MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management

About the course

The MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management aims to provide a critical and conceptually sophisticated understanding of biodiversity science and the socio-economic, political, cultural and institutional contexts within which management and policy decisions are made.

The course content is rooted in our established strengths in conservation biogeography, governance and planning, in global change and in research design. The course design also responds to the rise of market-based conservation including engagements with enterprise and the transformative potential of new technologies.

The specific course objectives are to develop your abilities to.

• critically engage with concepts and theory in biodiversity science and management from interdisciplinary perspectives
• describe by whom and by what space and territory is designated and governed for conservation over time
• critically assess the modes through which conservation builds and extends power and describe in detail the factors that explain the emergence and performance of different types of governance
• appreciate the role of ethics, values and societal norms in producing culturally attuned and effective conservation interventions
• evaluate the implications of emergent technologies for the future of biodiversity science and management
• link hypothesis, theory, methods, data and field work to identify and develop advanced research questions and design.

Assessment

The core modules are assessed by written examination, the two electives are each assessed through a 4,000-word essay and your research project will be written up as a 15,000 word dissertation for assessment at the end of the final term.

Graduate destinations

The aim of the course is to train future leaders in biodiversity, conservation and natural resource management. Thus the course teaches conservation as a dynamic discipline integral to all the major areas of human concern - social and environmental governance, political economy, spatial planning, agriculture, population growth, livelihoods, human and institutional capacity, investment and markets, in addition to the hard science of biodiversity.

Past graduates have gone on to obtain positions in a range of leading conservation and academic organisations and enterprises. Examples include policy positions in government departments, such as the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), management positions in global conservation NGOs, such as Conservation International and WWF, technical positions in sustainability consultancies, and expert roles in international bodies such as IUCN. A significant number of students also use the course as a gateway to start DPhil (PhD) research.

The department's Alumni Office helps alumni keep in touch with each other and organises alumni events.

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications or their equivalent: a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any discipline. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.