Postgraduate Environmental Sciences 2025-2026

This course is uniquely tailored for environmental scientists and ecologists and will provide students with the required background theory and practical skills relevant to modern science. Our example-led lectures and real-world based practical sessions will provide you with a foundation to become confident and proficient in analysing real data. Throughout this course, we will introduce you to using the programming language R to implement modern statistical modelling techniques. You will use the flexible linear and generalised linear modelling frameworks to analyse environmental and ecological data with an emphasis on robust and reproducible statistical methods.

This course examines the role terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems play in modulating global fluxes of energy and matter. It explores physical, chemical, and biological processes that govern ecosystem dynamics.

This course develops principles of systems ecology and biogeochemistry, focusing on organisms’ roles in regulating ecosystem processes and interactions of greenhouse gas exchange between the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface.

By integrating insights from various disciplines, you gain understanding of how ecosystems differ in composition, structure, and function.

The mixture of applied science and theoretical work on this course places you in a valuable position for understanding the procedures and applications in modern environmental science.

A number of laboratory classes allows you to familiarise yourself with the current analytical instrumentation in environmental science.

The course uses examples of environmental issues allowing you to understand the problem, how the analysis was conducted and the implications of the results. The main assessment in this course is a practical write up that is written in the style of a scientific report giving you an opportunity to perfect this style of writing.

This course is a residential field course that takes place in the Cairngorm National Park. During this course you will gain experience relating to the broad theme of environmental science.

You will develop a greater understanding of the dynamics of the landscape and the interactions and conflicts between stakeholders. You will be focusing on issues associated with different land uses within the Cairngorms National Park and associated decisions which directly impact the environment. This will be done by a number of site visits to sporting estates, forests, farms, and national nature reserves.

You will also have the chance to collect and make use of empirical data within the national park.

This course carries a cost of £95 for MSci Biological Sciences students

Dates for this field course are 23^rd March – 27^th March 2026

The three-month individual Research Project can cover any area of environmental science and is undertaken under the supervision of a member of staff who is an expert in your chosen field.  Many projects are also done in collaboration with an external organisation. The project provides opportunities for you to develop your abilities and skills, generate hypotheses and design ways of testing them and to analyse, report and discuss your findings. You will learn to take responsibility for implementing your own plans and modifying them as necessary. The project is written up in the style of a scientific paper manuscript or a consultancy report.

The three-month individual Research Project can cover any area of environmental management and is undertaken under the supervision of a member of staff who is an expert in your chosen field.  Many projects are also done in collaboration with an external organisation. The project provides opportunities for you to develop your abilities and skills, generate hypotheses and design ways of testing them and to analyse, report and discuss your findings. You will learn to take responsibility for implementing your own plans and modifying them as necessary. The project is written up in the style of a scientific paper manuscript or a consultancy report.