We deliver excellent teaching and training, informed by our research, discussions with the next generation and the wider society, and scholarship of teaching and learning (the centre includes experts in pedagogy) to understand how we can transform understanding and engage students and the public in our mission to help reverse nature’s decline.
CIEEM Accredited Postgraduate Course in Wildlife Biology & Conservation
Our on-campus MSc Wildlife Biology & Conservation programme is the only programme in Scotland to be accredited by the Chartered Institute for Ecology & Environmental Management (CIEEM), the UK’s leading professional membership body representing and supporting ecologists and environmental managers in the UK, Ireland and abroad. This accreditation recognises that our programme offers students the knowledge and practical skills most valued by employers and is focused on core ecological and environmental theory alongside significant practical experience. It also allows our students and graduates closer ties CIEEM which offers a wide suite of training, education and careers development opportunities to complement their degree.
The MSc Wildlife Biology & Conservation programme addresses the greatest challenge facing conservation biologists today - the preservation of the world’s biodiversity in the face of considerable human demands on space and resources. In addition to studying relevant theory, students have the opportunity to develop advanced analytical skills for population quantification and management, practical skills used in identifying, quantifying and assessing biodiversity
transferable skills including communication, IT (GIS, R), problem solving, research and team working. Teaching is lab- and field-based. Students will benefit from our research and practice led teaching that can fit around work, childcare, or other commitments. We value inclusivity and flexibility in our education provision and offer a part-time distance-learning. Our graduates have gone on to work for environmental consultancies, government agencies and independent wildlife organisations nationally and internationally.
RSB accredited Undergraduate Courses in Marine & Freshwater Biology and Animal & Conservation Biology
Our undergraduate courses are all accredited by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB). This accreditation provides external assurance that the skills gained by students on these courses, both subject-specific and broader employability-related, are aligned with professional requirements for the workplace and students have been prepared to achieve success in employment. Students join the RSB as student affiliate members and this automatically transfers to Associate (AMRSB) membership upon their graduation.
Students studying for a BSC (Hons) in Marine & Freshwater Biology will explore the aquatic environment, its importance in understanding climate change, and how to monitor and protect marine and freshwater species in a sustainable manner. Aquatic habitats and organisms are pivotal in the understanding climate change and biodiversity loss, making this course very relevant to a career in conservation and environmental protection.
Students studying for a BSC (Hons) in Animal & Conservation Biology will prepare for a career in wildlife conservation by exploring how animals adapt to their environment and interact with each other. The course introduces the diversity of animals, how animals have evolved and adapted to different environments in terms of their ecology, behaviour and physiology. Students will learn how this knowledge can be put to use to guide conservation and understand the impacts of pollution and climate change on animals. They will be equipped with a range of skills for a career in animal conservation or management, including species identification, field surveying techniques and collection and analysis of biological data, or you could continue on to postgraduate study.
Achieving Sustainability – A Better World is Possible (Undergraduate Module)
Achieving Sustainability - A Better World is Possible is a unique, cross-disciplinary module, offered to undergraduate students across the university for education on sustainable development. Incorporating science, business, psychology and creative arts, the module brings students together to work on applied problems that draw on their pooled expertise and looks to facilitate change at individual, corporate and societal levels. Key learning outcomes of the module are to “identify and plan creative practical actions to promote sustainability and show how these relate to one or more of the key ideas of sustainability that are discussed in the module” and “collaborate to deliver a practical outcome designed to promote sustainability and evaluate its potential for impact”. Student projects focused on rewilding the seabed using seagrass; improving car parking spaces for the environment; adopting Ecosia as the University search engine; developing an app to help people adopt environmental lifestyle changes and engaging with school children on political change towards a net zero world.
Industry Training Events – Ecological Monitoring
Our programme of research in developing evidence-based approaches to ecological monitoring, and our active links with the ecological consultancy industry has directly influenced practitioners through industry body training courses. For example, based on underpinning applied research we have run training events on camera-trapping practice in England and Scotland, attended by a range of practitioners (including from statutory nature conservation organisations). These courses directly inform on-the-ground monitoring from novel scientific findings. We are planning a series on online modules combined with face-to-face training as well as running Continuing Profession Development CPDs.
Learn more about 'An evidence-based approach to camera-trapping' training course.
Contribution to the Early Career Special Interest Group - The Chartered Institute Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM)
We contribute to the development of early career individuals through the CIEEM network and the Early Careers Special Interest Group. This group provides a link between established professionals across a range of sectors (industry, government, academia and charities) and people starting out in a career working in Ecology and Environmental Management. The goals of the group are to support people beginning their professional career by providing both general and sector-specific advice and insight. This interaction also provides feedback from early career individuals about what is happening in different job markets (for better and worse) allowing us to provide better education and development support, ultimately producing high calibre graduates.
Learn more about the CIEEM Early Careers Special Interest Group.