Environmental Science with a Foundation Year

Environmental science is the study of the natural world and how human activities are changing it. It draws on chemistry, biology, geology, geography, and ecology to understand the complex systems that regulate Earth's climate, oceans, soils, and biodiversity, and to assess the consequences of pollution, resource extraction, land-use change, and global warming. The discipline is both rigorously scientific and deeply concerned with the practical challenge of living more sustainably on a finite planet.

At the University of East Anglia, this four-year programme begins with a foundation year that allows you to build or consolidate the scientific knowledge needed to progress onto the full degree. The foundation year can be tailored to your interests, with options spanning physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the environment or a stronger emphasis on human geography and social dimensions of environmental change. You will explore how natural systems of the environment are interlinked and how human influence is reshaping them, and you can transfer into any degree within UEA's School of Environmental Sciences at the end of your foundation year, offering genuine flexibility as your interests develop.

UEA is one of the leading centres in Europe for environmental research, and the degree benefits from that expertise throughout. The typical entry tariff is 72 UCAS points.

Graduates of environmental science programmes find careers in environmental consulting, government agencies, water and energy utilities, nature conservation, climate policy, sustainability management, research, and science communication. The breadth of the discipline means graduates are employable across an unusually wide range of contexts, and demand for environmental expertise is growing rapidly as organisations and governments work to address the climate and biodiversity crises. Many graduates also pursue postgraduate research, contributing directly to the scientific understanding that informs policy and practice.

Teaching and science education are also well-trodden paths for those who want to share their environmental knowledge more widely.