Masters degrees in Community Ecology offer advanced scrutiny of the coexistence of different species groups within the same locality, including their interactions, trophic structure (food resources), spatial structure and biodiversity.
Popular specialisms and related subjects include Conservation Ecology, Evolutionary Ecology as well as branches of Anthropology. Entry requirements normally include an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject.
Put simply, courses in this field examine why some places contain more species than others – human or otherwise. They are often interdisciplinary in nature, including exploration of evolutionary history through palaeobiology and paleobotany, as well as ecogenomics – the molecular study of an organism’s responses to its environment.
You may wish to specialise in areas such as ethnobiology and ethnobotany, or the management of threatened species and restoration of endangered wildlife and ecosystems.
Careers may include roles as policy coordinators, management positions within zoo keeping and wildlife conservation programmes, or research careers including lab-work. For a career in academia, your Masters is ideal preparation for further study at PhD.
