Biodiversity, Conservation and Nature Recovery (Taught)

The MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Nature Recovery (BCNR) provides students with the knowledge and skills to think adaptively, creatively, and critically at the intersection of biodiversity science, policy and action.

Formerly titled Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management (BCM), this newly designed course retains its established strengths in conservation science and governance, while embracing ambitious, holistic and inclusive approaches to nature recovery and promoting the use of multiple values of nature and diverse knowledge systems.

Based in the School of Geography and the Environment, BCNR also benefits from close connections to the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery

The course aims are to:

Foster an understanding of the drivers of biodiversity loss and the trade-offs inherent to biodiversity conservation and nature recovery
Provide critical engagement with the key debates at the intersection of biodiversity science, conservation, and nature recovery
Cultivate the skills and knowledge to design socially just and culturally attuned conservation and restoration interventions
Integrate students into cutting-edge research taking place in the School of Geography and the Environment and the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery
Enable students to reflexively analyse their own positionality and to apply their expertise confidently and sensitively to conservation and nature recovery projects.
The course teaching and assessment is structured to ensure that students develop the knowledge and professional skills that are likely to benefit them when applying for jobs in the field of conservation after graduation. Teaching approaches, including active and outdoor learning, and the modes of assessment, including oral and written tasks, have been designed to provide a more inclusive and productive learning environment.

Upon completion of BCNR, students will be able to:

Identify and describe the drivers of biodiversity loss and the differing motivations for biodiversity conservation and nature recovery
Design and appraise conservation and restoration interventions to respond to a range of biodiversity challenges, drawing from diverse perspectives and case studies around the world
Design and conduct an independent research project using appropriate research philosophies, methodologies, and protocols
Critique and synthesise theory from the natural and social sciences to formulate and defend your position on a range of controversial issues associated with biodiversity conservation and nature recovery
Explain and debate different aspects of biodiversity science, conservation, and restoration ecology through written and oral media and for a variety of audiences, drawing on the appropriate literature and ethical practices to support your positions
Recognise, value, and respond sensitively to a diversity of perspectives needed to address the challenges related to scoping and implementing biodiversity conservation and nature recovery solutions.

The course is delivered through eight core modules delivered during the first two terms:

Conservation Landscapes
Conservation Biogeography
Conservation Governance
Conservation Seascapes
Conservation and Society
Economics of the Environment
Global change and the Biosphere and Ecosystem Restoration.
Teaching for the core modules includes lectures, seminars, workshops, reading groups, field trips and study days. There is also a skills-based module to develop research and professional skills.

Alongside the core modules in the first two terms, you will choose two elective modules. The elective modules offer a tutorial- style teaching environment with smaller groups, based on a suite of contemporary research themes that reflect the specific interests of core faculty and visiting research associates. The teaching aim is to foster discussion and debate between academic staff and students. In the final term of the course, you will undertake an independent and original research project