Master of Science
MSc Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding
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Overview
Course overview
- Study on the first degree to embrace nature positive approaches, developed in collaboration with industry experts in nature recovery, restoration and rewilding.
- Benefit from a highly interdisciplinary teaching approach, giving you breadth of knowledge across the social and ecological systems, with the flexibility to specialise to your personal goals by selecting optional modules from across the University.
- Engage in a solutions-oriented, forward looking degree that embraces a positive outlook towards conserving and enhancing biodiversity that is valued by all sectors of society.
- Study in Manchester and be immersed in an excellent example of the global challenge of sustainable development whilst in close proximity to several culturally and ecologically important National Parks.
- Join the world number one for societal and environmental impact (THE Impact Rankings 2024) and a top 20 global university for Geography (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024).
Open days
If you’re considering a master’s at Manchester, there are a range of ways you can connect with us to find out more.
- Taught master's information sessions
- Taught master's guided campus visits
- Study fairs in the UK
- Education fairs overseas
For more information, see our page on meeting us .
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Environment, Education and Development
- Contact name
- Postgraduate Admissions Team (SEED)
- Telephone
- +44 (0)161 275-2814
- planning.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
- School/Faculty overview
-
See: The School .
Courses in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
We require a UK Honours degree with a First or Upper Second (2.1) classification or the overseas equivalent. We welcome applications from a variety of subject areas to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the programme.
English language
For the latest information on demonstrating your English language proficiency for those whose first language is not English, please see our English language entry requirements .
This programme also accepts successful completion of the 6- and 10-week pre-sessional English language course. We accept the following qualifications which must be valid on the start date of the Master's course.
Pre-sessional 6-week course requirement:
IELTS UKVI or Academic 6.0 Overall with 6.0 in Writing, no more than one sub-skill at 5.5 and no other sub-skill below 5.5
TOEFL iBT 80 Overall with 20 in Writing, 20 in Speaking and no other sub-skill below 18
Pearson PTE Academic UKVI or Academic 65 Overall with 65 in Writing, no more than one sub-skill at 59 and no other sub-skill below 59
Pre-sessional 10-week course requirement:
IELTS UKVI or Academic 5.5 Overall with no sub-skill below 5.5
TOEFL iBT 72 Overall with 20 in Speaking and no other sub-skill below 18
Pearson PTE Academic UKVI or Academic 59 Overall with no sub-skill below 59
English language test validity
Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the Master's course.
Other international entry requirements
We accept a range of qualifications from across the globe. To help international students, the University provides specific information for many individual countries. Please see our country-specific information page for guidance on the academic qualifications which may be accepted from your country.
Professional entry qualification
If you do not meet our academic entry qualification criterion, your admission may still be approved if satisfactory evidence of postgraduate study, research or substantial relevant professional experience can be provided.
Fees and funding
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2026, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
MSc (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £14,200
International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500 -
MSc (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £7,100
International, including EU, students (per annum): £15,250
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Information on university funding, loans, and scholarships are available on the master’s student funding page .
- The Faculty of Humanities offered a range of scholarship opportunities for eligible applicants starting in September 2025.
- Please check back to confirm availability for September 2026 start. Please visit the school funding page for more information on available subject funding.
- Other funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages .
Application and selection
How to apply
Advice to applicants
Please submit the following documents with your completed application form:
- copies of English language certification, such as IELTS, TOEFL or Pearson test score report. Applications without an English language qualification may initially be placed on a waiting list;
- copies of official degree certificates and transcripts of your previous study, showing the subjects taken and grades obtained. If these documents are in languages other than English, please, provide official translations;
- your CV.
Ensure that you enclose all the necessary documents to avoid any delays.
How your application is considered
Applications for this course are very competitive. When assessing your academic record, we take into account the grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification. Due to the high demand we may not be able to offer places to all applicants who have the entry qualifications that we require. If we are unable to consider you for an offer, you may be placed on a waiting list. Candidates on a waiting list will only be considered for an offer if places become available.
Once your application has been received, our admissions team will contact you. We may ask you to submit additional information, if necessary.
Please note, the course may reach capacity before the official closing date of 31 August, so all students are advised to apply as early as possible.
Re-applications
If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful, you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry.
In your new application, you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for the chosen course.
Course details
Course description
Humanity has caused a global biodiversity crisis, with wildlife populations declining and over one million species facing extinction. The UN urges everyone to rethink their relationship with nature and adopt transformative solutions to recover, restore, and rewild ecosystems.
