What is Environmental Management ?

Environmental management aims to make responsible use of natural, economic and human resources in ways that protect and improve the environment. It seeks to protect valued ecological assets, manage local areas in the most appropriate way and enhance the relationship between people and the natural environment. Today environmental management aims to secure the important principles of sustainable development which seeks to put in place stewardship of the environment for this and future generations.

Environmental Management at Dundee

Environmental Management is taught in partnership with an undergraduate programme in Town and Regional Planning and together they constitute one of the departments in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science. The department’s teaching provision was approved by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council in the 1998 Teaching Quality Assessment exercise. It secured the highest overall profile awarded within the planning and landscape cognate area in Scotland. The staff are drawn from a wide area of environmental, planning, economic and social science disciplines and are supported by visiting lecturers from practice. The Geddes Institute is based in the department. The main areas of research interest are sustainability indicators, ecological modernisation, national parks, minerals, countryside planning as well as regional planning and governance.

The Learning Environment

The department, which is housed in purpose-built premises offering lecture theatre, seminar rooms, library, computing and exhibition space, provides a modern and friendly learning environment. Class sizes range from a maximum of fifty down to small groups. Staff and students operate on a first name basis. Extensive use is made of computing facilities, where students have access to a suite of PCs and video editing equipment. Our web site and Email facilities are important for the provision of information to students. There is an active student environmental society which organises practical work projects and visiting speakers. Students contribute to the running of the programme through the staff/student consultative committee.

Beyond the University campus, the city of Dundee and its wider hinterland provide opportunities for students to gain first hand experience of the challenges which face environmental management professionals. The region contains many important examples of site regeneration and renovation projects, such as the conversion of derelict land to recreational use, new measures to minimise pollution and improve waste water discharge, innovative schemes for revitalising rural communities and new methods of environmentally responsible waste disposal. There is thus ample scope for student project work to focus on contemporary environmental management issues.

The Degree Programme

Teaching environmental management at Dundee began in 1993 and the first cohort of students graduated in 1997. The programme, which is recognised as a Signatory Course by the Institute of Environmental Management, provides both an academic and vocational training for those wishing to enter either the environmental management profession or other related fields. Its aims are:

• to provide students with knowledge, understanding, and skills in the theory and practice of environmental management so that they are prepared for entry to a variety of professional careers concerned with management of the natural and built environment as well as enhancing their prospects for entry to other non-environmental careers.
• to provide a stimulating and supportive learning environment in which students are able to fulfill their educational potential in a way which enhances their employment prospects within and beyond environmental management and which also contributes positively to their personal and social development.

Students will become aware of the processes of environmental change and the techniques used by natural scientists to monitor and explain these. They will also need to be familiar with the systems of control and regulation applied to land use and discharges of waste to the environment. The ability to put this body of knowledge and these skills together helps environmental managers determine the optimal way in which the environment should be used.

The structure of the degree is shown on this diagram. The first two years of study establish a robust foundation of knowledge, techniques and skills necessary to the environmental manager. These include topics such environmental economics, environmental law and environmental resource management. Practical exercises form an important part of the learning experience. Recently, for example, students have examined flooding issues in Moray; formulated proposals for informal recreation facilities in the Dundee rural fringe, developed a conservation strategy for the Cairngorms and carried out an environmental audit for part of the university campus. During the second year you may have the chance to spend some time at the University of Nijmegen as part of an ERASMUS exchange or spend the whole of second year studying in Canada as part of a Trans Atlantic Exchange.

This learning foundation is built upon in years three and four. Core courses develop student understanding of environmental economics, law and practice as well as applied management, GIS and contemporary environmental issues. To complement the core courses, students have the opportunity to choose an area of specialised study, through the selection of options and the preparation of a dissertation on a related subject. The Option courses currently on offer are as follows:

• Planning in the countryside
• Minerals Planning
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Risk and Hazard Assessment
• Environmental Resource Management
• Environmental Remote Sensing
• Landscape Design
• Practical Conservation and Site Management

Career opportunities

Dundee-qualified environmental managers hold interesting and challenging posts in a wide range of environment based careers. The degree equips the graduate with in-depth knowledge in Environmental Management to compete for careers in the rapidly growing public and private environmental sectors. Many private companies engage environmental managers to help achieve compliance with environmental regulations and to conduct business in an environmentally responsible manner. Specialist environmental agencies include the Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage. Many local authorities now employ environmental managers to promote local projects involving residents and commercial groups in pursuance of Local Agenda 21 initiatives. There is a growing number of Environmental Consultancy practices who carry out environmental assessment and monitoring. The nature of environmental work is as varied as the organisations which employ environmental managers. These pen pictures of a few recent honours graduates help to illustrate the range of career opportunity.

