MSc Biodiversity Conservation

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Full time according to Funding Council definitions, Part-Time

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On this course you’ll learn about the latest developments in conservation science and practice, hone your ability to communicate effectively and develop your skills in identifying flora and fauna.

When you graduate, you’ll have developed an in-depth knowledge of the science and practice of biodiversity conservation – equipping you with the skills required for a career in this area.

Situated on the Dorset coast, at BU we are within easy reach of outstanding environments of global importance for conservation, including the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Wessex Downs, Dorset Heaths, Poole Harbour and New Forest. The area is a hotspot for biodiversity and provides outstanding opportunities for field-based learning.

The teaching staff are specialists in biodiversity conservation. They research conservation issues both nationally and internationally in a wide range of ecosystems including grassland, heathland, forest, freshwater, coastal, and marine. Their specialisms include plant, animal and community ecology, animal behaviour, environmental statistics, modelling, remote sensing and environmental policy.

The degree is also now accredited by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, the professional body representing ecologists and environmental managers in the UK and overseas.

You will also complete a conservation-based work placement, normally undertaken in the early summer.

“I really enjoyed the fieldwork aspect of the course, and was able to conduct my placement in Brazil to take part in marine wildlife monitoring. It gave me the chance to broaden my knowledge in marine biodiversity.”
Katie Thompson, MSc Biodiversity Conservation graduate

Key information

Next start date:

September 2020, September 2021

Location:

Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus

Duration:

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time

Accreditations:

Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management

Required subjects:

Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science, Earth & Geographical Sciences, Conservation Biology, Ecology & Wildlife Conservation

Entry requirements:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in a required subject, or equivalent

International entry requirements:

If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS 6.5 (Academic) with a minimum of 5.5 in each component. For more information see our full entry requirements.

Accredited by:

Course details

On this course you will be taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This will include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners, demonstrators, technicians and research students. You will also benefit from regular guest lectures from industry.

Core units

Conservation in Practice: Field trips, discussion groups and guest speakers combine to cover the scientific knowledge and principles relating to the structure and function of ecosystems, and how these can be applied to the management, conservation and restoration of biodiversity.
Field Ecology Skills: Develop field observation and survey techniques that will equip you with skills that are relevant to professional biodiversity conservation, monitoring and research. You will explore how such skills may be applied to support practical conservation management. Based around a field course, you will develop your skills in a variety of terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, supported by seminars and demonstrations.
Frontiers in Biodiversity: Explore the latest theories and concepts in conservation science, develop in-depth subject specialism as well as advanced literature-based research and reporting skills. This unit will be delivered as a series of group discussions, at which guided reading will be critically evaluated. You will also be required to undertake literature evaluation tasks as individuals and sub-groups, including class presentations.
Quantitative & Spatial Analysis: Core skills for environmental scientists in data handling, processing, statistical techniques and spatial analysis (GIS) are taught on this unit. You will learn these techniques through the industry standard programming and statistical environment of R.
Research Project: Develop your expertise in research methods, data collection, analysis, interpretation and synthesis and explore in detail core aspects of your subject area, with a view to generating new practical or theoretical insights. You will develop methodological, research, presentation skills and advanced communication skills by producing an extensive dissertation or report on your research.

Option units (choose two)

