BSc (Hons) Ecology and Conservation with a Year in Professional Practice Bachelor's degree at the University of Kent

Explore life in its many forms, from unicellular microbes and fungi to multicellular plants and animals. Learn how to use morphological and molecular traits to classify species within the tree of life. Understand evolutionary history and processes that underlie phylogeny, how animals evolved, how to classify bacteria, and how plants colonised land.

Introduce fundamental concepts underpinning understanding of biodiversity and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Examine definitions of biodiversity, spatial and temporal patterns, past geophysical processes, importance of biodiversity, global carbon cycle, ecosystem service provision, contemporary threats to biodiversity, and methods conservationists use to protect and maintain biodiversity.

Engage with issues and debates surrounding the Anthropocene including speed, scope and scale of human activities on earth as a system. Investigate multi-dimensionality of the Anthropocene including environmental, social, political, and cultural issues. Develop fundamental skill sets for engaging with academia and society including data collection and analysis, critically reviewing literature, and presenting evidence in multiple formats.

Explore relationships between plants, animals and their environment (ecology) and geographical patterns of biological diversity around the world (biogeography). Draw on physical geography, evolutionary biology and reproductive biology. Examine how physiology and reproductive biology of plants have shaped variety of habitats, ecosystems and biomes. Explore geographical patterns affected by historical and current factors. Study population ecology, community ecology and island biogeography through

Comprehensive introduction to environmental sustainability building on planetary boundary concept to discuss environmental limits that human beings can safely live within. Using interdisciplinary approach based on human and environmental geography, discuss key environmental challenges including climate change, food systems, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Explore contemporary debates around sustainable development and analyse in context of real-world issues and relevant policy and governance c

Introduce standard field techniques and develop skills in collecting, analysing and presenting field data. Gain experience in using ecological survey techniques including biodiversity monitoring and assessment methods. Undertake survey or monitoring projects in groups under staff supervision. Each project assesses biodiversity of an appropriate taxonomic group such as birds, amphibians, mammals or plants. Carry out range of surveys, analyse data and write up results.

Discover ways in which ecological science can be applied to solve crucial conservation problems facing the world today. Consider key ecological principles at population, community and ecosystem levels, investigating how these principles can help guide management and policy decision-making. Examine how natural resources can be managed and exploited sustainably with examples from agriculture, urbanisation and forestry in temperate and tropical regions. Explore how species and community conservatio

Critically evaluate topics, debates and controversies shaping the field of conservation science today. Topics include how to detect new threats to biodiversity, developing sustainable use strategies for over-exploited species, the pollinator crisis, the wildlife trade, roles of zoos in conservation, conservation in the UK, hunting and defaunation, impact of emerging infectious diseases, and impacts of food production on biodiversity. Each week an exciting topic is introduced in lecture and discu

Introduce use of GIS as means of solving spatial problems. Cover range of methods for collection, presentation and analysis of spatial data and hands-on training in commonly used GIS software. Cover major concepts of GIS including data sources and methods of data acquisition, creating and transforming maps. Cover advanced GIS operations such as manipulation of spatial data, spatial analysis of vector and raster data, and remote sensing. No prior knowledge of GIS, statistics or programming requir

Provide solid foundation in practical data analysis and interpretation through combined lecture/practicals using computer software. Cover types of data, descriptive statistics such as measures of central tendency, frequency distributions, normal distribution, variance, sample parameters and null hypotheses. Cover inferential statistics including analysis of differences between two groups (t-tests and non-parametric equivalents), differences between multiple groups (ANOVA and non-parametric equiv

Comprehensively explore animal life across evolutionary history, focusing on key elements of functional anatomy and physiology. Through comparative physiology and study of form and function, examine diverse physiological systems found in various animal species. Gain insights into adaptations and variations to changing environments over time. Understand how animals have evolved in different environments, what challenges current global issues pose to different species, and what they can do to ensu

Examine way in which conservation and environmental activities are implemented in practice and on-the-ground by organisations. Explore regulatory and voluntary principles that govern conservation actions of businesses and governments alongside influential multilateral environmental policies. Use case studies to illustrate how scientific evidence is synthesised and integrated into policy and practice. Develop knowledge of factors influencing national and global policies and practices.

Introduce key concepts in understanding dynamic relationship between development and environment. Explore whether sustainable development can be achieved while staying within environmental limits of the planet.