Environment and Sustainability

Led by internationally recognised researchers, this BSc Environment and Sustainability offers you a wealth of practical experience as well as equipping you with a deep understanding of what drives environmental change and how to manage natural systems under unprecedented pressure.

Why choose this course?

• It gives you the opportunity to discover the scientific principles you need to understand key environmental challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss and biosecurity.

• It offers you a range of core modules in organisational, cultural and social dimensions of environment and sustainability, as well as option modules on pressing themes like the food system and urban studies, so you can tailor your degree to your interests.

• You will develop valuable social and technical skills that help with both academic research and establishing a successful career in the field, including in fieldwork, laboratory work, data collection and analysis, and geographic information systems.

What you will learn

This course will help you to acquire theoretical theory and knowledge, as well as gaining practical skills, experience in the laboratory, computer-based mapping and data analysis, and research, all of which help enhance your employability.

Core modules are designed to ground you in the scientific and social dimensions of environment and sustainability, including how landscapes work, how humans interact with their environments and ways of managing environmental impacts.

Compulsory modules include laboratory or other practical work, or fieldwork.

Option modules allow you to follow your interests in the fields of human, physical and environmental geography, sustainability, GIS and international development. You will complete your studies through a research project or literature review.

How you will learn

This BSc Environment and Sustainability combines classroom-based activities, such as seminars and workshops, with online learning resources, computer-based practical sessions and field teaching. You will study in small classes, interacting with classmates, some of whom already work in relevant sectors.

You can study this course full- or part-time in the evening, with some weekend attendance and field trips, so you can balance your studies with other commitments.

Foundation Year

If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

Highlights

• We work closely with Birkbeck’s Immersive Learning Centre to offer you relevant learning opportunities within specific modules.

• We are proud of our vibrant research culture, powered by a shared passion for learning and intellectual engagement among our academics and students.

• Our staff are actively involved in the Birkbeck Centre for Environment and Sustainability, and host annual events such as the Birkbeck Climate Festival.

• Our campus in central London offers students the chance to explore one of the world’s great multicultural cities, and access to world-class libraries and institutions like the British Museum and the British Library.

Careers and employability

On successfully graduating from this BSc Environment and Sustainability you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including in:

• workload management

• critical thinking

• written and oral presentation skills

• hands-on experience with GIS

• project management and reporting

• understanding, analysing and explaining environmental data.

Some of our graduates from this course have gone on to be employed in local government, conservation agencies and businesses and environmental NGOs working in areas like corporate responsibility and compliance, pollution and waste management.

Course modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.