Advanced Quantitative & Spatial Methods: Giving you advanced data analysis skills, we will ensure you have an understanding of advanced contemporary statistical methods that will allow you to select and apply appropriate analytical techniques when working with complex data sets. A tool kit of analytical methods that may be used in a broad spectrum of research projects will be demonstrated and illustrated using real world examples. Methods taught will range from data visualisation through to contemporary model-based analyses, multivariate techniques and spatial statistics. Emphasis will be placed on choosing the most appropriate analysis for the available data, in order to ensure scientific rigor in the presentation of research results.
Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services: This unit will examine the scientific principles relating to the provision of ecosystem of services, their linkage with ecosystem function, and the relationships with biodiversity. Key ecosystem services that will be considered include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating services such as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual, recreational, and cultural benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient cycling. The unit will examine how the production of ecosystem services can be measured and mapped; the distribution of beneficiaries; different approaches to valuation; and potential links with the green economy. Key emerging issues include potential trade-offs between different ecosystem services, and between ecosystem services and biodiversity.
Conservation Genetics: This unit covers conservation genetic principals. You will learn the principals behind the genetic management of small populations and how to use molecular techniques to conserve populations and/or species.
International Law of the Environment: International law of the environment is a comparatively new field of international law. It has seen a rapid evolution over the past 30 years, as a result of the widespread recognition that many environmental problems must be addressed at the international level if satisfactory solutions are to be found. This unit will examine the particular sectors of environmental policy that are the subject of international legal regulation and obligations. This will involve an appraisal of how international legal regulation has developed in these areas, taking into account various challenges, legal and political, that have been influential in shaping their respective evolution. It will also focus on selected legal topics concerning the implementation of international environmental law. In particular, it will consider various relatively recent developments in international environmental law that have served to broaden participation beyond the level of the nation state as regards the monitoring and enforcement of international environmental protection obligations.
Primate Behaviour & Ecology: You will gain an understanding of how the behaviour of humans and other primates can be interpreted from an evolutionary viewpoint, and how their behavioural strategies are adapted to the environment (social and ecological) in which they live. The sessions are aimed at stimulating discussion and the critical analysis of the latest research in the fields of primatology and evolutionary psychology. Through the assessment you learn how to convey scientific information to the general public as well as an academic audience in order to train your professional skills.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may change from year to year.

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Download the programme specification (pdf 1.3mb)

Placements

Duration and options

You may take advantage of our wide network of professional contacts to find placements in the UK and abroad with a range of organisations to suit your individual career development needs. Previous placements have been with wildlife trusts, ecological consultancies, biodiversity research projects and governmental bodies.

Please note: students generally do their placement in the early summer after the taught units are finished. However, your placement may be completed in any format that is equivalent to six weeks (30 days), for example by working one day a week for 30 weeks.

Find out more about placements for postgraduate students

Your application

Applicants for the Biodiversity Conservation course may come from a range of backgrounds including new graduates, experienced practitioners or people seeking to change career direction.

For all of these backgrounds the aptitude and enthusiasm to develop advanced skills across the relevant disciplines are the key requirement.

What we’re looking for

For Biodiversity Conservation we are looking for applicants who:

Are keen to acquire advanced knowledge across the broad range of disciplines relevant to the conservation of biodiversity
Wish to build on their skills base through seminar style learning and field experience, whether they are new graduates, experienced practitioners, or people seeking to change career direction
Are keen to apply the advanced skills to real working environments in the practise, policy and communication of the conservation of biodiversity
Can demonstrate a high level of academic interest and aptitude in sciences relevant to ecology, either through evidence of good degree level qualifications or through equivalent experience
Have the capacity for creative thinking to conduct a research project with the guidance of experts in the academic group - Conservation Ecology and Environmental Sciences.

We particularly encourage applications from people who are keen to develop skills in the rigorous planning of conservation management and the interpretation and dissemination of information to the many different relevant target audiences. These are skills widely sought by employers in all sectors including the non-government, government and consultancy areas.

Selection methods

We’ll be selecting applicants by looking at their application forms - formal interviews are not generally required, although applicants that do not meet the standard academic requirements, but have additional relevant experience, may be called for interview as part of the selection process.

For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. For more information, take a look at our postgraduate how to apply pages.

How and when to apply

There is no application deadline for this course. However, if you will need a visa to come to the UK to study, think carefully about the length of time it will take for your visa application to be processed and make sure your visa will be ready in time for the beginning of your course.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

Supporting your study

These courses have compulsory elements involving working with dangerous substances in laboratory conditions and/or undertaking field trips in less accessible environments. Students must complete a health and safety risk assessment taking part in these activities, for their safety and that of others. As part of that assessment students provide information about any conditions or disabilities that might affect their ability to undertake these activities fully or safely.

