Degrees Offered

• BSc Honours Land Use and Environmental Management (3 years) (UCAS Code: D449)
• BSc Honours Land Use and Environmental Management with Professional Studies (4 years) (UCAS Code: D447)

Contact Information

For entrance requirements
E: admissions@qub.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)28 9097 3838

For course information
The School Manager
School of Biological Sciences
T: +44 (0)28 9097 5786
E: e.purdy@qub.ac.uk
W: http://www.qub.ac.uk/bb

Entrance Requirements

• A-level
  BBB or BBC + B (AS-level) + GCSE Mathematics.
  Note: Certain modules will require GCSE Mathematics grade B.
  
  
• Irish Leaving Certificate
  B2B2B2B2CC/B2B2B2B2B2 + if not offered at Higher Level then Ordinary Level grade C in Mathematics.
  Note: Certain modules require either an Ordinary Level grade B or Higher Level grade C in Mathematics.

For students whose first language is not English
An IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each test component or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University. Further information on other acceptable English Language qualifications is available here

If you are an international student and you do not meet the entrance requirements, you should consider a preparation course at INTO Queen's University Belfast, which will prepare you for successful study on these degree courses. INTO Queen's University Belfast is based on the University campus and offers a range of courses including:
International Foundation in Engineering and Science

The Subject

These degree programmes have been specially designed to provide students with an understanding of the integrated and holistic nature of land use and environmental management. As a result of the many changes affecting the natural environment today, new and challenging career opportunities are emerging for those familiar with issues of sustainable development, conservation and environmental protection and management. A fundamental knowledge and understanding of the physical, social, economic and cultural aspects of land use is essential to appreciate the interaction between agriculture and the environment that now drives agricultural policy.

Course Content

These degree programmes have been developed in consultation with employers, industry and academics, to offer students a curriculum designed to enhance employability and graduate skills, combining basic scientific knowledge with interpersonal, entrepreneurial, innovative thinking and management skills.

Core modules in environmental management are supplemented with a wide range of optional modules, from environmental planning, geography, biology, economics, sociology and politics and international studies, enabling an in-depth study of subject threads throughout the programme. Students must take the equivalent of at least six modules in each stage, including any compulsory modules.

Stage 1
Compulsory
Introduction to Spatial Planning
Skills for Land Use and Environmental Management

Optional
Accounting for Non-Specialists
Biological Diversity
Contemporary Issues in Urban and Rural Planning
Dynamic Earth
Economics 1
Environmental Biology
Environmental Issues: A Geographical Perspective on a Changing World
Institutional and Policy Context of Planning Practice
Spaces, Places and Plans
Statistical Methods
The Individual and Society
The Sociological Imagination

Stage 2
Compulsory
Climate Change: Science, Impacts and Responses
Environmental Management
Introduction to Environmental Economics
Work Placement (3-yr programme)
1-year Work Placement (4-yr programme)

Optional
Applied Ecology
Contemporary Society
Development of Social Theory
Economy and Space
Geographies of Urban Development
Invertebrate Biology
Microeconomics
Planning and Sustainable Development 2
Planning Theory and Society
Politics and Policy of the European Union
Sustaining the Biosphere
The Development of Social Theory

Stage 3
Compulsory
Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Environmental Assessment
Global Issues in Agriculture
Policies for Environmental Sustainability
Project

Optional
Coastal Environments
Contaminated Land
Economics of the Environment
Economics of the Public Sector
Environmental Engineering
Geoforensics
Infrastructure and Transportation
Themes in Spatial Planning

Click here for more information on modules

Learning and Teaching

At Queen’s, we aim to deliver a high quality learning environment that embeds intellectual curiosity, innovation and best practice in learning, teaching and student support to enable students to achieve their full academic potential.

On the BSc Land Use and Environmental Management we do this by providing a range of learning experiences which enable our students to engage with subject experts, develop attributes and perspectives that will equip them for life and work in a global society and make use of innovative technologies and a world class library that enhances their development as independent, lifelong learners.  

Examples of the opportunities provided for learning on this course are:

• Lectures: introduce basic information about new topics as a starting point for further self-directed private study/reading.  Lectures also provide opportunities to ask questions, gain some feedback and advice on assessments (normally delivered in large groups to all year group peers).

• Seminars/tutorials:  Significant amounts of teaching are carried out in small groups (typically 10-20 students).  These provide significant opportunity for students to engage with academic staff who have specialist knowledge of the topic, to ask questions and to assess their own progress and understanding with the support of peers.  Students should also expect to make presentations and other contributions to these groups.

• Self-directed study:  This is an important part of life as a Queen’s student when important private reading, engagement with e-learning resources, reflection on feedback to date and assignment research and preparation work is carried out.

• E-Learning technologies:   Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Queen’s Online.  A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree through, for example, online discussion forums, research methods modules involving statistics, additional learning resources, online readings, and opportunities to use IT programmes in project- based work.

• Supervised research:  In final year, students will be expected to carry out a significant piece of research on a particular topic.  They will receive support to guide them in terms of how to carry out their research and will be provided with feedback in person and via email.

• Personal Tutor:  Undergraduates are allocated a Personal Tutor from their first day at the university. The Personal Tutor is available to meet with them and to give advice throughout their time at Queen’s, in support of their academic development and to act as an important point of contact with the School.

• Peer Mentoring:We offer a peer mentoring scheme for our BSc students, which sees specially- trained second and third year students, under the guidance of staff and the Centre for Educational Development, help first year students settle into life at Queen’s through social events, small group or one-to-one informal support and learning skills workshops.