The MSc in Nature Recovery, Restoration, and Rewilding (NR3) equips you with the knowledge, skills, and global best practices needed to address the biodiversity crisis. It also covers the broader benefits of these solutions, including tackling the climate crisis and improving human health and wellbeing.
Through small class learning and field work, this course will equip you with a ‘toolbox’ of knowledge and techniques to transform humanity’s relationship with nature. You will acquire understanding and practical skills relating to nature recovery , a suite of tools that aim to benefit nature not just minimise harm, which are being applied in sectors normally linked to biodiversity declines like agriculture and urban development.
Whilst studying this programme, you will see ecological restoration first-hand in uplands, wetlands and forests, learning about practical restoration techniques that repair natural processes and help ecosystems recover after human-induced damage.
You will also be immersed in the theory and practice of rewilding , an exciting approach seeking to give nature more independence over large areas, including reintroducing organisms that can ‘engineer’ ecosystems. Throughout your studies, you will enquire, debate and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these different approaches, exploring theoretical, ethical and practical perspectives.
Aside from the University of Manchester being a top ranked Higher Education institution, the city has been at the heart of industrial development since the growth of the cotton trade in the late 18th century. The expansion of Manchester has been the forerunner of global urbanisation, which has prioritised economic growth at the expense of the natural environment.
This has not just affected cities, but also the surrounding landscapes that provide natural and social capital to fuel growth, and a wider impact on unconnected areas with a requirement for intensive agricultural practices needed to support a growing human population.
By studying nature recovery, restoration and rewilding in the city that kickstarted urbanisation, students coming to Manchester will be immersed in an excellent example of the global challenge of sustainable development.
During the MSc, students will gain a diverse and rich experience that will enable them to make a real-world impact. Our cohort of students draw from backgrounds representing an array of disciplinary knowledge. This is a crucial aspect of the degree because developing solutions to our environmental crises will require interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches.
Students will be provided with a diverse portfolio of learning opportunities. This will include lectures and seminars given by academics and guest speakers with expertise in the arena of transformative conservation, delivering a blend of philosophical, ethical and applied perspectives. Real-world understanding will be gained through field visits to chosen case studies that are delivering positive outcomes for people and nature.
Finally, students will learn a diverse array of practical skills that are transferable to a wide range of environmental careers, such as data analytics, ecological survey techniques, and geographical information systems. Students are also able to tailor their experience according to their personal ambitions through optional course units from across The University of Manchester, as well as embarking on a research project of their choosing.
The course is taught by world-leading researchers, including:
- Anna Gilchrist (Dr.) : Anna's research interests span the natural and social sciences, centring on interactions between humans and nature and how these can influence the structure and function of ecology and ecosystems at the landscape scale. Her research explores how humans are impacting biodiversity and the responses that these impacts may require. Recently, Anna's research has focused on how we can implement transformative conservation methods to respond to the biodiversity crisis.
- Ian Thornhill (Dr.) : Ian is passionate about understanding the relationships within ecosystems, focusing on resilience, functional traits, and trait diversity. His work delves into community ecology, exploring the factors that shape community assembly at both local and landscape scales, with a focus on freshwater (or blue spaces). Committed to inclusive science, he advocates for public involvement through citizen science and participatory approaches.
- Emma Shuttleworth (Dr.) : Emma is a peatland scientist with a focus on how landscape management and restoration can improve the hydrology and geomorphology of degraded systems. Her research interests lie in how peatlands can be managed for climate resilience and flood risk reduction, and how these management and restoration practices may benefit other ecosystem services, such as reducing sediment and contaminant release.
Special features
- Study on the first degree to embrace nature positive approaches, developed in collaboration with industry experts in nature recovery, restoration and rewilding.
- Benefit from a highly interdisciplinary teaching approach, giving you breadth of knowledge across the social and ecological systems, with the flexibility to specialise to your personal goals by selecting optional modules from across the University.
- Engage in a solutions-oriented, forward looking degree that embraces a positive outlook towards conserving and enhancing biodiversity that is valued by all sectors of society.
- Study in Manchester and be immersed in an excellent example of the global challenge of sustainable development whilst in close proximity to several culturally and ecologically important National Parks.
- Join the world number one for societal and environmental impact (THE Impact Rankings 2024)
Additional course information
The course is aligned with the Environment, Policy and Place Research Group that seeks to understand the ways in which we understand and respond to environmental changes to ensure more sustainable and resilient places.
