“NRI's mission is to discover, apply and share knowledge in support of global food security, sustainable development and poverty reduction”"Knowledge to feed the world"
“NRI's mission is to discover, apply and share knowledge in support of global food security, sustainable development and poverty reduction”"Knowledge to feed the world"
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The world is currently facing the greatest environmental crisis of recent times: how to sustain over 7 billion people while maintaining a habitable environment. Projected global warming impacts, plus continuing loss of land and other natural resources, will continue to impact adversely on the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions of people. There is a need to manage the global environment in a more sustainable way and sustainable development must be underpinned by a thorough understanding of environmental issues and their interactions. Emphasising the integrated nature of the subject, this programme provides a solid foundation in environmental science, data collection and analysis, as well as the economic and social contexts in which environmental investigations operate, to give an holistic view of environmental science for modern sustainable development.
This programme focuses on developing country issues, although the material is applicable to environmental studies worldwide, and draws on the Natural Resources Institutes (NRI's) unrivalled pool of expertise in issues of sustainable development, climate and other environmental change, environmental data collection and analysis, biosecurity and ecological applications. The programme is focussed around providing students with the key concepts needed to address these issues, learning from real case studies delivered by experts with experience of implementing environmental projects around the world.
NRI is a specialist development institute of the University of Greenwich and is based at the Medway Campus in Kent, England, approximately 30 miles from central London. This multi-campus university serves higher education needs locally, nationally within the UK and internationally with a high percentage of students from Europe and across the world. It also provides research, consultancy and education services worldwide, primarily through NRI's long-established international activities on the sustainable management of natural and human resources. Our staffs wealth of international development knowledge and teaching experience is combined to support the learning of each student. Staff are involved in development research and consultancy and provide practical experience as part of their teaching.
The Institutes international reputation is founded on a long history of experience in teaching, training, research and development in natural resources and sustainable development. Much of this work has been in tropical and sub-tropical countries, but its expertise is proving to be of growing relevance to the development and management of natural resources in industrialised regions. In the last 10 years, around a hundred students have graduated from the MSc Programme in Natural Resources, most of them international students.
Medway Campus is located in Chatham Maritime, a rapidly developing area that offers excellent leisure facilities. The town centres of Chatham and Gillingham and the historic city of Rochester are nearby. The campus is well served by public transport and has easy access to the countrys motorway network and Londons three airports. The University also provides a bus service between campuses.
The programme contains core courses which give students a firm grounding in research methods applicable to the study of environmental science and the intellectual tools for understanding integrated environmental systems. The other core courses addressing basic atmospheric science and conservation ecology, provide a thorough grounding in key concepts relevant to environmental studies: students must select one of these courses, but may take both if they wish. The independent research project allows students to pursue more specialised aspects of the subject at a greater depth than that which can be provided by the taught courses. The optional courses cover a range of specialist environmental issues in areas of environmental and biotic risk management, environmental sustainability of businesses, and climate and environmental change, amongst other possibilities. The courses provide understanding of the theoretical approaches and frameworks of the topics, combined with empirically based learning from case studies of real projects and environmental scenarios. Depending on their interests, students can address these from the point of view of the natural and social sciences, and skills can be translated into knowledge and products that have real impact on increasing the effectiveness of sustainable environmental development
Core courses:
Options:
*subject to validation
This programme provides specialist expertise for those working or wishing to work in aspects of environmental management, consultancy or research, or seeking an advanced environmental development/management qualification in the UK and overseas. Students graduate with a broad general knowledge of environmental issues in sustainable development and also more focused in-depth knowledge of an area of specialization.
Teaching and learning includes a variety of educational styles including seminars, lectures, group work, assignments and tutorials. Assessment consists of a combination of assignments, essays, presentations, reports, portfolios and formal examinations.
1 year full-time, 2 years part-time.
Entry requirements:Applicants should have a degree or equivalent professional qualification in an appropriate science subject. Where English is the second language, an IELTS average score of 6.5 (for each of the four areas) or 7 is required.
How to apply:Applications should be made on-line, using the University application form. This is available from the Enquiry Unit or International Office or can be downloaded at www.gre.ac.uk/apply.
Informal enquiries may be sent to the Programme Leader, Dr Peter Burt (P.J.A.Burt@gre.ac.uk) President of the British Aerobiology Federation
More information about the work of the Natural Resources Institute..