If you have such a condition or disability, please let us know as soon as possible. You can contact our Additional Learning Support (ALS) service about this before or after making an application. We will then work with you to identify any support or adjustments you would need. Our ALS team works with the Faculty to seek to put in place reasonable adjustments and health and safety plans.

Exceptionally, it may not be possible to arrange for a student to access these courses without either over-riding their core standards or competencies or creating unacceptable risks to health and safety. If that is the case we will help you explore alternative course choices.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

The normal requirements for embarking upon this course are:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in a required subject.
Required subjects include: Biology, Ecology, Environmental Sciences, Earth & Geographical Sciences, Conservation Biology, Ecology & Wildlife Conservation.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow. Some of these are based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

International entry requirements

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

China: 学士学位 (Bachelor degree) with a minimum of 65% overall
Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution in Nigeria
Thailand: Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution.
Vietnam: Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of at least 7.0, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.
Turkey: Bachelor’s Degree (Lisans Diplomasi -four years) to be considered for a postgraduate course at BU.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with minimum of 5.5 in writing and 5.5 in speaking, listening and reading, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

Careers

This course prepares you for a career in the commercial and statutory environmental sectors. Its strong emphasis on core skills in environmental practice gives students the edge when seeking employment. On completing the course not only will you have subject expertise but you will know how to apply that knowledge to make a difference in biodiversity conservation. By offering one of the leading courses in biodiversity conservation, our aspiration is that it will provide you with a route to a successful and rewarding career.

Potential graduate job roles

Industries worked in

Further study

Costs and fees

You can find full information about the deposits required and how to pay your fees in our postgraduate fees and funding section, including details of the Postgraduate Loan (subject to fee status).

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per annum. Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course.

Find out more about living expenses for postgraduate students

No hidden extras

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity
Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement
A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
Disability and additional learning support
The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team
Compulsory/assessed fieldwork.

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website.
Optional fieldwork travel, outdoor wear and footwear (where applicable)
Text books, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses
Any expenses relating to placements e.g. travel, specialist clothing etc.

Repeat units

Deposits

International (non-EU) students need to pay a non-refundable £2,000 deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

Financial help available from BU

Our staff

On this course you will be taught by staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This could include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners and research students, many of whom are actively engaged in research and/or professional practice which is integrated into the teaching of this course. You can find out more about some of the staff that are currently teaching on the course and their research activities below. You can read more about the specialist interests of our Life & Environmental Sciences staff on our department pages. Please note that teaching staff can change.

Dr Roger Herbert – Principal Academic in Coastal & Marine Biology

Dr Roger Herbert has always been passionate about the sea and its exploration and had a career in outdoor education prior to joining Bournemouth University. Much of his current research and teaching is focussed on the impact of environmental change on inshore marine ecosystems and marine conservation.

Read more about the specialist interests of our Life & Environmental Sciences staff online, or register now to meet us!

View Dr Roger Herbert’s staff profile

Course changes

Changes in 2017

Date	Changes to this course
14/09/2017	Where the change was made: Key facts Change: Required subjects added for 2018 entry onwards: Biology, Ecology, Environmental science or Earth & Geographical Sciences Previous text: No required subjects

What our students say

Jamie Robins

My highlight was being able to look into a subject area in a huge amount of depth, particularly my research project into restoration of chalk grassland compensation areas after the M3's construction.

Hear from our staff

Dr Anita Diaz

This course includes lots of opportunity for field work in the UK and overseas, and the diversity of our local habitats are second to none.

What our graduates think

Natalia Tejedor

I really enjoyed the course, particularly the fieldwork carried out, where actual conservation issues were tackled in the different local habitats.