Biodiversity, Conservation and Nature Recovery (Taught)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

The MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Nature Recovery is a taught course exploring biodiversity science, policy, and action. It covers conservation, restoration, and nature recovery through interdisciplinary and inclusive approaches.

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.

This course is grounded 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.

Course structure
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.

In addition to BCNR teaching, students are expected to attend seminars organised by the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and other research clusters in the School of Geography and the Environment including Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Conservation, Climate Systems, Landscape Dynamics, and Environmental Interactions.