Lancaster University

Subject Specific

The MA in Environmental Management and Consultancy is designed to help students fill career opportunities in the rapidly growing field of private and public sector environmental management.  Public- and private-sector organisations are under increasing pressure from governments and consumers to control their impacts on the environment, yet this is a complex process since it needs to cover sectors as diverse as energy, land use and waste management.  Such complexity requires creative managers with both technical skill and the personal qualities to communicate effectively, resolve disputes, negotiate solutions and deliver projects.  This MA provides students with a comprehensive skills set in the principles and practice of environmental management so that they can exploit career opportunities in private consultancies and public agencies in the UK and other countries.

Students take a core curriculum that covers environmental management and systems; environmental law; decision making and project management. The students are also able to tailor their individual scheme of study to suit their interests and career ambitions by selecting one module from a wide range of optional modules offered by the Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC). The course gives students the opportunity of undertaking their research project as a placement with an external organisation, exploiting linked projects generated by the LEC Enterprise and Business Partnership. The MA is available as full-time (1 year) and part-time (2 year) schemes of study.

General

The MA is unlike many other postgraduate degree courses in that it recognises the importance of vocational skills as well as academic skills and research expertise. Our teaching philosophy is to provide students with the mix of academic and vocational skills needed to operate and succeed in commercial environmental management. We believe that it is this mix of abilities, rather than a skill in a single specialised area, that defines the professional environmental manager.

The programme benefits from Lancaster University's proven record of outstanding teaching and research in the environmental field.  The development of the Lancaster Environment Centre (linked to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) provides a reservoir of research and teaching expertise that we exploit. In addition, the programme draws on material delivered by specialists from the Law Department (European and Environmental Law). The environmental theme at PGT level also develops from our undergraduate teaching.

Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills

On successful completion of this scheme of study students will be able to:
? demonstrate their understanding of environmental management systems;
? demonstrate their understanding of environmental liabilities and decision making;
? show they can plan, execute and write up a substantial dissertation report for an commercial partner;
? undertake effective environmental research and fieldwork in academic and vocational settings and communicate the results;
? assess the moral/ethical issues associated with the development and implementation of environmental management;
? use the advanced technical skills relevant to this degree scheme.

General: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills

On successful completion of this scheme of study students will:
? have a critical understanding of key theoretical, methodological and practical approaches to development and implementation of environmental policies and environmental performance management;
? have learned a wide range of methods and approaches which are applicable to this field;
? have gained knowledge in specific areas of environmental performance management from a mix of compulsory and optional modules;
? have knowledge of the contribution of natural and social sciences to environmental management;
? have demonstrated competence in the taught and research elements of an advanced course;
? have developed transferable skills that they can use in careers within, and beyond, the environmental performance management sphere;
?and they will be able to:
? assess contrasting theories, concepts and arguments;
? carry out analysis, problem-solving and decision making;
? interpret, evaluate and critique evidence and arguments;
? abstract and synthesize information;
? develop reasoned argument.