BSc (Hons) Environmental Science and Outdoor Education Bachelor's degree at the University of Stirling

The overall aim of Building Planet Earth (ENVU1BP) is to introduce you to geology. In doing so, you’ll gain a unique insight into how the Earth formed over billions of years. You’ll be introduced to the physical and geological processes have produced the planet that we live on today. Teaching will examine rock forming processes, plate tectonics, the evolution of life and the fossil record and geo-resources. Teaching materials will include cases studies of geological formations from across the planet and the module culminates in introducing you to the varied and interesting geology of Scotland. This module will introduce you to field data collection and the skill of field observations, record

Understanding why and how science is conducted are fundamental elements providing the foundations for a successful science career. From theory to practice, a thorough appreciation of the importance of integrity and developing the scientific method are essential for unravelling questions and addressing real-world situations. Cross-divisional teaching from experts within the Faculty of Natural Sciences and central Student Learning Services will focus on structuring and assessing science questions, data collection, analysis and interpretation, best practice in how to maintain integrity and maximising the impact of your science work. Coupled with practical experience on effective science teamwor

Being able to safely navigate and operate effectively in mountainous areas is a fundamental requirement for outdoor education. In this module, you’ll be taught the basic skills and competencies required to equip you with the ability to independently gain hill walking experience. You'll develop an understanding of: mountain navigation skills; weather, access legislation and competing land use issues; the landscape - ecology, geology, and morphology. This module will also prepare you for the mountain or lowland leader training course, which you will complete as part of Mountain Leader Training (EOEU3OE), and will equip you with the ability to gain Quality Mountain Days (QMDs) as defined by Mou

This module is an introduction to the science of landscapes – sometimes called 'geomorphology'. You’ll explore the fundamental processes, in the air, in the water, and on land, responsible for shaping the Earth's surface and making it look the way it does. You’ll learn about how we measure and characterise the Earth's different landscapes, how they have evolved in the past and how they will change in the future. You’ll gain fundamental insights into land-forming processes – their drivers, inter-relationships, complexities and rates of change – in order to better understand the natural and man-made changes that are affecting our increasingly populated planet. In this module you’ll explore: ho

This module introduces the concept of water as a finite resource, examining the impacts of man's current usage patterns, and looks at how usage might be made more sustainable to preserve the resource for future generations. Exploring both current and future issues of global importance, topics will include: drought; pollution; dam construction; declining fisheries and habitat destruction; climate change; water wars and fresh drinking water availability. The UN has defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which set out the world’s roadmap to ending poverty, reducing inequality and protecting the planet by 2030. Dissertation projects offered within this module will be relevant to deliver

In this module, you’ll examine basic human, animal and plant cells, as well as their anatomy and physiology. You’ll learn how various tissues and organs function in whole organisms and how animal and plant functions are strictly regulated to meet through homeostatic processes. In class, we’ll take examples from different animal groups, including humans, and from plants that inhabit a variety of different ecosystems. Is this module right for you? If you have studied a science subject such as Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geography, Geology, Mathematics or Physics at higher/A level or equivalent, this might be a good fit for you. Location/Method of Study Stirling, On Campus/On Cam

This module extends and deepens the study of Java programming, started in Introduction to Computing Science (CSCU9P1). You’ll explore topics including: the design of interactive graphical user interfaces (GUIs); testing and debugging practices; sorting and searching algorithms of arrays; exception handling process; data structures and object orientation in Java. You’ll also learn how to develop a good user interface design for desktop applications and for web sites covering principles, practical guidelines and the legal, ethical and practical issues of accessibility for the disabled. Is this module right for you? This is a science module that requires a good level of numeracy and problem sol

Data flows around us all the time: how can we learn from this data, how are companies using it, and how does this affect our lives? In this module, students will start covering the principles of data science, learn how to apply such principles to solve data science problems, and, consequently, further develop your problem-solving skills. Precisely, you'll: learn about the CRISP-DM, a popular methodology for guiding data science projects; investigate the different types of data and data storage; look at the distinct possible problems related to the data and how to solve them (pre-process the data); learn how to actually process the data, which includes covering some machine learning approache

Interactions between governments, banks, firms, and households on a national and international scale affect economic policies, trade, and cooperation. This module continues your journey into learning economics by moving the focus from individual decision making and single markets (the microeconomy) towards the wider economy and interactions on a larger scale. This module uses the curriculum open-access resources for economists (CORE) approach to learning economics and current data to equip you to better understand the most important contemporary issues that policymakers face in the globalised world. You will explore: how interactions in the wider economy can be measured and affected through

