On this degree you will learn how to work and make a difference on issues linking the environment and society at local and global scales. 

You’ll explore challenges such as environmental change, sustainable natural resource management, risk and response to environmental disasters, and unequal rights and access to the planet’s resources. You will learn how theory, policy, power and action can help improve equity and reconcile the tensions between environmental conservation and human development. You will gain a comprehensive understanding of topics such as climate change, food and water security, forests, and marine and biodiversity conservation. At the same time you’ll develop a comprehensive understanding of the links between the environment, questions of policy, people’s livelihoods and poverty reduction. 

You’ll be on one of very few courses in the UK that integrates social and natural sciences, whilst taking a broad interdisciplinary approach to the study of development issues. 

You’ll graduate well prepared to work in one of the many development fields linked to the environment, sustainable natural resource management and rural livelihood improvement. 

ABOUT

On this course you’ll study the key themes in environmental and natural resource management. How do we understand and measure environmental change? What do we mean by good environmental governance? How do we achieve both sustainable development and sustainable environmental management? How can our understanding of these areas influence environment and development policy, human rights and other elements that collectively determine the wellbeing of individuals and communities? 

Your studies will concentrate on natural resources and environmental issues in development, such as climate change, water security, environmental hazards, food security, coastal ecosystem management and forest conservation, biological diversity and sustainability. You’ll explore links between the environment, questions of policy, and people’s livelihoods and poverty reduction. You’ll learn about the current distribution of access to resources, services, opportunities, human rights and other elements that determine the wellbeing of individuals and communities. 

You’ll be taught by academic staff whose research is internationally renowned. We’re actively involved in research across the globe, working on most of the topics we teach with local counterparts and many national and international development agencies. 

PLACEMENT YEAR AND STUDY ABROAD

You’ll have the chance to put what you’ve learned into practice and get hands-on professional experience through the Development Work Placement module. You’ll spend two to six months working abroad on a development project in your third year. Past students have worked with International Citizen Service in Kenya, Gruppo di Volontariato in Cambodia, British Red Cross in London, Otra Cosa in Peru, and Friends of the National Parks Foundation in Bali. 

During your placement you gain valuable insights and practical experience in a different country and culture. You also have the chance to develop the personal skills employers seek. 

AFTER THE COURSE

You’ll graduate with the specialist and practical skills you need for a successful career in the UK or overseas. 

Many of our graduates work in development, including in roles in the United Nations World Food Programme, UK governments, foreign governments, non-government organisations, and charities such as Oxfam and the British Red Cross. 

Others use the academic and transferable skills gained on this degree for careers in business, the voluntary and public sector, activism and campaigning, community development, environment, and media. 

Alternatively you could go on to further study with an MA or PhD. 

CAREER DESTINATIONS

Career destinations related to your degree include: 

• United Nations World Food Programme 

• International NGOs, 

• Government (both UK and foreign) 

• British Red Cross 

• Oxfam