Wildlife and Conservation Management

Entry requirements

Applications are accepted from those with at least a 2:2 Honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject area.

We also welcome applications from individuals with degrees in a wider range of disciplines, and/or who have relevant experience, along with clear motivation for the programme.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The factors affecting the wider environment are constantly increasing and range from agriculture and forestry to recreation, urban development and population growth. These in turn have knock-on effects such as climate change, water and food shortages, habitat and species loss and the impact of non-native species.

One of the areas where these factors come together is in the field of countryside management where the public use of the countryside interacts with professional land managers and can result in conflict.

In the context of this programme and the degree programme from which it has developed the term countryside management encompasses a broad range of topics and land uses ranging from conservation management to rural land use planning and interpretation to land use history.

Students are expected to have a broad knowledge of how the countryside that we see around us has developed in a historical context and how this relates to factors such as climate, ecology and soils. This in turn helps to determine current land use practice whether it be for agriculture or forestry, conservation management or recreation.

Inevitably these land uses are interlinked in complex ways and the countryside manager is expected to be able to identify the potential conflicts and to arrive at appropriate management options.

Of course there is rarely a simple answer in such situations and the resulting decisions have to be based on an understanding of the competing claims and an awareness of how to work with individuals, interest groups and communities to ensure that stakeholders' views have been taken into account.

Taught modules include: Planning and the legal framework; Habitat and Species Management; Visitor Management; Species Identification and Familiarity; Project Management for Countryside Professionals;Integrated Planning Management; Production and Implementation of Management Plans; Species and Habitat Evaluation Techniques and MSc project (taken following successful completion of taught modules).

The course is delivered by distance learning with study weekends

Awarding University: University of Glasgow

Information for international students

The course is taught in English and students for whom it is not their first language must have achieved a minimum score of IELTS 6.5 or equivalent.

Fees and funding

Please visit the website for further information.