MSc Environmental Impact Assessment & Management / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

After the course, I plan to continue work at my former workplace, use the skills from the course to position myself for promotion, and start up a consultancy to offer environmental services.

At the end of the course, I shall have an internationalised CV and network, which matters a lot when the world is a global village.

Tom Geme / MSc Environmental Impact Assessment & Management student

MSc Environmental Impact Assessment and Management will prepare you for professional practice in environmental assessment at both the project level (environmental impact assessment) and the strategic level (strategic environmental assessment).

You will gain a thorough grounding in environmental assessment procedures and practice, and an introduction to the rapidly growing environmental management field.

In addition, you will benefit from `hands-on' sessions designed to simulate the tasks and problems encountered in the workplace, and to teach you valuable skills that are directly applicable to current practice.

We also arrange site visits to give you an insight into real-life practice.

Aims

  • Provide you with the opportunity to pursue aspects of environmental assessment or wider environmental management.
  • Develop your project management skills, including team working and writing professional reports.
  • Develop your analytical and communication skills, thus graduating with expertise highly valued by employers.

Special features

  • Benefit from small group teaching and guided one-to-one supervision for your dissertation.
  • Opportunities to develop practical skills in spatial analysis software and design.
  • Have the flexibility to mix core discipline units with a range of optional course units.
  • Study in Manchester, a city where the environmental consequences of development are on our doorstep and have been researched and taught for more than 50 years.

Teaching and learning

Part-time students complete the course over 24 months. There are no evening or weekend course units available; you should, therefore, discuss course requirements with the Programme Director and seek approval from your employer. Timetabling information is usually available from late August. You can discuss course unit choices during induction week with the Programme Director.

Coursework and assessment

Assessment methods include essays, reports and other work (eg workshop assignments), both individually and in groups.

Some optional course units may involve examinations.

The taught part of the course (120 credits) is assessed by continuous assessment and formal examinations.

Continuous assessment includes essays, reports, posters, oral presentations, and a major project.

A 15,000-word dissertation is prepared on an approved topic, which is discussed and chosen at the beginning of the second semester and a suitable supervisor allocated.

Initial work focuses upon an overview of the chosen topic, a literature review and the design of the methodology to be adopted.

During the latter part of Semester 2 and the summer vacation, you undertake the necessary research and analysis, culminating in the writing of your dissertation.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Environmental Impact Assessment PLAN60411 15 Mandatory
Concepts in Environmental Law PLAN60442 15 Mandatory
EIA Project PLAN60452 15 Mandatory
MSc EIAM Dissertation PLAN60480 60 Mandatory
Planning for Environmental Change PLAN60771 15 Mandatory
Strategic and Sustainable Decision Making PLAN64072 15 Mandatory
Environmental Remote Sensing GEOG60941 15 Optional
GIS and Environmental Applications GEOG60951 15 Optional
Environmental Monitoring and Modelling Practice GEOG70552 15 Optional
Environmental Monitoring and Modelling Concepts GEOG70581 15 Optional
Climate, Environment and Development MGDI60552 15 Optional
Planning and Managing Development MGDI70992 15 Optional
Planning Powers and Procedures PLAN60021 15 Optional
Urban Theory, Planning Theory and Professional Ethics PLAN60041 15 Optional
Professional Placement PLAN60070 15 Optional
Land and Development PLAN60102 15 Optional
Design for Healthy Places PLAN60111 15 Optional
Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Cities PLAN60852 15 Optional
Infrastructure Planning PLAN60872 15 Optional
Future Cities PLAN62011 15 Optional
Displaying 10 of 20 course units

Scholarships and bursaries

We offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and merit awards to outstanding applicants and international students.

In addition, the Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a first-class bachelor's degree within the last three years and are progressing to a postgraduate taught master's course.

For more information, see Fees and funding or search the University's postgraduate funding database .

What our students say

Find out how our students feel about studying at The University of Manchester by visiting our student spotlights page.

Facilities

For more information, see  Facilities

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service.

For more information, email  dass@manchester.ac.uk