Environmental Studies at NEWI

Environmental Studies Pathways:

B.Sc. (Honours) Environmental Studies (Science)

Course structure

The programme is modular and is organised into two 15 week semesters per year. Usually the equivalent of six modules are studied per semester. Full-time students normally study 120 credits (12 x 10 credit modules, or equivalent) per academic year. Part-time students normally study between 60 and 80 credits (6 to 8 x 10 credit modules, or equivalent) per academic year.

At Level 1, the impact of humans on the environment and the need for sustainable development are central to your understanding. Students will also be provided with the knowledge, skills and techniques needed to identify, record, collate, and communicate environmental information about a variety of subject areas, including geology, ecology, economics and geography. You will also gain relevant laboratory experience and transferable skills.

At Level 2, students gain an in-depth knowledge of population/resource and pollution issues and coastal and terrestrial ecosystems, in addition to the further development of laboratory skills with analytical techniques. You will also gain research and field skills, with additional understanding achieved through a field course to a European city (or arranged locally). In addition you may study the value and application of mapping and geographical information systems or planning and environmental law.

At Level 3, students carry out an individual research project for an environmental science topic which thus reflects their degree route. Modules concerning environmental management in the context of businesses, environmental monitoring and control, and health and environment will also be studied. In addition, one of the following modules will complete the programme: the management of ecological resources, planning and environmental law (if not studied at Level 2) or sustainable development.

Teaching and Assessment

A variety of teaching methods is used. These include formal lectures, seminars and tutorials. There is also a strong emphasis on both fieldwork and laboratory skill development.

Assessment is integrated with the teaching, and a mixture of examinations and coursework is used. Coursework includes fieldwork; practical exercises; reports and tests; written assignments; directed study; and weather journals.

Career prospects

NEWI’s Environmental Studies (Science) graduates pursue careers as:

environmental auditors and monitors involving laboratory work with organisations such as the Environment Agency;
environmental managers in industry;
waste management in industry;
environmental managers with local authorities, including waste management.

The degree is also accepted as the basis for further diploma and degree work and provides graduates with the skills to enter the widest range of occupations and professions.

Environmental Studies (Science) Pathway Modules

Level 1

At Level 1, students take nine core modules (three of which are double and valued at 20 credits).

Geology and Landscape (20 credits)

Geological systems underpin the systems of the natural environment. In this module the characteristics of the earth, its composition and geological history will be examined. An understanding will be gained of the earth’s endogenetic (internal) processes which influence landscape development and of the earth’s exogenetic (surface) processes which contribute to the development and modification of landforms.

Investigative Laboratory Techniques (20 credits)

Here, students will be introduced to the principles of chemistry relevant to environmental science and provide them with appropriate practical skills in chromatography and spectroscopy. A problem solving approach will be used and experimental data will be analysed using statistical methods.

Ecology and Biodiversity (20 credits)

The principles of ecology, which provide a necessary basis for understanding and managing the living components of the environment, will form the core of this module. Students will also be introduced to the variety of methods whereby living organisms are arranged in groups to facilitate their study.

Field Skills (10 credits)

This module will support the content of the systems modules within the programmes, including Geology and Landscape, Atmospheric Systems and Ecology and Biodiversity. It will involve a wide range of information and data collection and recording in the field on an individual and group basis, followed by presentation, analysis and evaluation in the classroom situation.

The Atmospheric System (10 credits)

This module will consider the role of energy in this open system and examine changes both over the earth’s surface and with time. The interaction of the atmospheric system with other natural environmental systems and with anthropogenic systems (the influence of humans on the atmosphere), is essential for an understanding of the environment.

Humans and the Environment (10 credits)

Anthropogenic effects on the environment will be considered from both an historical and contemporary viewpoint, from the impact of hunter-gatherers to the modern city and the concept of the ecological footprint.

The U.K. Economy (10 credits)

This module will examine the U.K. economy from a geographical viewpoint with particular reference to spatial analysis and the study of interrelationships, and regional synthesis, in an examination of the changes in agriculture, industry and associated demographic changes. Some important concepts will be introduced and the impact of changes in the global economy on production in the UK will be considered.

Tourism (10 credits)

In the United Kingdom tourism represents an increasingly important element within urban and regional regeneration. This module is designed to raise awareness and to explore the issues pertaining to tourism in a practical way. It will investigate the characteristics of tourism, tourists, the structure of the tourism experience and its geographical and socio-economic impact on an area.

