MSc Environmental Impact Assessment & Management / Course details

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.

• 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.

• 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.

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.

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.

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

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