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Environmental Health with Professional Practice

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C

Including Biology or Human Biology. Year 2 entry with A Levels in BBC including Biology.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

Including 3 subjects at H4 (one of which should be Biology or Human Biology) For year 2 entry, 30 points including Biology at Higher Level and Chemistry at Ordinary Level

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

H1,H2,H2,H2

Including Biology or Human Biology

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,B,C

Advanced Highers in Biology plus Chemistry at least at National 5 Grade C

Scottish HNC

Pass

Year 1: HNC in science subject.

Scottish HND

Pass

Year 2: Environmental Health based subject.

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B

Including Biology or Human Biology

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

114

Including Biology or Human Biology

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Environmental biology

**OVERVIEW**
UWS's BSc (Hons) Environmental Health with Professional Practice is a unique four-year degree within the UK. Nowhere else in the UK has the academic and professional practice in local authority elements of training being incorporated into one seamless learning experience.

This professionally-accredited degree has been developed with input from industry experts, local authorities and the Society of Chief Environmental Health Officers in Scotland and is the only one of its kind in the UK.

You’ll explore how the natural and built environment impacts on human health and learn how to keep people safe and healthy using science, technology, law and professional practice.

This degree will provide you with an underpinning of the basic sciences and environmental health before allowing you to focus on specialist subjects of your choice.

**PRACTICAL FOCUS**
One of the roles of the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) is to accredit University courses, as being the academic element of the professional qualification required to practice as an Environmental Health Officer in Scotland. It is an EU/UK Competent Authority for Environmental Health.

A key component of training to become an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) is Professional Practice. Within the degree, this will be completed as placements and will comprise of 39 weeks in terms 1, 2 and 3 of year 3 with a further 9 weeks in Term 2 of year 4 of your studies.

You will engage with the placements to provide them with the practical training in accordance with the REHIS Scheme of Professional Practice.

**PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION**
This degree is professionally accredited by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) and provision of this course resides exclusively in UWS.

**CAREER PROSPECTS**
The BSc (Hons) Environmental Health with Professional Practice provides a direct pathway for you to become an Environmental Health Officer (EHO), by combining both the academic and professional practice requirements of training into the undergraduate degree, leaving students, upon completion of the degree, ready to sit the REHIS Professional Exams.
**Jobs**
This degree will prepare you for a successful career in Environmental Health, providing you meet the requirements of the employer and employment opportunities, and lead to the following roles after graduation:

// Environmental Health Officer // Public Health Specialist // Noise Consultant // Environmental Specialist // Food Safety - Standards Officer // Built Environment Officer / Housing Officer // Health and Safety Officer // Consultant

**Further Study**
BSc (Hons) Environmental Health with Professional Practice graduates have gone on to undertake taught master's studies (MSc/MPH/MBA) in Environmental Health, Waste and Resource Management, Public Health, Business Management. Some have progressed to research studies for PhD in Environmental Health.

Modules

Year 1 is the foundation year of your studeies and you will explore a range of topics including biodiversity of life, foundations of life and investigation and communication.

In Year 2 you will begin to specialise in environmental health, with detailed consideration of the legislative framework, managing risks, entomology and parasitology, introduction to microbiological analysis, health and hygiene and environmental protection. 

In Year 3 you will undertake a 39-week placement with a local authority (professional practice 1) and a module on food inspection and food safety.

In your final year of study you will complete modules in advanced food inspection, housing, acoustics and health, public health microbiology and a detailed study of pollution control. You will also undertake the second placement of 9 weeks with a local authority (professional practice 2). You will also complete a supervised research dissertation in a subject area of your choice.

Assessment methods

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and workshops.

You will also have the opportunity to take part in group work and independent learning to develop your transferable skills such as research, presentation, communication and working as part of a team.

This degree is assessed using a variety of assessment methods including:

// Written examinations // Coursework // Practical assessment // Portfolio

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Visit www.uws.ac.uk/scholarships

The Uni


Course location:

Lanarkshire Campus

Department:

Health and Life Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


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

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
29%
Male students
71%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
14%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
D

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
88%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

28%
Science, engineering and production technicians
15%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Other elementary services occupations

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.

£17k

£17k

£22k

£22k

£26k

£26k

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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