African Wildlife Ecology and Conservation MSc

Manchester Metropolitan University

The MSc in African Wildlife Ecology and Conservation offers a unique combination of applied skills, research expertise and fieldwork experience. That’s because it’s a course built on our 20-plus year relationship with the College of African Wildlife Management (CAWM) – bringing together our strengths in advanced analysis and project management techniques with their specialist experience and exceptional access to some of the world’s most fascinating ecosystems.

So, while your MSc qualification is a joint award from Manchester Met and CAWM, you’ll do your face-to-face learning in Tanzania. For four blocks of four to five weeks, you’ll be based at a campus outside Moshi – on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro – and its field station next to Tarangire National Park. From there, you’ll have the chance for field trips and project work in protected areas like Lake Manyara and the Serengeti National Parks, as well as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The CAWM campus is well equipped, with a library, laboratory and museum/herbarium, together with a fleet of vehicles for getting out into the field. CAWM has been one of the leaders in training scientists and education managers in East Africa for the last 60 years. Here, you’ll learn from experts at the top of their field, from wildlife behaviour and wildlife tourism, to evolutionary biology and conservation genetics. The teaching team work on a diverse range of applied research conservation projects, from the invasive plant species to wildlife corridors and elephant migration. Examples of current projects include the impact of fencing on elephants, human-wildlife conflict, and the ecology, behaviour and genetics of black and white rhino.

When you’re on campus in Tanzania, you’ll develop ecological research techniques in areas like vegetation, invertebrate, reptiles, and mammals. You’ll learn how to harness the latest GIS and remote sensing techniques, helping you chart the movements and behaviours of wildlife across the area, while you’ll get to grips with statistical analysis using R. Vitally, you’ll also learn what it takes to manage every aspect of conservation projects, from grants and budgets to teams and stakeholders.

As well as developing your skills on campus, at home you’ll use online course materials available to explore topics such as reviewing the key issues and trends in conservation. That all paves the way for your own research project, with close supervisory guidance, allowing you to put it all into practice, with the design, analysis and communication of a topic of your own choosing. Once complete, you’ll leave us with vital skills and a qualification like few others – equipped to pursue a future helping to protect and preserve the world’s biodiversity.