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Environmental Management and Sustainability (with placement)

Entry requirements


Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:30

Access course must be Science related.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

Applicants must have a minimum of 4 GCSEs at grade C/4 or above including English Language, Maths and a Science. BTEC level 2 in Science at grade M will be accepted as an alternative to GCSE Science at grade C/4

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

28

pass with 28 overall with a relevant subject passed with 5 at higher level

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H4

BBBC under previous system

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

For applicants taking a City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma, offers tend to be in the region of DMM Please note these grades apply only to the new examined (reformed) version of the Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma which should be 1080 Guided Learning Hours. For the previous version of this course, the City and Guilds Level 3 Extended Diploma, we require grade D. We do not accept the 720 GLH version as fully meeting our Level 3 entry requirements. If you are unsure which version you are studying please contact your school or college for advice.

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,C

T Level

M

Accepted subject Agriculture, Land Management and Production Routes: Crop and Plant Production, Land-based Engineering, Ornamental horticulture and landscaping, Tree and woodland Management and maintenance Accepted subject Science Routes: Laboratory Sciences

UCAS Tariff

88-104

We accept the Welsh Baccalaureate as equivalent to a full A level. For further information please contact the Admissions team.

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subjects

Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture and landscape development

The World is facing a number of global crises – biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, climate change and threats to food and energy supplies.

The Environmental Management and Sustainability programme is built around the water, energy and food nexus. Expertise in areas including climate change adaptation and mitigation, water management, sustainable energy, land use and food security are integrated in this programme to train a new generation of professionals. A key focus will be practical approaches to the productive management of land whilst balancing the needs of society for a healthy environment. This will include thriving biodiversity, clean water and air, and safety from natural hazards (such as floods and extreme weather) wrought by climate change, agricultural intensification and the demands of a growing UK and global population. Graduates will develop the skills to address sustainable development issues.

This course will provide a combination of underpinning theory and practical application to demonstrate key concepts and allow students to develop their own specialist areas of interest. This programme is interdisciplinary in nature and students can expect to gain a wide variety of insights into environmental management and sustainability. In addition, students will develop transferable skills for use in graduate employment or in the pursuit of postgraduate research.

Each year of the programme includes fieldwork and a residential field course in every year. The final year course is currently in South Africa, while the 2nd year course will be in Europe. These residential field courses are supplemented by a wide range of field trips to local sites to contextualise material introduced in lectures and seminars. The programme has a strong applied focus using standard industry techniques underpinned by science.

Industry best practise has been driven by technological advances in remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and geographical information systems (GIS). The application of these technologies is embedded in the course to promote environmental management and sustainability.

The first two years of the course include an emphasis on professional development and employability. In their third year, all students undertake work placement of at least 44 weeks. Students will have a wide range of exciting opportunities available to them. During the placement year, students will have the support of the placement manager and a dedicated tutor. After successfully completing the placement students return to the university to re-join their cohort for the final year of the degree.

The university is situated in a rural location with easy access to the countryside of Cheshire and Shropshire, including the Meres and Mosses and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The university also has its own estate of 400ha including a range of agricultural and semi-natural habitats. The estate and local sites are used in the course for site visits and practical exercises.

This is a new course, but it builds on a long history of related courses, taught by staff with a wide range of academic and professional expertise. The BSc (Hons) Environmental Management and Sustainability is proposed to be accredited by the Institute of Environmental Management (IEMA) reflecting its inclusion of the teaching of knowledge and skills that are critical to protecting our environment now and in the future. Accreditation ensures that the curriculum is aligned to best practice in the sector.

Graduates will find a diversity of employment opportunities from environmental consultancy and advisors specialising in sustainable business management and environmental land management, to professional roles working in renewable energy, sustainable food production and catchment management. Employers include public and private organisations including NGOs such as the National Trust through to local authorities and the Environment Agency.

Modules

The course is comprised of modules covering environmental and sustainability themes along with cross disciplinary subjects in fieldwork, personal development and project management. Each module is worth either 10 or 20 credits (although the final year research project is weighted at 40 credits) and each academic year of the course carries a weighting of 120 credits.

Each module has a web page on our Virtual Learning Environment. Here tutors upload material such as presentations, videos, and links to key sources for independent study. Material used in face to face teaching is uploaded in advance of classes, so that students can prepare and subsequently follow up to reinforce their understanding. Many modules also include practical work in the university laboratories, on the university farm, or at locations (e.g. nature reserves) nearby. Each year includes at least one residential field course as detailed below.

