Outdoor Adventure and Environmental Studies with Integrated Foundation Year
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
60 credits overall with 45 at level 3
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Higher
T Level
UCAS Tariff
Potential to succeed can be measured in a number of ways including academic qualifications and skills obtained outside academic study such as work experience. You can find out more about the tariff and qualification options from the UCAS tariff table. Please check selection criteria for any additional entry requirements.
About this course
Do you have a passion to be in and learn about the outdoors and the environment? This course will challenge you to use the outdoors for environmental and societal benefits as well as giving you everything you need to kick-start your outdoor career.
Our foundation year in Carlisle will build a solid base in scientific, intellectual and investigative skills and knowledge so that you reach the level needed to undertake the remainder of your degree in Ambleside.
**Course Overview**
The course focuses on incorporating adventurous lifestyles that are socially and environmentally sensitive to address the ecological and cultural challenges of our times.
Using your outdoor skills you will learn about environmental, ecological, and geographical processes that shape outdoor places. You will explore how outdoor experiences can be used to benefit health and wellbeing, with the opportunity to visit and be involved in projects in partnership with work-based activities both in outdoor and environmental contexts.
There are several field trips in the UK and you’ll also be able to travel independently to the Picos de Europa in Spain. This opportunity will set you up for a successful career in the great outdoors. Whether you work in environmental education, conservation and environmental management, or using therapeutic applications outdoors.
**On this course you will...**
- Learn outdoors experientially to develop outdoor skills and explore contemporary environmental questions.
- Work with and for different outdoor and environmental organisations to gain hands-on experience and contacts with potential future employers.
- Explore how the outdoors has heath and wellbeing benefits and therapeutic applications.
- Learn in inspiring locations like the Lake District National Park, North Wales, Scotland, British coastline, and Spain (including a shared international expedition with Spanish students).
- Meet some of the most inspiring people and students, and have unique once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
**What You Will Learn**
In the context of this degree, environment has a broad meaning, for example: built, outdoor, indoor, ecological, geological, geographical, social, political, and historical as well as perceived, individual and emotional.
This programme immerses you in outdoor experiences as a vehicle to develop outdoor skills, environmental knowledge, contemporary and creative practice, communication and facilitation skills (working with people), personal ethics, and values. You will gain an understanding of not just the environment, but wider practices and management styles that occur within the UK and the wider world.
You will explore how people, places, and environments interact and develop curiosity, ideas, and a lifelong passion for learning. Our degree is a way of life that fully immerses you in outdoor learning, both theory and practice.
**Year 1**
- Essential University Skills 1
- Essential Biology
- Scientific Investigation
- Essential University Skills 2
- Environmental Sciences
- Dynamic Earth
**Year 2**
- Ecological Knowledge, Interactions and Change
- Outdoor Adventure Skills and Learning (Water)
- Exploring Lake District Landscapes
- Living and Working in Groups Outdoors
- Outdoor Professional Development
- The Earth System
**Year 3**
- Habitats and Ecosystem
- Outdoor Living Learning and Adventure
- European Mountains: Ecology, Culture and Tourism (domestic travel when restricted by Covid regulations)
- Health and Wellbeing and Environmental Health
- Research Design
- Catchments: Summit to Sea (Optional)
- Traditional and Innovative Approaches to Outdoor Education (Optional)
- Exploring Coastal Environments (Optional)
**Year 4**
- Dissertation
- Contemporary Global Conservation
- Adventure and Environmental Ethics
- Cold Environments (The Cryosphere) (Optional)
- Outdoor and Environmental Education (Optional)
- Therapeutic Opportunities (Optional)
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Carlisle - Fusehill Street
Ambleside
Science and Environment
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.
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.
Ecology and environmental biology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Physical geographical sciences
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Tourism, transport and travel
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Ecology and environmental biology
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Physical geographical sciences
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Tourism, transport and travel
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.
Top job areas of graduates
This course sits in a wide group of smaller subjects that don't necessarily have that much in common - so bear this in mind when you look at any employment data. Most graduates took a hospitality, events management or tourism-related course, but there are a group of sports and leisure graduates in here as well who do different things. Events management was the most common job for graduates from this group of subjects, and so it’s no surprise that graduates from specialist events management courses did better last year than many of the other graduates under this subject umbrella - but all did about as well as graduates on average or a little better. If you want to find out more about specific job paths for your chosen subject area, it's a good idea to go on open days and talk to tutors about what previous graduates went on to do, or to have a look at university department websites.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Ecology and environmental biology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
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.
Physical geographical sciences
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£15k
£19k
£21k
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.
Tourism, transport and travel
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£22k
£20k
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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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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