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  • Environmental Management (Protected Area / Countryside Management) (MSc)

Contact our course team

Department of Geography, Environment and Development Studies
tel: 020 3073 8065
email: environment@ fll.bbk.ac.uk

  • Duration
      • Two years part-time.
  • Attendance
      • Core courses taught during occasional weekend meetings – all day Friday and Saturday – at Birkbeck (October–May), and a residential week held in the UK at Easter in each year of the course. 
      • Additional specialist modules are normally taught as one-week residential courses, mostly in the UK, but occasionally in Europe.
  • Location
      • Central London.
      • Field courses held across the UK.
  • Entry requirements
      • Good degree or equivalent in any area, or equivalent qualification with professional experience.
  • Teaching

    • Lectures, seminars, group and practical work; independent study supported by personal tutorials.

  • Assessment

    • Coursework relating to the core course and specialist modules; two-paper written examination; dissertation of 10,000–12,000 words. Each element contributes roughly one-third to the assessment.

  • Fees (2009/2010)
      • Part-time (home/EU students): £3222 pa
      • Part-time (overseas students): £7764 pa
  • When to apply
      • Applications by end of May (late applications considered in August, subject to availability of places).
      • Interviews June and July.
  • Make your application
  • Supplementary information
Prospective students >> All our courses >> Postgraduate courses, 2010/2011 entry >> Conservation studies >> Environmental Management (Protected Area / Countryside Management) (MSc)

Environmental Management (Protected Area / Countryside Management) (MSc) - 2010/2011 entry


Why study this course at Birkbeck?

  • Offers opportunities for career progression for anyone working, or planning to work, in the management of local, national or international protected areas.
  • Flexible study pattern, with a mixture of core teaching based on occasional weekends in London and a spring residential school.
  • A wide range of professional training modules available, with a broad interdisciplinary focus.

This programme will enable you to acquire and develop a broad understanding of the knowledge and skills needed for managing protected areas of the environment, including natural, cultural and recreational sites. It will provide you with the key skills and management tools necessary for resolving conflicting pressures and demands in protected areas.

What will I be studying?

Core courses:

  • The Countryside Resource – the physical and ecological background to the countryside, including key habitats and landscapes, and strategies for their management
  • People and the System – the social and political framework of countryside management, focusing predominantly on the users of the countryside, and the social and legislative framework within which it is managed.

Choose two specialist modules. Past courses have included: 

  • Archaeological and Cultural Resource Management
  • Area Studies
  • Coastal Zone Management
  • Earth Heritage Conservation
  • Ecological Survey and Monitoring
  • Environmental Communication
  • Environmental Ethics, Values and Decisions
  • Environmental Interpretation and Education
  • European Environmental Policy and Organisation 
  • Protected Area Management Planning
  • Sustainable Tourism.

Dissertation: this gives you the opportunity to pursue an independent project under expert supervision.

Make your application

You can apply online from the link below.

What can I go on to do?

If you are interested in further research, we offer an MPhil/PhD in Environmental Management.

Environment studies graduates also go on to careers in countryside management, conservation, environmental education, tourism, planning and policy-making.

Last modified: 08 Feb 2010 16.23

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