• Work-Related learning/Field Trips/Study Tours:  Study visits and field trips are integrated into several of our option modules. The purpose of these tours is to help students apply their learning to the real-work context and to exercise critical thinking and interpretation. Back in the classroom, students undertake a number of group-based tasks in workshops focused on the field trip and present their findings to classmates.

• Placement: For Land Use and Environmental Management, all students are required to complete a compulsory 16-week work placement period as an integral component of Stage 2. For Land Use and Environmental Management with Professional Studies, on completion of Stage 2, all students are required to undertake a compulsory 46-week period of work experience, including a project agreed between the student, the School and the employer. Placement is assessed within the module Professional Studies. Work placements take place in a wide range of organisations including Farrans, Northstone Quarries, CETA Waste Management, Ulster Wildlife Trust, DARD Countryside Management, Colin Glen, National Trust, Property developers, Property management companies, Environmental consultancies and Councils. Those students interested in teaching as a career may take part of their placement in a school. Work placement overseas is encouraged and students have worked in America, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and England.

Whilst the responsibility for securing work placements rests with the student, a dedicated School Careers Advisor supports students in attaining work placement. The students who have undertaken placement have been extremely well received by the employers, with all the placement organisations indicating they would want to take students in future years.

RICS Accreditation:The course is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. This means that after completing the BSc,  a student can embrace the Chartered Surveyor profession upon completion of a two year training in a RICS related business and passing an exam. Students doing the BSc Land Use and Environmental Management with Professional Studies can start the two year training during the 46 week work placement at the end of Level 2. 

Assessment and Feedback

Assessment (general):  The way in which students are assessed will vary according to the learning objectives of each module.  Most modules are assessed through a combination of coursework and end of semester examinations.  Some modules [e.g. final year Honours Project module (BBC3025)] are assessed solely through project work or written assignments.  Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the Student Handbook which is provided to all students during their first year induction.

Feedback (general):  As students progress through their course at Queen’s they will receive general and specific feedback about their work from a variety of sources including lecturers, module co-ordinators, placement supervisors, personal tutors, advisers of study and your peers.  University students are expected to engage with reflective practice and to use this approach to improve the quality of their work. Feedback may be provided in a variety of forms including:

• Feedback provided via formal written comments and marks relating to work that students, as individuals or as part of a group, have submitted. 
• Face to face comment.  This may include occasions when students make use of the lecturers’ advertised “office hours” to help address a specific query.
• Placement employer comments or references.
• Online or emailed comment.
• General comments or question and answer opportunities at the end of a lecture, seminar or tutorial.
• Pre-submission advice regarding the standards you should aim for and common pitfalls to avoid.  In some instances, this may be provided in the form of model answers or exemplars which students can review in their own time. 
• Feedback and outcomes from practical classes.
• Comment and guidance provided by staff from specialist support services such as, Careers, Employability and Skills or the Learning Development Service.

Once students have reviewed their feedback, they are encouraged to identify and implement further improvements to the quality of their work. 

Careers

Careers are diverse, with expected employment not only within the rural and land use industries and government services, but also within private sector industries, financial institutions and agribusiness concerns of various kinds.

Graduates of these programmes will have a knowledge of the natural environment, be able to demonstrate familiarity with the issues of sustainable development, conservation and environmental protection and also be able to demonstrate an understanding of the integrated and holistic nature of land use and environmental management.

Possible career destinations include environmental management within the private and public sectors including consultancy and environmental impact assessment with environmental organisations such as the RSPB and the WWF.

Graduates can become Chartered Surveyors. Opportunities also exist within the full range of occupations associated with graduate employment. Graduates also have the opportunity for further postgraduate study through research (MPhil/PhD) or taught programmes, including RICS accredited courses
 

Other Career-related information: Queen’s is a member of the Russell Group and, therefore, one of the 20 universities most-targeted by leading graduate employers.  Queen’s students will be advised and guided about career choice and, through the Degree Plus initiative, will have an opportunity to seek accreditation for skills development and experience gained through the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer.  See Queen’s University Belfast fullEmployability Statementfor further information.

Degree Plus and other related initiatives:  Recognising student diversity, as well as promoting employability enhancements and other interests, is part of the developmental experience at Queen’s.  Students are encouraged to plan and build their own personal skill and experiential profile through a range of activities including; recognised Queen’s Certificates, placements and other work experiences (at home or overseas), Erasmus study options elsewhere in Europe, learning development opportunities and involvement in wider university life through activities, such as clubs, societies, and sports. 

Queen’s actively encourages this type of activity by offering students an additional qualification, the Degree Plus Award (and the related Researcher Plus Award for PhD and MPhil students).  Degree Plus accredits wider experiential and skill development gained through extra-curricular activities that promote the enhancement of academic, career management, personal and employability skills in a variety of contexts.  As part of the Award, students are also trained on how to reflect on the experience(s) and make the link between academic achievement, extracurricular activities, transferable skills and graduate employment. Participating students will also be trained in how to reflect on their skills and experiences and can gain an understanding of how to articulate the significance of these to others, e.g. employers.

Overall, these initiatives, and Degree Plusin particular, reward the energy, drive, determination and enthusiasm shown by students engaging in activities over-and-above the requirements of their academic studies. These qualities are amongst those valued highly by graduate employers.

Special Features

Accreditation: these degrees are accredited by The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Placement: Land Use and Environmental Management students are required to complete a compulsory 16-week work placement period as an integral component of Stage 2. Land Use and Environmental Management with Professional Studies students are required, on completion of Stage 2, to undertake a compulsory 46-week period of work experience, including a project agreed between the student, the School and the employer.