Restorative Land Management and Rural Surveying (Taught)

Societal and political developments increasingly require professionals with expert knowledge in land and nature restoration. We equip graduates with the skills and expertise to navigate competing interests and identify options for the optimal use of our limited land resource.

The MSc Restorative Land Management and Rural Surveying is the only Masters programme of its kind in Scotland and is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Knowing how to restore and manage our limited land-based resources in a socially just and economically viable manner is essential for us, as a society, to address the triple crises of climate change, food security, and biodiversity decline.

This degree gives you a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of the current land crunch (the competition for limited land resources); approaches to restoring land, soil, habitats and ecosystems; and supporting sustainable futures for rural communities. It will also teach you the skills needed to manage the inevitable trade-offs as not every outcome can be delivered from the same piece of land.

You will gain a solid grounding in different land use sectors such as agriculture and food production, forestry and game management, renewable energy and tourism, and conservation and rewilding. You will also develop an understanding of social, economic, and regulatory mechanisms underpinning behaviour change, equipping you to negotiate with a diverse range of stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes.

Graduates will be ideally suited to contribute to driving energy transitions relating to land management, in particular the deployment of wind, water, biomass and geothermal technologies.

While studying this programme you will:

• Critically examine examples of restorative land management in uplands (especially peatland), regenerative farming and changed management regimes in overgrazed pasture, reforestation in degraded landscapes, wetlands and river restoration

• Study the impact of species re-introduction, learn practical ecosystem restoration techniques, and learn how to go about restoration in a manner sensitive to the livelihoods and economic activities of place-based communities

• Gain skills in the valuation of assets (land, natural capital, infrastructure), the financing of restoration work, the planning and management of rural businesses, and incentives and barriers in the policy context

Highly qualified and motivated teaching staff will help you learn, including experts with considerable practical experience and leading practitioners in the field. A variety of teaching and assessment methods are used.

All courses involve lectures, seminars and project work although the relative balance varies as you progress through the programme. Courses typically involve two hours of lectures each week, supplemented with tutorials or workshops.

There are half-day and whole day field trips to farms, forests and estates, as well as a 5-day residential field visit to the Highlands during which students visit examples of innovative land management in practice and complete assessments similar to those likely to be undertaken in professional practice.

Courses are assessed via coursework and formal examinations. There are two dates of examinations: December and May, normally four courses examined at each time. As you progress greater emphasis is placed on the application of knowledge and skills, project work increases and examinations are fewer. Projects focus on local estates, rural businesses, and farms and are designed to incorporate the types of task expected in the workplace.