• Abigail Hayes,from Cambridgeshire now works for a private consultancy which specialises in environmental monitoring. She chose to examine water quality issues for her final year research project and now finds this is one of her main duties in employment.
• Keir McAndrew,from the north west of England has taken up a graduate trainee position with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, based in Stirling.
• Joan Tarmey, from Aberdeen is a Cairngorms Project Officer with Scottish Natural Heritage working from an office in Aberdeen. Joan spent her second year in British Columbia on a Transatlantic Exchange where her studies focused on rural issues and project management.
• Caroline Hill, from Jedburgh has also returned to her home area and is working in land management with a large private, rural estate. Caroline has found that the GIS computing skills gained at Dundee have been particularly useful in her job.
• Ian Heaven, from Hertfordshire now works for Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council as Local Agenda 21 Co-ordinator. His duties are to promote the principles of sustainability both within the Council and throughout the community. Ian came to university as a mature student and feels that it was the best thing he ever did.

Should you decide not to become an Environmental Manager, the MA(Hons) programme provides you with a sound knowledge and understanding of the environment and social sciences, proof of your problem solving ability and skills in IT, communication and team working. In an increasingly competitive jobs market these qualities have allowed graduates to obtain rewarding posts in other careers such as business management, retailing, computing, tourism and the armed forces.

How to apply for entry to the programme

All applications must be made through the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS), P O Box 67, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 3SF. If you are applying from a UK school, you will normally find a copy of the UCAS Handbook and application forms available from your school.

We actively participate in the University’s equal opportunities policy and welcome applications from those with special needs. We also welcome applications from mature and international students.

We invite all of our applicants to one of our Post Application Visit Days, which are organised on a regular basis from January to March. These provide a chance to meet members of staff and learn more about the programme, to look at the facilities in the department and University and to talk with students. We are happy to arrange mutually convenient, separate visits for potential applicants and those who cannot attend on a Visit Day.

Typical Offer

Applicants must normally obtain passes at either

• SCE Highers:BBBC grade
• GCE A-levels:CDD grade

Applicants with Advanced Highers, EDEXCEL, AGNVQ, SQA, GSVQ(III), Irish Leaving Certificate and International Baccalaureate will be very welcome. We accept applicants from access programmes for both school leavers and mature students. Although many of our students have taken a geography course at school, there are no specific subject requirements for first year entry.

We are able to consider applications for second year entry into the environmental management degree programme from candidates who have passes in geography and economics at Advanced Higher or GCE A-level.

Further information

If you would like further information about admissions to this professionally recognised programme please contact:

John McCarthy, Admissions Tutor
Town and Regional Planning,
University of Dundee,
13 Perth Road
Dundee DD1 4HT
Tel: (01382) 345240
Fax (01382) 388588
Email j.p.mccarthy@dundee.ac.uk

The Institute of Environmental Management

The Institute is committed to the promotion of more sustainable business practices in industry, commerce and local government. It is a professional body which establishes standards of education and practice for those working in a range of environmental management situations. The degree programme has been accepted as a Signatory Course by the Institute which means that its content and standard is sufficient to allow graduates to take and pass the Institute’s Associate Membership assessment paper. This paper may be taken in Dundee at the end of fourth year studies. To date there has been a high take up rate among Dundee graduates for entry to this examination and currently there is a 100% pass rate for our students. At the time of writing the department is going through an accreditation process with the Institute and in the near future it is hoped that the environmental management programme will be granted full accreditation which will remove the need to take the additional examination before becoming an Associate Member. Should you like more information about the Institute and careers in environmental management you should contact:

Institute of Environmental Management,
63 Northumberland Street,
Edinburgh EH3 6QH Tel: 0131 558 8810,
E-mail: info@iem.org.uk,
web-site: www.iem.org.uk