
BSc Environmental Sustainability Science
Cardiff, United Kingdom
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 28,200 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas | for home year two and three: £9,250 / year one: £9,000
Introduction
Environmental sustainability is one of the biggest challenges and most important targets of the present. We need to take urgent action for our planet and develop strategies to work towards a more sustainable future.
In our Environmental Sustainability Science course, you will explore three key areas: clean water, land degradation and climate action. We integrate fieldwork, skills and theory using problem-based learning based on real-world scenarios to help you develop sought-after transferable skills. Working across multiple disciplines, you will learn to critically analyse, discuss and debate environmental sustainability issues and offer practical solutions to complex global problems.
We make the most of our location and take regular UK and overseas field trips, the cost is included in the price of the course. You will have the opportunity to conduct your own research project, which will provide valuable skills and knowledge in an area that is interesting and important to you. To support the next steps in your career, you will produce a portfolio demonstrating your progress and achievements.
This distinctively focused course explores topical environmental areas based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This ensures our graduates develop highly sought-after skills and knowledge in major attention areas for researchers, governments and non-government organisations.
Why Study this Course
A distinctively focused course based on the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. You will explore three key areas: clean water, land degradation, and climate action.
Employment Prospects
This course focuses on tackling complex global problems and will help you gain sought-after transferrable skills such as critical analysis and problem-solving.
Flexible Course Content
Tailor your degree to suit your interests through a range of optional modules and research projects in every year of this course.
Problem-Based Learning
Our teaching integrates fieldwork, skills and theory, and allows you to investigate and explore your own topics guided by research experts.
Hands-on Fieldwork
There are plenty of opportunities to develop your fieldwork skills with regular day trips and residential trips in the UK and overseas.
Next-Generation Geographers
Become a next-generation geographer with hybrid knowledge and skills in human and physical geography.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Loans and Grants
Financial support information for students.
Bursaries
We wish to ensure that financial circumstances are not a barrier to your undergraduate study opportunities.
Scholarships
We wish to recruit the very best students and to help us achieve this, we offer a number of scholarships.
Part-time Undergraduate Funding
Information about funding for part-time students.
Financial Support for Asylum Seekers
Information for asylum seekers about the financial support we offer undergraduates and options for funding from outside the University.
Curriculum
This is a three-year full-time degree.
The programme uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to form three Grand (societal or global) Challenges (GCs) that are used as the focus of learning: clean water, land degradation and climate action.
Year 1: 60 credits are contained in the core Grand Challenge module on Clean Water including an independent project. There are an additional 20 credits of core modules providing Grand Challenge-related information and skills. Optional 40 credits are available from a selection of specialist modules.
Year 2: 60 credits are contained in the core Grand Challenge module on Land Degradation and its impacts including an independent project. There is an additional core 20-credit module. Optional 40 credits are available from a selection of specialist modules.
Year 3: 60 credits are contained in the core Grand Challenge module on Climate Action which includes your dissertation. There are an additional core of 20 credits and an optional 40 credits are available from a selection of specialist modules.
Year One
Core Modules for Year One
- GIS, Maps and Analytical Skills
- Grand Challenge 1: Enough clean water for people and ecosystems
Optional Modules for Year One
- World of Dynamic Environments
- Exploring Planet Earth
- Understanding the Living Planet
- Fundamentals of Geographical Science
Year Two
Core Modules for Year Two
- Geographical Perspectives
- Grand Challenge 2: Combat land degradation and its impacts
Optional Modules for Year Two
- Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis
- Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Science
- The Coastal System
- Process Geomorphology & Hydrology
- The Ocean-Atmosphere System
Year Three
Core Modules for Year Three
- Global Climate Change
- Grand Challenge 3: Climate Action
Optional Modules for Year Three
- Hazards, Risk and Resilience
- Extreme Environments: Biogeochemical Perspectives
- Marine Environmental Systems
How Will I Be Assessed?
Modules will be assessed through:
- Practical assignments
- Essay assignments
- Fieldwork
- Oral presentations
- Dissertation
- Formal examinations.
