Graduate Diploma Ecology and Conservation
Make your application
You can apply online from the link below.
Why study this course at Birkbeck?
- Ideal for people working or volunteering in wildlife conservation and environmental management.
- Includes practical courses held at field centres in the UK.
- Can provide exemption from part of Birkbeck's environment studies degrees.
This programme will be of interest and practical value to all who are concerned about the quality and future of the world in which we live. It provides a sound academic base to understand the principles and practice of wildlife conservation and environmental management, if you are working – or looking to work – in these fields, either professionally or as a volunteer.
It is designed for students who want to gain an informed and integrated understanding of the diversity and organisation of life, the interrelationships between organisms and their environment, the dynamics of natural and human-made ecosystems, and of the UK and international political, social, legislative and administrative framework of conservation. It also provides valuable supplementary training for those professionally concerned with environmental design, management, planning and control, and education.
What will I be studying?
To gain the Graduate Diploma, you must successfully complete modules worth 120 credits. Take at least two of the following three modules (worth 30 credits each):
- Ecological Communities: Structure and Function
- Species and Populations
- People, Policies and Practice.
Each module is normally offered as 22 evening meetings plus field visits over the course of an academic year (September–Easter, with an examination usually held in May). Students without prior ecological knowledge are strongly advised to take the module Ecological Communities first. You may take two or three modules concurrently, but be aware that the workload involved may be considered equivalent to full-time study.
In addition, you must successfully complete the third module above and/or any two practical modules (each worth 15 CATS points – Conservation Management Planning, and Interpretive and Educational Planning and Technique are available in 2009–2010 ) and/or a literature review (30 CATS points) or practical investigation (30 CATS points).
Students already in possession of a good cognate degree or with significant professional experience may at the discretion of the Course Director progress to the Diploma by means of a dissertation based on an independent project undertaken under the guidance of a specialist adviser (60 CATS points); such students should seek an appointment to discuss the options available before registration.
Each of the practical modules is normally offered as three linked weekends or as a week’s full-time study. The practical modules, literature review and practical investigation may be taken at the same time as, or subsequent to, the core modules. In all cases, students should complete their studies within five years from the date of registration (i.e. by September 2013 for students first registering in September 2009).
What can I go on to do?
Modules from this programme also form part of Birkbeck's BSc Biodiversity and Conservation, BSc Environmental Management and BSc Environmental Science degrees. Students awarded the Graduate Diploma are exempt from the corresponding modules of these degrees. If you wish to transfer to a BSc, you will be given credit for any modules that you have completed and your marks will be carried over. If you are considering such a transfer, please discuss this with the appropriate BSc course director (see undergraduate prospectus for contact details).
We also offer an MSc Protected Area Management (Protected Area/Countryside Management).
Environment studies graduates also go on to careers in countryside management, conservation, environmental education, tourism, planning and policy-making.
Admissions Tutor
Email environment@fll.bbk.ac.uk for information.Duration
- Two–four years part-time.
Attendance
- One–three evenings a week.
- Any student wishing to enrol on three modules in one year should discuss this with the course director first.