Economics is not about money, business, or finance. At its heart, economics is the study of how people interact with each other and with their natural surroundings in producing their livelihoods, and how this changes over time. In this introductory module, you’ll learn the key concepts of economic thinking of both microeconomics and macroeconomics, including: demand, supply and markets; cost, revenue and profits of firms; GDP, inflation, unemployment and international trade; how and why economists use data. This module uses ‘Foundations of Economics’ by A. Gillespie as the main textbook. Location/Method of Study Stirling, On Campus/On Campus, UK Planet Core International Education/Internatio

This module offers insights into the political dimension of education and how it shapes educational policy-making and educational practices. It provides a foundation in Education Studies and is compulsory for students on the Initial Teacher Education Course but is designed for any student interested in the field of education. The module sets out to give a basic grounding in Education as a political and social instrument. The first part of the course sets the scene in terms of the global, national and local influencers of education policy. The second half of the semester considers issues of Equity in Education and the policy and practices which form Scotland’s response to this educational goa

This module introduces you to different approaches to literary studies within a broadly theoretical context. On this module you will explore the concept of literary theory and consider how different theoretical positions can shape our responses, both critical and creative, to literary texts. The prescribed reading includes fiction, non-fiction, and drama, extending from the Early Modern period to the present day. If you would like to do some preparatory reading, a useful introductory guide to topics and approaches in literary theory--several of which we'll be drawing on during the module--is An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, ed. Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle (Routledge

This module equips you with fundamental skills in the textual analysis of film and television. Lectures and seminars – informed by screenings and reading – introduce key elements of film and television style and the techniques through which filmmakers and programme makers create them, and the purpose of textual analysis as an academic method. These skills will continue to be useful when combined with other academic methods taught in later, related modules. Although The Moving Image does not contain any practical elements, students interested in production may benefit from the module's emphasis on the close study of associated techniques. Location/Method of Study Stirling, On Campus/On Campus

You will continue to develop the linguistic and intercultural skills you have already worked on, deepening your knowledge of vital transferrable skills including interpersonal and communication skills and critical analysis. You will continue to develop your capacity to use a range of grammatical structures, and you will build your oral communication and listening skills in the language to A2/B1 level within the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). You will study aspects of the cultures associated with the language across the world through the close analysis of documents and texts (written, audio, visual, and other), situating them within their cultural and historical

This is the second module of the Beginners course and resumes works around higher end of A1 level and includes material at A2 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. You will keep building on the linguistic structures and vocabulary you already have, while expanding your language accuracy. You will be able to talk in more detail about slightly more challenging topics, including conversations about yourself and others. You will be working in small groups for a number of weekly sessions where you will continue learning more about the grammar and use of the language in various daily situations. Is this module right for you? If you have taken our Intro to French module

The interactions between people and planet are becoming increasingly complex. This module introduces key global environmental challenges by examining their underlying scientific principles, the impacts of human activities, and potential solutions, while also developing core analytical and numerical skills. In GEOU2PP, the environment is examined as a holistic, interconnected system, with particular emphasis on sustainability and patterns of human resource use. The module covers four key thematic areas: * introductory climate concepts; * global water resource management; * air quality and pollution; * food security and challenges. Across these themes, you will investigate the relationships be

History could not exist as a discipline without the use of concepts. These are the main analytical tools of the historian, applied to the raw materials of historical research. It is by applying concepts that we can explore common themes in history and understand the causes and consequences of historical transformations. Throughout this module, historians will introduce you to key historical concepts and talk you through their use in historical settings relevant to their own expertise. You will then have the opportunity to do the work of the historian in your seminar discussions by using primary sources relating to the setting to think about the concepts more broadly. This approach will allow

This course will equip you with a critical and philosophical understanding of journalistic ethics. The module focuses on the social, political and economic constraints that shape journalistic practice across a range of platforms including photojournalism, print journalism, broadcast journalism and digital journalism. Through a range of case studies and perspectives, the course will cover some of the most salient professional issues in today’s newsrooms. You’ll explore topics including: the characteristics of journalism as a profession, its current problems and the need for journalistic professionalisation; key ethical standards in journalism; the impediments to the implementation of journali

