Integrated Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics DUMF5171

  • Academic Session: 2025-26
  • School: School of Social and Environmental Sustainability
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course will introduce students to the impacts of the continuously changing relationships between human activities and ecological systems, particularly the coastal environment. Drawing from real-world case studies, students will gain practical insights into how human behaviour and responses to environmental changes impact coastal environments. Students will also analyse local and international coastal legal frameworks.

Timetable

1X2 hours lecture and 1 x1 hour seminar per week

Requirements of Entry

Admission to a Postgraduate taught degree

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Report (visionary manifesto, 3000 words about the student's vision for a change in any coastal legislation: 65%). (ILOs, 1, 2, 3 and 4)

Set Exercise (case study analyses, 1500 words: 35%). (ILOs, 1, 2 and 3)

Course Aims

This course aims to provide students with the insights and skills to analyse how the ecological, social, and economic elements interact within coastal ecosystems, thereby equipping them with skills to manage integrated systems. Through case study analyses of local and international coastal legislation, students will also develop skills in interpreting and applying coastal regulations.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

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

1. Identify and describe dynamic interactions and relationships between physical, biological, and human components within coastal systems;

2. Identify and explain how activities of resource users impact coastal ecosystems;

3. Critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of coastal legislation with reference to specific case studies;

Demonstrate data analysis and synthesis skills.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.