This degree unravels the complexity in defining the broad concepts of environmental stewardship and sustainable development, while examining the practical implications of their adoption. Implicit in this programme is a need to understand the processes operating in the natural environment, the interaction of society with natural systems and the resulting environmental problems.

Year 1

In the first year you will take the following core courses:

• Introduction to environmental science
• Earth system science
• Introduction to global environmental issues
• Text and communication.

Year 2

In the second year you will take the following core courses:

• Research methods for environmental scientists
• Sustainability of farming systems
• Energy: options for sustainability.

Year 3

In the third year you will take the following core courses:

• Applied ecology and conservation
• Human impacts on the environment
• Rural tourism and stewardship (optional)
• Current issues in science, technology and medicine (optional)
• Dissertation or work placement.

At each level you will also be able to choose elective courses from other interdisciplinary programmes, including history, literature, philosophy, health, text and communication, science studies and modern languages.

Year 4

Appropriately qualified students may pursue a fourth year of study, leading to the award of the BSc (Honours) degree. The Honours year consists of

• Environmental stewardship project (on a research interest of choice)
• Environmental economics or Natural resources economics
• plus three further core courses to be approved.

The University’s Dumfries Campus is ideally located for the study of environmental stewardship, with easy access to natural environments providing you with a vibrant and diverse outdoor laboratory. Fieldwork and practical experience are at the core of this programme, providing you with valuable skills to take into the workplace.

The programme includes contributions from key local and national organisations, such as

• the Scottish Environment Protection Agency
• Scottish Natural Heritage
• Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
• Forestry Commission
• Scottish Agricultural College (Dumfries)
• Dumfries & Galloway Environmental Resources Centre
• Airtricity (Dalswinton Wind Farm).

A number of these organisations offer placement and employment opportunities to our students.

You will have the opportunity to apply to study abroad. There are currently two options available: the Erasmus Exchange Scheme and the International Exchange Programme. Under the Erasmus scheme you study at a major European university, normally for a full year during your third year of study. Dumfries Campus has established exchange agreements with universities in Mainz, Alicante, Pamplona and Prague. If you choose to participate in the International Exchange Programme, which you would normally complete in your third year of study, you can take advantage of our formal exchange agreements with selected universities outside Europe.

This programme offers you the opportunity to engage with a variety of environmental management techniques, providing you with the skills, knowledge and experience to enter the graduate job market in a wide variety of roles concerned with implementing sustainability objectives. The combined approach of a broad-based education with specialist input provides you with a wide range of skills attractive to any employer, including the critical evaluation of complex issues, the presentation of structured, logical arguments supporting a viewpoint, both oral and written, and the production of, and participation in, team-based initiatives. The applied, practical approach coupled with experiences gained through the work placement, will equip you with essential qualities for working in public, commercial or voluntary environmental organisations.