Study Environmental Science and Outdoor Education and graduate with a university degree

This unique degree course provides you with the primary elements of our Environmental Science degree including tuition in environmental issues, landscape evolution, human impact on the environment, environmental techniques and nature conservation, along with outdoor leadership, mountain skills and environmental education.

The distinctive aspect of this course is that it includes practical training in navigation, mountain hazards, outdoor safety and the design and delivery of outdoor programmes with environmental and ecological learning outcomes.

In addition, you will work towards gaining a certificate in summer mountain leadership, a qualification recognised by the outdoors education industry and the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA).

A minimum age of entry of 18 years applies for this course.

Year 1

Highers BBBB.
A-levels BBC.
IB Diploma with a total of 32 points.
HNC or HND with Bs in graded units.
Access courses and other UK/EU and international qualifications are also welcomed.

Year 2

Direct entry to Year 2 is possible subject to approval of individual qualifications.

General entrance requirements apply

Other information

If examinations are taken over two sittings, or there are repeats or upgrades, the entrance requirements may be higher. In addition to academic entrance requirements, prospective students must be able to demonstrate their enthusiasm for and experience in outdoor activities relevant to the course.

Required subjects

English Standard Grade (2), Intermediate 2 (C), GCSE (C) or equivalent. Applicants with English Standard Grade (3) will also be considered, although alternative entry conditions may be made in this case.
Other qualifications not mentioned above must include science-based subjects.
One of Geology, Geography, Environmental Science, Biology, Physics, Chemistry or Mathematics at Higher (B), A-Level (C), IB Higher Level at 4 or equivalent.
Mathematics Standard Grade (2), Intermediate 2 (C), GCSE (C) or equivalent.

information on possible sources of funding

Full-time (three modules per semester).
Part-time (one or two modules per semester).

Semesters 1 - 4

Typical modules are:

• Building Planet Earth
  
• Environmental History
• Navigation and Mountain Skills
• Sports Studies
• Leisure Studies
• Landscape Evolution
• The Biosphere
• Statistical Techniques
• Introduction to Ecology
  
• Eco-education
• Mountain Leader Training

Semesters 5 - 8

Typical modules are:

• Safety and Responsibility in Outdoor Education
• Field and Laboratory Techniques
• Environmental Policy and Management
• Conservation Management
• Environmental Hazards
• Restoration Ecology
• Remote Sensing
  
• Mountain Leader Assessment
• Residential Field Class (southern Spain)
• Honours Project

Teaching is by a mix of lectures, field and laboratory practical exercises and tutorials.

A wide range of natural and human landscapes in the Stirling area are used for field teaching of the Environmental Science aspects of the course and residential field classes are held, including a week in southern Spain. The Outdoor Education modules are taught primarily via residential field classes which take place in some of Scotland’s most stunning locations.

You should be aware that a certain level of health, fitness and mobility are required to complete the outdoor training elements of the course. In addition, you will need to be committed to outdoor pursuits and in particular to mountain walking. The Summer Mountain Leader Award requires that you must complete a minimum of 40 quality mountain days and these should be undertaken in your own time. You must also be a minimum of 18 years of age at the start of the course.

Conservation Biology & Management; Ecology; Environmental Science; Geography.

The Environmental Science and Outdoor Education degree at the University of Stirling has a strong focus on experiential learning, blending lecture-based teaching with substantial field-based learning about the environment and how to teach and guide others and explore in the outdoors. Students will get to learn from some of the UK’s top mountaineering instructors. Strong links exist between Biological and Environmental Sciences and conservation and environmental management employers giving students the opportunity to get hands-on experience of working with industrial partners during their degree.

In addition to the exchange opportunities available to all Stirling students, Environmental Science has a well-established exchange programme with the University of Guelph in Canada. You can spend one semester in Canada during your third year. Here you study courses equivalent to those taken at Stirling and have the opportunity to broaden your environmental and cultural experience.

The review by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education on teaching provision in Environmental Science was judged to be 'commendable' and that of academic teaching and learning was approved.

Biological and Environmental Sciences (BES) within the School of Natural Sciences is a multi-disciplinary department that participates in research and teaching in a broad range of subjects in the biological and environmental sciences. The principle focus of the research is at the interface between the environment and society. Within BES, staff conduct research in areas as diverse as the reconstruction of past landscapes; conservation, environmental impact assessment and environmental management; evolutionary ecology of plants and animals; and cellular biology and immunology.  BES is a friendly, vibrant, and dynamic place in which to learn and research with a great sense of belonging engendered in our students from their very first days at the University.

Research-led teaching is the key to deep learning and understanding. The academic staff in Biological and Environmental Sciences at Stirling are typically world leaders in their respective fields, thus ensuring that research-led teaching is at the core of all of our courses.  Many students work closely with academics throughout their time and benefit from actively participating in research programmes.  We have strong contacts with external conservation and environmental organisations who also contribute to the undergraduate experience. This approach ensures that our students appreciate the transferable nature of a science degree and see how their learning can be applied to the real world.

Students on this degree come from a wide range of backgrounds and ages, some straight from school, others having changed career or returned to university for professional development.  All are united by their enthusiasm for environmental science and their passion for learning and teaching outdoors.

Alistair Jump is a plant ecologist with substantial field-based research experience in mountain environments. His work focuses on the impacts of environmental change on ecological processes from the scale of individual populations to the distribution of species and vegetation zones.  His work takes him around the globe, from projects with National Parks and conservation charities within the UK to mountain systems in Africa and Asia.

This course is specifically designed for those who wish to have a sound scientific degree in Environmental Science but also wish to lead and guide groups outdoors and to provide outdoor educational activities with an environmental and ecological emphasis.

In employment terms, the combination of an Environmental Science degree and the Summer Mountain Leader Award is attractive to employers whose focus is on raising public awareness of the environment and teaching Environmental Science in an outdoor environment. Likely occupations for such graduates include countryside rangers and Environmental Science educators based in outdoor centres. The creation of a number of National Parks in Scotland, for example, has increased demand by park managers for rangers and guides. In addition, students will be equipped to undertake employment in the same professions as our standard Environmental Science graduates.

This course is not designed to train you to become an outdoor instructor, although you may wish to gain additional qualifications independently (e.g. SPA or BCU awards) or undertake a suitable postgraduate programme in outdoor education which would then qualify you to pursue this type of career.