Language is unique to humans and quite different to other communication systems. Foundations of Language (LINU9L2) will introduce you to the structures of language and the ways in which language works. You’ll gain an understanding of how sounds, words and sentences are structured and organised. Furthermore, you’ll learn about the shared traits that human languages have in common, as well as how remarkably diverse they are. You’ll learn new techniques for linguistic analysis and apply them to exotic languages you’ve never seen before. Location/Method of Study Stirling, On Campus/On Campus, UK Module Objectives learning how speech sounds are articulated and how they can be represented using th

Given the amount of data that is being generated in almost every field of life and human activity, statistics is becoming an essential skill to any scientist. This module aims to provide you with the understanding of the statistical methodology used to describe, summarise and analyse data. You’ll be introduced to the application of the hypothesis testing procedure based on various statistical tests for qualitative and quantitative data, using both hand calculations and statistical software. As such, this module will equip you with hands-on practical statistics skills for the analysis of real-world data. Location/Method of Study China/International Vietnam/International Stirling, On Campus/On

This module provides an extension of first-semester calculus and an introduction to the theory of probability. As an extension of first semester calculus, this module is important for mathematics students. It extends the theory of differential calculus to functions of more than one variable and introduces techniques for solving some differential equations. It also considers the approximation of arbitrary functions by polynomials and develops an understanding of infinite series. This part of the module provides mathematical techniques that are widely used in physical sciences, signal processing, quantitative analysis in finance as well as many other areas of mathematics. Probability theory is

Welcome to "The Management Challenge"! This dynamic module on management and organisational practice is designed to equip you with essential skills and insights for navigating the complexities of today's managerial landscape. It aims to bring you a very broad overview of what managers do, what management is and how it relates to current trends and principles of Business, Marketing, Strategy, and a myriad of things you do in your everyday life. It is also a great opportunity to think about yourselves as the new generation that can change the world – to the better. We start by laying a strong foundation in management principles, exploring its evolution both as a practice and an academic discip

How should we think about matters of race, gender, and sexuality? What are the ethical implications of artificial intelligence? How should we live in face of impending environmental disaster? This module explores these questions and more. It serves both as an introduction to philosophy and also as an exploration of how philosophy relates to matters of real human significance. You’ll cover the following topics from across metaphysics, ethics and political philosophy: How in general should benefits and burdens be distributed in a society? What duties do we have to those in need? How should we think about racial justice? How should we think about gender justice? How ought I to act in view of cl

In this module you’ll be introduced to political theory and analysis by exploring ideas and concepts central to political debates in the contemporary world. The ideologies examined range from liberalism, to socialism, anarchism and ecologism. Concepts investigated include: human rights democracy freedom power These concepts and ideas are explained both through referring to classical theoretical texts and through use of practical examples from everyday life and contemporary politics at home and abroad. Location/Method of Study Stirling, On Campus/On Campus, UK Module Objectives The module discusses ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, Marxism, fascism, anarchism, ecologism

You will continue to develop the linguistic and intercultural skills you have already worked on, deepening your knowledge of vital transferrable skills including interpersonal and communication skills and critical analysis. You will continue to develop your capacity to use a range of grammatical structures, and you will build your oral communication and listening skills in the language to A2/B1 level within the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). You will study aspects of the cultures associated with the language across the world through the close analysis of documents and texts (written, audio, visual, and other), situating them within their cultural and historical

This is the second module of the Beginners course and resumes works around higher end of A1 level and includes material at A2 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. You will keep building on the linguistic structures and vocabulary you already have, while expanding your language accuracy. You will be able to talk in more detail about slightly more challenging topics, including conversations about yourself and others. You will be working in small groups for a number of weekly sessions where you will continue learning more about the grammar and use of the language in various daily situations. Is this module right for you? If you have taken our Intro to Spanish modul

This module will teach you basic concepts in Social Policy and skills to critically assess social policies (and you'll learn why we sometimes capitalise Social Policy and sometimes don't). The programme introduces you to an understanding of social policy as a subject of study with a focus on contemporary Britain. It connects broader understandings from across the social sciences of social problems with current public policies towards them, along with a background in the structures, institutions and responsibilities of government in the devolved UK and the financing of government. The module also equips you with conceptual frameworks for the analysis of social policy along with critical analy

