Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

The dissertation will allow students to explore an area of particular interest. Working closely with a supervisor, they will develop the topic, undertake the research and submit a dissertation of 15,000 words.

The dissertation will be undertaken in the second year of study.

Progress from the taught course stage of the MSc in Environmental Science as part of the Joint Graduate School

None

None

MSc Dissertation of approximately 15,000 words - 100%

The aim of this course is help students develop effective research and appraisal skills (evident, for example, in data sourcing, collection, investigation, quantitative and qualitative analysis, weighing evidence and reaching sound conclusions) through understanding appropriate research methods, undertaking a substantial research exercise on an approved topic with a literature and original empirical content, and presenting their research results in a well-argued and coherent written form.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Evaluate the nature and purpose of research in environmental management.

• Define research problems and issues and refine them into research aims, objectives, questions and/or hypotheses.

• Search for and review critically research literature and other secondary data sources.

• Select and apply appropriate methodological approaches for particular research topics.

• Plan and manage a research or applied project by collecting information from a variety of sources, synthesising it effectively and presenting it succinctly.

•Sustain a clear and succinct argument in presenting research findings in a substantive written form.

Students must submit at least 100% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.