The first year of the course comprises ‘Core’ modules (meaning all students study the same subjects):

· Fundamentals of the Physical Environment (20)

· Contemporary Issues in Sustainability (20)

· Ecological Principles (20)

· Introduction to Wildlife Conservation (20)

· Environmental Survey and Field Skills (including two residential field courses) (20)

· Skills for the Natural Scientist (10)

· Communicating Science in a Digital World (10)

The second year of the course builds on the themes introduced in the first year. There are two optional modules (students must select one) and also an elective module. For the elective, students can pick a specialist module delivered by the Environmental Sustainability Wildlife team or any other elective module offered across the university. Second year modules are:

· Research Methods (20)

· Environmental Quality and Development (20)

· Climate Change and Sustainability Indicators (20)

· Practical Research Skills (including a residential field course in Europe) (20)

· Professional Development for the Natural Scientist (10)

· Elective – Urban Ecology and Green Infrastructure (or any other elective) (10)

Plus one of two optional modules:

· Brownfield Reclamation and Flood Management (20)

· Woodland Management (20)

The third year of the course is spent on placement with an employer. Students then return to re-join their peers for the final year of the course. A key aspect of the final year is the individual research project where students get to investigate a topic of personal interest. This might involve the collection, analysis and interpretation of data from field surveys, designed pilots or a questionnaire, to answer research questions which they have developed with support of their project supervisor. There are two pairs of optional modules, including a module focussing on forestry that builds on the second year module on woodland management. Students select one optional module from each pair. Final year modules are:

· Honours Research Dissertation (40)

· Environmental Assessment (20)

· Low Carbon Transitions (20)

· Integrative Project Management (including a residential field course in the UK) (20)

Plus one module from each of these pairs:

· Advanced Geographical Information Systems (10) or Contemporary Forestry (10)

· Countryside and Environmental Projects (10) or International Field Course in Natural Resource Management (10)

Assessment methods

The course uses a range of assessment methods, including written material and verbal presentations. Written work takes many forms, such as traditional reports, essays and literature reviews, but also writing in a style appropriate for popular magazine articles, social media posts, advisory and briefing notes, consultancy reports, and business and site management plans.

The emphasis throughout the course is on authentic assessment, which means that work must be prepared in styles and formats that are relevant to the work place. The majority of assessments are coursework. Where ‘examination-style’ assessments are used, these are Timed Open Book Assessments where students produce work to a short deadline (e.g. 24 hours) with access to support materials, rather than being closeted in a traditional invigilated examination room for several hours.

All modules include opportunities for formative assessment, for example where tutors provide constructive feedback on students’ draft work before the final version is submitted for marking. Other innovative ways of formative feedback include peer to peer support, mini pitches of ideas, quizzes to cement learning and gradual development of key skills such as presentations. Harper Adams University has a thriving Learning and Teaching department with best practice techniques shared at numerous in-house events where innovative methods for teaching and learning are critiqued and developed.

Students submit their work online. Marking and provision of feedback is also carried out online. Students can submit work, and access feedback, while off-campus.

During the placement year, students’ progress is assessed through a review process involving the student, employer and academic tutor, designed to identify their Continuing Professional Development needs. The students must also produce two pieces of work tailored to their individual roles and assessed

by their academic placement tutor, combined with an assessment of their overall performance completed by the employer.

The Honours Research Dissertation is a student’s opportunity to pursue their interest in research and develop a project within the themes of their course. The dissertation is the jewel in the crown of the Honours degree, providing cross disciplinary experience as well as applying experimental and statistical skills developed throughout the degree. During the project the student is supported by their individual supervisor through regular online and/or face to face meetings.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,500
per year
International
£16,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Harper Adams University

Department:

Environment, Sustainability and Wildlife

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

91%
Agriculture
91%
Sustainable agriculture and landscape development

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Agriculture

Teaching and learning

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

76%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
76%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
65%
Male students
35%
Female students
70%
2:1 or above
7%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Agriculture

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£21,000
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
78%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Architects, town planners and surveyors
12%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
10%
Agricultural and related trades

About 70% of the UK's land area is given over to agriculture, so this is a subject representing an important part of the country's economy. Typical starting jobs for graduates in agriculture include agricultural science, farming and farm management, but graduates also go into other areas, such as the horticulture trade, auctioneering and conservation. Agriculture graduates are also in increasing demand for one of the hardest-to-fill jobs in the country - surveying. Jobs for agriculture graduates are often in rural areas - in 2016, areas like Essex, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire and Kent were all important for agriculture graduates.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Agriculture

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

£27k

£27k

£31k

£31k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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