Formative assessment is used widely across the School to provide feedback for you to develop learning and understanding. Formative assessment is typically used prior to summative assessment. Summative assessment is used for quality assurance and audit to demonstrate achievement at appropriate levels.
Peer assessment is also used on some assessments to help self-assessment as a vehicle for reflection. By judging the work of others, you will gain insight into your own performance.
You will receive written feedback for written coursework assignments and oral feedback for oral presentations.
Program Outcome
What Skills Will I Practise and Develop?
Knowledge & Understanding
On successful completion of the entire Programme you will be able to demonstrate the following:
- A systematic understanding of the United Nations environment-related Sustainable Development Goals and specifically the underpinning targets on Clean Water, Life on Land and Climate Action. Also, the supporting understanding of spatial and temporal environmental processes and their inter-relationships between environmental, chemical and physical systems across scales
- A broad understanding and knowledge of environmental resource management and specifically the global challenges of Clean Water, Life on Land and Climate Action, including approaches to their governance
- Systematic knowledge of the multi-disciplinary nature of environmental sustainability science, methods of scientific investigation and philosophical approaches, and a practical understanding of the need for integration of knowledge from cognate sciences, including those related to the Earth System, ocean, atmospheric, physical and Geography
- Ability to work across environmental sustainability science to link knowledge and experience from allied sciences to understand a range of environments including their relationship with society
Intellectual Skills
On successful completion of the entire Programme you will be able to demonstrate the following:
- The ability to debate, interpret and explain the causes, scales and impacts of environmental sustainability science issues and specifically the Grand Challenges of Clean Water, Life on Land and Climate Action whilst critically applying relevant ideas, concepts and methods
- The ability to collect, collate, synthesise and evaluate critically environmental sustainability science data and information, drawing from relevant approaches in cognate areas of Geography
Professional Practical Skills
On successful completion of the entire Programme you will be able to demonstrate the following:
- Critical analysis and interpretation of different types of environmental data as part of research to investigate topical issues and theoretical concepts including Grand Challenges of Clean Water, Life on Land and Climate Action
- Planning, designing and executing research related to environmental sustainability science, critically using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. This may be based on fieldwork, offshore or laboratory investigations or desk-based studies
- The use and evaluation of methods to acquire geospatial data and represent such data in appropriate cartographic and graphic formats. The use of appropriate platforms, including GIS
- The ability to conduct environmental sustainability research involving the integration and analysis of diverse and often incomplete and uncertain data using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methodologies and approaches
- The use and evaluation of practical skills in information technology, geographical information systems, cartographic, statistical and other data analytical techniques
- That you can conduct environmental sustainability science research safely by planning the organisation and logistics of data gathering and evaluating the risks, limitations and ethical issues of data gathering in various environments
Transferable/Key Skills
On successful completion of the entire Programme you will be able to demonstrate the following:
- Effective communication of knowledge, ideas and arguments in a variety of formats using oral, written, and visual media to both specialist and non-specialist audiences
- Working with others to achieve common tasks, taking responsibility for group and individual roles, managing resources and assessing behaviours
- Problem definition, solution and tackling of complex often intractable Grand Challenges within a range of environmental sustainability research and specifically Clean Water, Life on Land and Climate Action
- You can undertake effective project management and organisational skills through independent working and teamwork
- The ability to conduct independent study and personal scholarship, fostered through enhanced personal responsibility, initiative and self-learning experiences
- The ability to set goals for academic work and the development of skills and competencies needed to secure employment and/or support ongoing professional development
- Responsibility for own learning and development using reflection and feedback to analyse your own capabilities, appraise alternatives and plans and implement actions. Set criteria for and be effective in professional and interpersonal communication in a wide range of situations
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Typical jobs for graduates include environmental and sustainability consultancy and regulation, conservation, science writing, national government policy, environmental charities, teaching, transport planning, environmental education and environmental health. This course also provides excellent training for postgraduate study and research.
Potential employers could include local government and companies and organisations such as the Environment Agency, BAM Construct UK, Airbus and Wales and West Utilities.
Based on responses from the latest Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey 90% of our School's graduates were in employment or engaged in further study within six months of graduation, with others taking time out to travel.
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.