Undergraduate Environmental Sciences 2026-2027

Field based course that takes you across northeast Scotland exploring an ancient tropical rainforest, hill farming in action, survey techniques and soil formation.

Lectures focus on how soils form, how soils work, soil classification, soil as part of the environment, human impacts on soil, and the use of mapping and soil data to optimise the management of this fragile resource.

Your assessments are geared towards developing practical skills. This includes a presentation on a particular soil that requires research akin to detective work, quizzes on soil properties and classification and a critical essay on a selected topic.

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 focuses on the ethical aspects of the two environmental challenges of our times: climate change and biodiversity loss. It is obvious to most that it is of the utmost importance that we do something to manage our changing climate and to increase biodiversity. Furthermore, the environmental sciences provide plenty of suggestions on how we might do this. But decisions on what to do have significant impacts on the natural world and human society. This course introduces students in the natural sciences to theories and methods from Environmental Ethics which will help them reflect on the ethical aspects of our conservation and mitigation decisions here in Scotland and across the globe.

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

Capstone course where you apply your disciplinary knowledge to the policy-driven approaches for informing development (e.g., environmental impact assessment, nature valuation, biodiversity net gain).

Case studies from marine, terrestrial and freshwater systems provide context for considering ecological, economic and social issues associated with biodiversity restoration.

Discussions and assessments enhance your capacity for attentive exchange and informed argument, reinforcing your understanding of linkages between theory and practice.