Environmental Geography (MSci)

We are a friendly and informal school and you will be taught by world-leading experts involved in cutting-edge international research.

Our teaching approach is a mix of theory and practical and includes: lectures, laboratory work, fieldwork, tutorials, workshops and seminars. You will also be encouraged to learn independently and within groups throughout the course, developing a wide range of skills which will be essential for your future employment including project management and organisational skills as well as developing your competence in applying information technology and using state-of-the-art field techniques and equipment. 

How will I be supported?

Supervision

At the start of the course you will be allocated a personal tutor who you will meet with regularly for tutorials. Tutorials are fortnightly in the first year and then monthly in year two and three. Your personal tutor will be a specialist in your chosen degree course and can offer advice on academic and personal matters. In year three and four you will also be allocated a supervisor for your third-year dissertation and final year projects.

Facilities

We have a Learning Central website where you can access videos, images, presentations, lecture handouts, bibliographies, links to further reading, electronic exercises and discussion circles. Where possible, lectures will be recorded so you can watch and study in your own time.

The Learning Central website also has a ‘Personal Development Planning’ module that supports you in regularly assessing your progress and meeting your development needs.

Support services

The University offers a range of services including the Careers Service, the Counselling Service, the Disability and Dyslexia Service, the Student Support Service, alongside excellent libraries and resource centres.

Diversity

We aim to create an inclusive, supportive and welcoming environment that respects the dignity of staff and students of all ages, ethnicities, disabilities, family structures, genders, nationalities, sexual orientations, races, religious or other beliefs, and socio-economic backgrounds. Read about our commitment to the Athena SWAN principles and our Bronze status (https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/earth-ocean-sciences/about-us/equality-diversity-and-inclusivity).

How will I be assessed?

We will be assessing your level of knowledge and understanding in each module through a combination of assignments, presentations, fieldwork, examinations and a dissertation. You will receive written and oral feedback on your coursework and there are opportunities for informal feedback throughout the course.

You will complete a wide range of assessments, from traditional essays, data interpretation exercises and posters on topical themes to more interactive assignment experiences including group presentations, technical reports and briefing papers. These different assessments are designed to give you professional assessment experience and help you prepare for employment.

NOTE: The University welcomes applications from students with disabilities and we endeavour to offer reasonable alternative assessment methods wherever possible.   We have an Alternative Fieldwork Policy which is adopted in cases where a student cannot attend a scheduled, taught field course, or part(s) thereof, because of extenuating circumstances.

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will be able to do as a result of your study at Cardiff University. They will help you to understand what is expected of you. 

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme can be found below:

Knowledge & Understanding:

On successful completion of the entire Programme students will be able to demonstrate the following:

• A systematic and critical understanding of spatial and temporal processes relating to a range of environments, including a broad comprehension of the inter-relationships between environmental, chemical and physical systems at a range of scales
• A broad and critical understanding of environmental  resources and associated global challenges, including approaches to the governance of these
• A critical and systematic understanding of the multi-disciplinary nature of Environmental Geography, including its content, methods and philosophy, and an associated critical awareness of the need for integration of knowledge from cognate sciences, including those related to Earth System, ocean, atmospheric, physical and environmental sciences
• A rigorous appreciation and application of the scientific process, including the design and testing of hypotheses, and the formulation of new concepts
• Formulation, design and use of appropriate laboratory, field, and/or computational methodologies relevant to a high level research project

Intellectual Skills:

On successful completion of the entire Programme students will be able to demonstrate the following :

• Debate, interpret and evaluate the causes, scales and impacts of contemporary and future environmental issues whilst critically applying relevant ideas, concepts and methods
• Collect, collate, synthesise and critically evaluate a wide variety of environmental data and information, drawing from relevant approaches in cognate areas of environmental science
• Critically evaluate current research in selected aspects of environmental science, demonstrating an appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of associated scientific understanding
• Work effectively across disciplines to link knowledge and experience from allied sciences to critically understand the science related to a range of environments and to evaluate the relationship between environmental processes and society
• Ability to solve complex scientific problems both creatively and independently
• Model and interpret environmental geographical data to generate hypotheses that can be tested with additional data or observation

Professional Practical Skills:

On successful completion of the entire Programme students will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Critically analyse and interpret a range of different types of data related to the environment as part of research processes to investigate a range of topical environmental issues and theoretical concepts
• Plan, design and execute research related to the environment, critically using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis in field, offshore, laboratory and desk-based studies
• Critical application of methods used to acquire geospatial data and represent such data in appropriate cartographic and graphic formats using appropriate platforms, including GIS
• Address research problems involving the integration and analysis of diverse and often incomplete and uncertain data using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methodologies and approaches
• Demonstrate advanced practical skills and competence in information technology, geographical information systems, cartographic, statistical and other analytical techniques
• Undertake effective project management and organisational skills through independent working and team work
• Understand and the practical limitations, logistics, safety and ethical aspects of data gathering in various environments, and apply this understanding, as appropriate to advanced, applied research
• An ability to independently plan a complex project at the frontier of a research topic
• Model complex numerical environmental geographical data and draw appropriate conclusions from such modelling

Transferable/Key Skills:

On successful completion of the entire Programme students will be able to demonstrate the following:

• An ability to effectively communication of knowledge, ideas and arguments in a variety of formats using oral, written, and visual media to both specialist and non-specialist audiences
• An ability to work competently individually or as part of a team in both problem-setting and problem-solving within a range of advanced, applied research environments where decision-making is complex and multi-disciplinary
• An ability to undertake independent study and advanced personal scholarship, fostered through enhanced personal responsibility, initiative and self-learning experiences
• A commitment to lifelong learning through engaging in the process of personal development planning and ownership of own learning
• An ability in problem-solving as well as reliability, loyalty, social conduct, tact, attitude to learning and research, leadership, resilience, decision-making and reasoning