Environmental Science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field that draws on biology, geography, geology, chemistry and earth science to understand how natural systems function and how human activity is altering them. It addresses some of the most urgent challenges of our time: climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, pollution, soil degradation and the management of land and water in a warming world. Scientists working in this field generate the evidence that informs environmental policy, regulation, conservation and the design of more sustainable ways of living.
At the University of Aberdeen you will study a programme that integrates environmental biology, geography and geology, soil science and chemistry, giving you a genuinely multidisciplinary foundation for understanding the environment from local to global scales. You will be taught by researchers actively involved in environmental science at the frontier of the discipline, and you will develop skills in fieldwork, laboratory analysis, data interpretation and environmental assessment that are essential for professional practice. The programme runs over four years full time and includes a year abroad, giving you international experience of how environmental science is conducted and understood in a different context.
Graduates from environmental science degrees work across environmental consultancy, government agencies, conservation organisations, research institutes, water and energy companies, planning departments and international bodies. Roles include environmental scientist, ecologist, conservation manager, pollution control officer, sustainability adviser and climate analyst. The combination of scientific rigour with practical fieldwork skills and policy awareness that this degree develops is valued wherever organisations need to understand, report on or manage their relationship with the natural world.
Postgraduate study in environmental management, ecology, earth science or sustainable development is a common route for those seeking specialist or research-focused careers.