Year 1

The first year introduces you to key concepts surrounding the functioning of the Earth System, from both a deep time (key events in planetary development) and a contemporary perspective. You will gain key skills in laboratory and field methods, and you will learn a range of methods for statistical and spatial data analysis. A residential field course in Devon will enable you to put these new skills into practice. Optional modules allow you to focus on a range of themes, spanning the complexities of human-society interactions, management of natural resources, and the nature and functioning of life on Earth (e.g. via courses in Biological Sciences). 

Core modules

• Evolution of the Earth System
• The Digital World
• The Contemporary Earth System
• Field and Laboratory Techniques for Physical Geographers
• Working with Geographical Information

Option modules

Choose two option modules from:

• Micro to Macro: From Rock Properties to Plate Tectonics
• Palaeobiology and the Stratigraphic Record
• Human Geography for a Globalized World
• The Cell: An Introduction to Cell Biology and Microbiology (double module)
• Spanish Language (Beginners) (double module)
• French Language (Beginners) (double module)

Choose one option module from:

• Environment/Nature/Society
• Natural Resources and Energy for the 21st Century
• Biodiversity and Behaviour: An Introduction to Zoology

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year 2

In year 2 you will take two core modules, with the first concerning the most pressing issue of our time, climate change. This discipline-straddling module provides a grounding in the causes and mitigation of climate change. You will take an additional core module, Research Design, which begins the process of developing your third year dissertation project. The remainder of year 2 is built from optional modules, allowing you to specialise, or to build a broad portfolio of modules. There are multiple options in Biological Sciences and Geoscience, along with a suite of Geography modules. The latter include options in cutting-edge spatial environmental data methods (Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Science). Field trips to mainland Spain (Almeria) and Mallorca are associated with the Research Design and Field Guide to Evolution modules

Core modules

• Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation  
• Research Design (Overseas Field Course) (Almeria)

Option modules

Choose four option modules from:

• Catchment Systems
• The Dynamic Biosphere
• A Critical Geography of Environment and Development
• Data Analysis 
• Major Events in the History of Life
• Global Change Biology and Conservation

Choose two option modules from:

• Geography in Education 
• An Introduction to Past Global Climate Changes
• Geographical Information Science
• A Field Guide to Evolution

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year Abroad or in Industry (optional)

If you want to, you can spend the third year of the BSc studying abroad at one of our partner institutions or working in an industrial placement. Alternatively, you can opt to continue studying at the University and complete your degree in three years.

Year Abroad

We’ll make sure you have everything you need for your future career: not just by awarding you a high quality degree, but also by helping you to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to make your mark in the world as a Citizen of Change. One way you can do this is by opting to take a Year Abroad between Years 2 and 3 of your degree.

Studying abroad is not just for people who are interested in travelling and meeting new people. It is about acquiring life skills that are becoming increasingly significant for a wide range of jobs in our modern globalised society. Whether you go on to a career in the private, public or third sector - or plough your own furrow as an entrepreneur – you will find the experience invaluable.

For more information, including a list of destinations, please visit our Study Abroad website.

Please note

• A year spent abroad still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See the Fees and Funding tab of this page for details.
• You may be eligible for a travel grant from Student Finance England.
• Places are offered on a competitive basis, and eligibility is dependent on your academic performance in Years 1 and 2.
• Language courses, at beginners or advanced level, are available through our Languages at Leicester scheme.

Year in Industry

A Year in Industry gives you the opportunity to stand out from the crowd when it comes to applying for graduate jobs with work experience incorporated into your programme of study. If this is for you, in Year 2 you will take a module in which we prepare you for that year in work and support you with your search for a placement in an industry or organisation relevant to your career aspirations. After your Year in Industry you will return to University for your final year of study.

A year in industry still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See the Fees and Funding tab of this page for details.

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Final Year

In year three, your only core module is your final year dissertation project, where you will develop a topic of your own interest, supported by an academic supervisor. A wide range of optional modules allow you to then develop foci of interest following from year two, or to remain a generalist. Three (optional) residential field class modules provide opportunities for extensive field learning, and many modules allow you to develop high levels of expertise via our research-led teaching. Examples of the latter include modules such as Stable Isotopes in the Environment, which makes use of our cutting-edge laboratory infrastructure, as well as Water Quality Processes and Management.

Core modules 

• Dissertation

Option modules 

Choose two option modules from:

• Californian Drylands
• Neotropical Rainforests
• Critical Digital Geographies
• Understanding Ecosystems and Environments of the Distant Past
• Water Quality Processes and Management
• Contemporary Environmental Challenges
• Environmental Geoscience
• Sustainability Enterprise Project 

Then choose four option modules from:

• Remote Sensing of the Environment
• The Biosphere in the Earth System
• Stable Isotopes in the Environment
• African Drylands
• River Dynamics
• Ecology, Climate and Land-use processes of the Amazon Tropical Forests
• Information Visualisation
• Research Communications
• Behavioural Ecology

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork is integral to your Environmental Science degree. In the field you'll develop new skills and apply learning from the classroom to real-world problems. At Leicester, we go into the field a lot - your field trips will be some of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences of your time here.

Our field trips run during each year of study. In Year 1, you’ll get an introduction to residential fieldwork in a UK setting, connecting knowledge gained in classes with the study of a variety of landscapes.

In your second year your field training will focus on the development of skills that prepare you for independent research and your final year dissertation project. Recent locations have included Almeria.

Our Year 3 optional field courses represent an opportunity to develop advanced field skills. They are a chance to experience some of the world’s most remarkable environments such as the Amazon Rain Forest and Death Valley in California. The Behavioral Ecology module involves a UK residential field class.

And you’ll be pleased to know our staff are involved in field-based research worldwide, ensuring that our teaching draws on active field experience.

• Find out more about fieldwork opportunities.

Fieldwork locations may vary and are subject to availability.

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.