Teaching and learning
Important notice: factors affecting fieldwork and placements
The School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) recognises the value of fieldwork and placements. However, the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our priority.
The School will assess on a regular basis the viability of any travel and fieldwork and communicate any significant changes to our students at the earliest possible opportunity.
The role of SEED
- changes to the rules and guidance on travel and activities implemented and published by the UK and overseas governments;
- a risk assessment conducted by or on behalf of the University identifying unmanageable risk;
-
changes that enhance the educational value and student experience of the activity;
changes to the situation of a placement provider (for example, which cause them to be unable to accept students); - the unavailability of appropriate insurance cover;
- the unavailability of appropriate travel and accommodation and any significant changes to their financial costs;
- where fieldwork and placements are a compulsory element of the Programme, they will be replaced with something academically similar;
- where a trip or placement is not a compulsory element of the Programme, it may not be replaced.
We will consult with affected students at the earliest possible opportunity and explore the options available to them.
The duty of students
Preparation, attendance and conduct
Attendance at preparatory classes is a compulsory pre-requisite of the fieldwork and placements to ensure safety and learning outcomes are met.
Students who do not attend the compulsory preparatory classes may be prevented from participating in the fieldwork or placement. It is the duty of students to discuss any attendance issues with the field course or placement convenor.
Students are representatives of the university during their fieldwork or placement.
Behaviour deemed by the convenor to be unacceptable may result in students being sent home.
Where a student is unable to attend or complete the fieldwork or placement (e.g. due to mitigating circumstances), is prevented from attending due to absence from compulsory preparatory classes, or returned home due to poor conduct:
- a suitable alternative assessment will be offered (as appropriate) to ensure that the programme ILOs are met, and that the student is not academically disadvantaged;
- the University accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred by the student in relation to the fieldwork or placement.
Immigration, passport and visa requirements
It is the responsibility of the individual student to ensure they have:
- a valid passport to enter the destination country (including sufficient months prior to expiry);
- a valid visa (where required) and comply with its requirements.
The School cannot guarantee that visas required for fieldwork or a placement will be granted by the relevant authority. Please note that countries may change their immigration and visa regulations at short notice.
Where a student is unable to attend fieldwork or a placement because they do not have the required visa or passport:
- a suitable alternative assessment will be offered to ensure that the programme ILOs are met and that the student is not academically disadvantaged;
- the University accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred by the student in relation to the fieldwork or placement.
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.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
GEOG64142 | 15 | Mandatory | |
PLAN64111 | 15 | Mandatory | |
PLAN64121 | 15 | Mandatory | |
PLAN64131 | 15 | Mandatory | |
PLAN64152 | 15 | Mandatory | |
PLAN64162 | 15 | Mandatory | |
PLAN64170 | 60 | Mandatory | |
EART62051 | 15 | Optional | |
ECON60782 | 15 | Optional | |
GEOG60941 | 15 | Optional | |
Displaying 10 of 15 course units | |||
Display all course units |
Facilities
You can develop your practical skills in a wide range of field study locations, specialist laboratories for fieldwork analyses, and computer suites with specialist spatial analysis software.
You can also learn professional skills such as coding and programming specialist, industry-standard software such as image processing, GIS, GPS and cartographic representation.
The University's Main Library is the largest university library system in the UK apart from the copyright libraries and has a number of different working spaces. It is home to the University Map Collection, which comprises about 100,000 map sheets of every part of the world.
See facilities for more information.
Disability support
Careers
Career opportunities
Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding graduates will graduate equipped with a critical understanding of the limitations of historical approaches to nature conservation and contemporary and ambitious ideas to transform attitudes, policies and practices through which nature positive solutions may be realised. They will be well versed in social-ecological systems, recognising the critical connections and reciprocity between people and nature. Graduates will be well suited to roles across the public, private and charitable sectors as ecological advisors, environmental planners, environmental consultants, conservation practitioners, researchers, sustainability advisors and environmental educators.
Careers support
The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability .
Careers support for international students
The Careers Service provide specialist resources, advice and events for international students to help with career planning and making the most of your time while studying in Manchester.
- Working in the UK after study
- Working during study
- Professional and alumni networks for international students
Global networks
The University of Manchester is proud to have the largest global alumni community of any campus-based university in the UK.
International alumni groups are a great way to keep in touch with fellow Manchester graduates in your country. It is an opportunity to build professional and social networks.
Regulated by the Office for Students
The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website.
You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website.