverse skillset to help solve environmental problems in a leadership role. You can help your community manage environmental concerns responsibly, making a positive impact and supporting the common good.
The programme is accredited by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Energy Institute (EI). With the endorsement of four prestigious professional organisations, the MSc Environmental Management offers a respected credential that's relevant to employers around the world.
You'll have the option to complete a general programme - giving you a broad understanding across a wide range of environmental disciplines - or choos among four pathways for specialisation.
The MSc Environmental Management comprises of eight taught modules. Three compulsory modules, four optional modules and a Masters project. You also have the option to broaden your understanding of environmental issues via the general masters’ curriculum or to select modules from one of four specific pathways; waste, energy, water and oil and gas.
Health, Safety and Environmental Management
This module introduces the health, safety and environmental demands that face industry today. Study the role of legislation in achieving sustainability and the use of environmental management to improve corporate responsibility..
Climate Change and Carbon Management
Examine global climate change issues within the context of the built environment and learn to conduct practical investigation into carbon management.
Energy Technology
Explore conventional and emerging technologies including waste heat recovery, energy storage and fuel cells.
GIS and Environmental Management
Study the principles and concepts of GIS and its role in environmental management.
Renewable Energy Technologies
Explore technologies that allow us to become more energy efficient including alternative energy sources, conversion technologies and sustainable energy use.
Water Quality and Waste Water Treatment
Examine water quality and the provision of potable water in the UK.
Additional Energy modules include:
Renewable Energy Technologies
Examine the renewable energy technologies most likely to succeed in the UK and other temperate countries, i.e. solar energy, energy from waste, wind, hydro and biomass .
Building and Energy Performance Simulation
Study the factors that determine energy efficiency of buildings, including properties of the fabric, and heating and ventilation systems.
This programme is accredited by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Energy Institute (EI). With the endorsement of four prestigious professional organisations, the MSc Environmental Management offers a respected credential that's relevant to employers around the world.
As a graduate of GCU's MSc Environmental Management, you'll have excellent career prospects in both the public and private sectors. Past graduates have found work with organisations such as the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), international consulting companies including Carl Bro Group, ERS Land Regeneration and Valpak, and other government agencies and consulting firms.
