Ecology and Conservation, MSc at University of Aberdeen

Our MSc programme provides flexibility to enable you to gain knowledge and skills to meet your career aspirations, whether in research or as a practising ecologist. The programme runs through a full year, starting with a field course and culminating in a major research project. You will have the opportunity to gain hands on experience of everything from field survey to chairing discussions, from statistics and modelling to report writing and from identifying important ecological questions to researching them and writing a scientific paper. Previous graduates have gone on to the top of their chosen profession in research, consultancy, conservation, policy, education and advocacy.

You will get to know your peers at the outset on a week-long field research skills course held at our field centre in the stunning surroundings of Bettyhill on the north coast of Sutherland. This is followed by core training in plant community ecology, animal population ecology, GIS and experimental design and analysis (which includes use of R). Thereafter, you select from our broad palette of courses. Students wishing to gain research training may take advantage of our renowned advanced statistics course and join our informal ecology research group seminars throughout the year. Those interested in applied ecology may choose to study catchment management, marine spatial management and conservation management planning, amongst others. A key course for those aiming to work in consultancy is Environmental Impact Assessment. The opportunity to place your ecological study in a broader, interdisciplinary context is provided through a very popular course on ecology, conservation and society.

In the final semester you will all complete a research project which enables you to develop expertise and contacts in a topic of your own choosing. Preparation may begin as early in the year as you like, as you discuss ideas with staff and external organisations.

How You'll Study

The programme comprises a combination of taught modules, each of which will involve lectures/seminars and practical work. There is a one week residential field course (at Bettyhill, Sutherland) plus several day-long field trips from Aberdeen. Emphasis throughout is on active participation in class discussions, presentations and group work. The individual research project is developed by the student in consultation with a supervisor (a member of the School of Biological Sciences) and often with an external collaborator. The project title can be selected from an extensive list or based on the student’s own suggestion.

Learning Methods

• FIELD TRIPS
• FIELD WORK
• GROUP PROJECTS
• INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
• LAB WORK
• LECTURES
• RESEARCH
• SEMINARS
• TUTORIALS
• WORKSHOPS

Why Study Ecology and Conservation?

• Aberdeen provides you with a unique learning environment with unrivalled access to coastal, mountain and freshwater habitats for both fieldwork and recreation.
• The University has a long tradition and excellent reputation for teaching and research in Ecology and is home to one of the largest and most vibrant groups of academics in this subject area in Britain. Masters ecology has been taught here for over 50 years and our generations of graduates are to be found in leadership in ecological professions around the world.
• You will be taught by ecologists who are internationally renowned researchers and experts in their field, and who are actively involved in the application of ecological research to environmental management and nature conservation. Our plant and soil ecology group is ranked number 1 in the UK for overall research excellence (REF 2014).
• The programme is flexible so that you can choose the extent to which you wish to focus on gaining research skills or applied ecology skills, or to combine both.
• The programme is skills-based, meaning that as well as learning theory you will be continually applying that knowledge to real world tasks and situations.

Careers

The programme focuses on providing training in state-of-the-art methods that will be invaluable both for careers in academic research and outside of academia, for example in ecological or environmental consultancy. The UK’s Natural Environment Research Council has published an analysis of the “most wanted” postgraduate and professional skills in the ecological and environmental sector. Our MSc programme has been specifically designed to provide you with these sought after skills so that you are highly competitive in whatever career you choose to follow.

In addition to acquiring discipline-specific skills, the course work activities within our programme are designed to provide you with ample opportunity to develop generic skills required by employers including critical thinking, problem-solving, team work, written and oral presentation, time management and interdisciplinarity.