Undergraduate Environmental Sciences 2014-2015

Field based course that takes you across northeast Scotland exploring an ancient tropical rainforest, hill farming in action, survey techniques and soil formation.

A long tradition of soil science teaching at the University of Aberdeen assembled into lectures and field trips delivered by senior academics. 

Your assessments are geared towards developing practical skills. This includes a field log book to teach survey techniques and a presentation on a particular soil that requires research akin to detective work.  An essay and exam will also assessed

·         The mixture of applied science and theoretical work places you in an valuable position for understanding the procedures and applications in modern environmental science

·         A number of laboratory classes allows you to familiarise yourself with the current analytical instrumentation in environmental science

·         The course uses examples of environmental issues allowing you to understand the problem, how the analysis was conducted and the implications of the results

The main assessment in this course is a practical write up that is written in the style of a scientific paper giving you an opportunity to perfect this style of writing

Case studies of contaminated land and the science underlying the remediation strategy employed provides you a broad understanding of the sources, fates, effects and assessment of pollutants.

Lectures covering legislation for the assessment and treatment of contaminated lands develop your understanding of how and why techniques are applied.

Online course material organised using a moodle-based interactive system provides scope for independent study and pursuit of specialized knowledge.

Coursework designed to replicate tasks that one would encounter in an environmental consultancy provide you with transferrable, employability skills. 

Structured class sessions provide background information about the origins and development of EIA and how EIAs are typically implemented in the UK and worldwide.

Practical sessions centred on case studies provide insight into methods used in evaluation and decision-making based on EIA.

Development of a briefing note and an EIA report provide you with an opportunity to develop transferable skills relevant to a diversity of employers.

A group-based activity centred on a case study provides the opportunity to develop skills in team-working, time-management and conflict resolution.