Environmental Sustainability with Foundation Year BSc (Hons)

University of Derby

Threats to the environment from human actions are affecting life on Earth. Organisations, governments and businesses are working towards finding solutions for a sustainable future. As well as increasing public awareness and willingness to support sustainable practices. This course gives you the skills and knowledge to implement solutions to tackle the world’s most critical challenges.

Course description

Pressure is increasing on industry and governments around the world to respond to the harmful outcomes of human activity, and rapidly develop innovative approaches to ensure the sustainable future of the environment. This course is designed to meet the growing demand for graduates skilled in shaping innovative solutions that have a positive impact on environmental and sustainability issues.

• This is a future-focused course, specially built to equip you with the applied skills to help mitigate today’s environmental issues, and identify those which may emerge in the future
• This is also an inter-disciplinary course, enabling you to specialise in a specific area to suit your career ambitions, or study a range of topics for a broad knowledge-base
• The programme reflects an outside-in approach, embedding issues around (inter alia) the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Biodiversity Framework and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) 30 Year Plan for Biodiversity.  Our graduates will have an interdisciplinary and problem-solving approach to global sustainability, an understanding of the responsibilities of personal and organisation actions and accountability, and an applied and solution based approach to global issues
• Learn from an expert teaching team of active researchers, investigating topics such as climate change, marine ecosystems, environmental degradation, ecosystem services, urban sustainability and biodiversity conservation
• We blend theory with plenty of practical experience. Examples include the ‘Environmental and Ethics Legislation’ module in your second year that includes a minimum of 30 hours work placement. In your final year, the ‘Business and Sustainability’ module includes a fieldtrip where you can experience current sustainability initiatives in charities, businesses and government
• In your final year, choose to complete an Independent Study (dissertation) or an Industrial Project, where you can work in industry on a live brief to help solve a real problem

Careers

As part of the consultative process when creating the course, we engaged with leaders from across the industry to ensure that the content we deliver is aligned to the skills and experience that employers need from graduates now and in the future. These included representatives from industry, the United Nations Environment and Development UK Committee, local authorities, and environmental consultancies.

Your experience will be valued by organisations where sustainable growth is a priority. This could include helping them to achieve targets such as moving to 100% renewable energy, increasing their energy production or switching to electric vehicles. You could also lead on developing strategies for conserving wildlife, better waste management, reducing greenhouse gases, managing environmental and sustainability plans, designing sustainable environments, and much more. Companies are investing in experts who can strategically advise the business and educate their workforce.