Transferable Skills (10 credits)

This module will provide opportunities for the identification, evaluation and consolidation of existing transferable skills and competencies, provide practice to enhance those skills, develop and widen them, and identify and develop vocational and career –relevant self-reflection.

Negotiated Learning (10/20 credits)

This module will only be available to students in exceptional circumstances, which include, for example, students transferring from another Institution, those with special interests/skills which may have been gained through relevant work experience that can be credited towards a degree, or those who wish to benefit from a unique learning opportunity.

Level 2

At Level 2, students take five core modules, and one double option module.

Core Modules:

Population and Resources (20 credits)

The aim of the module is to explore the literature of the resource/population relationship and to plot the changes in attitude toward the resource base in recent times and to explain why they have come about. The determinants, consequences and theories of population change will also be examined and the potential for sustainable development will be evaluated.

Research and Field Methodology (20 credits)

Key to the process of undertaking research are an understanding of the nature of research, its methodology and the various skills involved in the presentation and analysis of data. This module seeks to equip students for their Level Three Environmental Project and enable them to identify areas for detailed research. The module includes a residential field course to a European city for a period of collective concentrated study to practice and evaluate skills acquired earlier. (Arrangements will be made for local fieldwork to be carried out should it be impossible for a student to partake in the overseas visit.)

Coastal and Terrestrial Ecosystems (20 credits)

Students can consider a range of environmental matters, management issues and ecological principles through the examination of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems. NEWI is well-placed for the practical study of such environments.

Analytical Techniques (20 credits)

This module will extend student knowledge of the principles of analytical techniques with the emphasis on environmental analysis. It will also develop an awareness of the role of analytical chemistry in environmental monitoring, whilst developing skills in problem solving.

Pollution of Water, Land and Air (20 credits)

The aims of this module are to give students an understanding of the complex structure of water resources and the relationships between water pollution and transport. It will consolidate their understanding of the structure and dynamics of the atmosphere. It will also consider the chemical causes and biological effects of water, land and air pollution, the societal and economic consequences, and the steps being taken to remedy the problems, in the context of sustainability.

Option Modules:

Mapping and Geographic Information Systems (20 credits)

The module will enable students to understand the basic principles of cartography and appreciate modern developments in computer-aided mapping. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are now essential to the work of an increasingly diverse range of organisations, from local government and health authorities to major retailers and marketing agencies. IDRISI and MapInfo will be utilised to train the student to use GIS. MapInfo is used by all Welsh local authorities. Vocationally this is a very important module.

Planning and Environmental Law, Policy and Practice (20 credits)

The aim of the module is to both introduce the student to and engender a critical appreciation of the statutory planning system in the U.K., including environmental law. There is an emphasis upon the negotiated nature of planning decisions, within its administrative and political context.

Negotiated Learning (10/20 credits)

Level 3

At Level 3, students must complete an environmentally orientated project (40 credits) plus three double modules as the core, together with one double option module.

Core modules:

Environmental Project (40 credits)

The student will be expected to complete a piece of individual research, with tutorial guidance, based on an issue pertinent to his/her degree award, that demonstrates a student’s application of his/her knowledge, skills and understanding. The student will be expected to submit a report/dissertation of approximately 10,000 words and deliver a oral/poster presentation.

Environmental Monitoring and Control (20 credits)

The module is designed to extend student knowledge of the principles of analytical techniques, develop in the student a critical approach to selecting appropriate methods for a given analysis and apply analytical techniques to the monitoring of environmental pollution..

Environmental Management (20 credits)

The module examines environmental issues in the context of business and industry, environmental legislation, environmental impact assessment, risk management, environmental management techniques and systems, including auditing and the ISO 14000 series requirements. It also examines the management of facilities and operations.

Health and Environment (20 credits)

The module examines issues of concern at the local, national or global level, in the context of the health of the population and from a variety of viewpoints. Issues recently studied include, BSE in cattle, genetic engineering of crops, dioxins and waste management systems (incineration and landfill), pesticides and radionuclids.

Option Modules:

The Management of Ecological Resources (20 credits)

In this country, almost all conservation areas require management for their survival. The study of examples of management of ecological systems will allow students to see that the knowledge that they have gained about how systems function can be used to inform conservation through management.

Planning and Environmental Law, Policy and Practice (20 credits)

Sustainable Development (20 credits)

Sustainable development encompasses environment, economy and society. Education for sustainable development enables people to develop the knowledge, values, and skills to participate in decisions about the way we do things, individually and collectively, both locally and globally, that will improve the quality of life now and without damaging the planet for the future.

Negotiated Learning (10/20 credits)