Marine & Freshwater Ecology & Environmental Management

Aims

The course is mainly intended to provide training for students who hope to enter a Ph.D. programme and who wish preparatory training in transferable skills and in ecological and environmental disciplines. It should also serve as an excellent introduction to research in the U.K. for overseas students intending to proceed to a Ph.D. in this country.

Description

I really enjoyed my stay at the University Glasgow. I met a lot of people, I got to see more of Scottish culture, and I also got a great experience out of my Master's course which provided me with more knowledge, and the great opportunity to do on-site field work in Scotland and abroad, in Zambia. I am now doing a PhD at Glasgow which follows up some work that I  did as part of my M.Res. field work done in Zambia  - Julissa Tapia Grimaldo (Mexico),  M.Res. Mar. & Freshwater Ecol. & Environm. Management (2008)

The course runs for 50 weeks, (starting in late September), and consists of a taught component, and two research projects in individual laboratories and in the field. The taught component includes topics such as research skills, statistics, IT skills, and fieldwork safety. In addition, the student is expected to take part in two Advanced Study Options. The background teaching for each of these takes place over a 5-week period, with about 6 hours of small-group teaching each week, followed by a further 5-week period during which the student prepares a critical review of the state of knowledge of a particular topic. These are taken between October and March at Glasgow University.

The main part of the degree, however, is devoted to experience of research techniques. You will carry out two 20-week research projects with individual placements chosen to reflect your interests and the skills you wish to acquire. After each project, you will write a scientific report. We advise students to select one laboratory based project and one fieldwork based project in order to obtain skills in both of these aspects of biological research. Normally the field-based project is taken from March to August and can be overseas. Research project topics are selected by the student in consultation with the course coordinator.

A feature of the course is that students are encouraged to tailor the course to their own specific requirements and interests, within the limitations of the courses and projects offered.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must have a first degree in a biological science or related subject (such as Geography). You should have the equivalent of at least an upper second class honours degree. The course assumes, and builds upon, a good understanding of ecological principles.