This module introduces you to some of the underpinning theories and concepts in contemporary outdoor education in its many guises. In addition, a brief history of outdoor education will be covered, mainly to enable you to see how current practice has evolved to this point. Considerable effort has been made to make the learning as practical and experiential as possible (which after all is the essence of outdoor learning), therefore, a number of field trips have been organised, to a Primary School and other outdoor/ environmental education centres. You’ll obtain skills in: planning and delivering activities with children at a local primary school; group management; developing and reflecting on

The Mountain and Lowland Leader schemes are designed for people who want to lead groups in the mountains, hills, lowlands and moorlands of the UK and Ireland. If you love being out in the mountains and want to share your enthusiasm with others, become a Mountain or Lowland Leader and you’ll never look back. Mountain and Lowland Leaders operate the length and breadth of the country with all sorts of groups of people; from Scouts and schoolchildren to outdoor instructors and OAPs. The qualification is what you make it and there are countless opportunities for passionate Outdoor Leaders. This course uses a range of teaching methods including direct training and interpretation of the national co

Fieldwork and the collection of accurate field data lies at the heart of environmental geography and environmental science. Fieldwork provides a direct experience of the diverse landscapes, life and people on Earth enabling us to integrate space, place and the environment. In this module you will visit coastal, fluvial, urban, upland and peatland environments. In each of these landscapes you will explore the process that form the physical landscape as well as consider the evidence for environmental change in the past, present and future. Undertaking fieldwork and field-based learning provides unique opportunities to develop your understanding of the links between scientific theory and practi

This core second-year module provides fundamental concepts of chemistry and basic physics that are essential for future laboratory work in biological and environmental sciences You’ll learn the theory behind the techniques and tools the natural sciences use and will get armed with the elementary chemistry, physics and laboratory skills required to pursue later advanced modules. In this module, you will develop" Arithmetic Skills: Apply fundamental chemical and physical calculations to solve problems related to concentration, reaction stoichiometry, pH, redox potential, and equilibrium. Laboratory Safety Skills: Assess chemical hazards and implement strategies to minimise risks when handling

This module seeks to develop you in different roles as a director, educator, and communicator in a group or situation management environment. It will give you a good understanding of the relevant legal obligations and legislation when working with young people and adults in an outdoor space and understand why accidents occur, how to manage them when they do, and how best to avoid them in the first place. You’ll examine both what to do if things go wrong in the outdoors, but much more importantly how to prevent it from going wrong in the first place. This is primarily about problem avoidance, not problem-solving. This module is only available to those taking the following degrees; Environment

The Biosphere is the live support system of our planet. On land and in the sea, plants and algae harness the energy of the sun to produce biomass, and in that way support all forms of life on Earth. In this module, you’ll learn how the biosphere operates, i.e., how energy, water, nutrients and carbon move through ecosystems and cycle within the Earth system. This understanding is fundamental to building solutions to many problems we’re collectively faced with. Through a combination of lectures and targeted practical classes, you will: understand how energy is harnessed by primary producers and moves through ecosystems; learn the significance of nutrients, their distribution and mobility with

Statistical techniques are fundamental for addressing quantitative questions and making inferences from data. Consequently, statistical tools are indispensable for addressing questions across the natural and social sciences. In this module, you’ll learn the following important skills for working with environmental and biological datasets: How to manipulate datasets and characterise their statistical properties. Understanding and applying null hypothesis testing. Applying the correct statistical test to data using statistical software. Interpreting the results of statistical tests to make conclusions about scientific problems. By developing an understanding of statistics, you will become bett

This module explores how environmental policies are formed, implemented, and contested, with a particular emphasis on the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus. Drawing on a range of case studies, such as climate change, sustainable energy transitions, water governance, and food system resilience, you will assess the effectiveness of different policies and consider their successes and limitations in practice. You will explore: the processes, challenges, and limitations involved in designing and implementing public policies on environmental issues; key concepts and debates in environmental politics, including power relations, equity, and governance; the roles of governments, citizens, NGOs, business

Understanding the structure and dynamics (changes through time and space) of populations and communities represents a core element of the ecological sciences. With a growing awareness of the global biodiversity and climate crises, population and community ecology are now also front and centre in the global effort to tackle these challenges and to manage the biosphere sustainably. In this module you will: gain a fundamental understanding of the key themes in population and community ecology; learn to evaluate, critically, the research literature; use computer models to enhance your understanding, to test fundamental theory, and to explore options for the management of iconic wildlife populati