Environmental Studies

Environmental studies examines the relationship between human societies and the natural world, drawing on the natural sciences, social sciences, economics, and policy analysis to understand how environmental challenges arise and how they might be addressed. Unlike more narrowly defined science degrees, environmental studies is explicitly interdisciplinary, recognising that issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, water scarcity, and land degradation cannot be understood or resolved through the lens of any single academic discipline. It develops students who can think critically across conventional subject boundaries and engage meaningfully with both the scientific evidence and the political and social dimensions of environmental questions.

The Open University offers this programme part-time by distance learning, which means you set your own study schedule and engage with course materials online, fitting your learning around work and other commitments. The OU's approach to distance education is well established and well resourced, and studying environmental subjects in this way has the particular advantage that you can relate what you are learning directly to the environment around you, wherever you are based in Wales, Scotland, England, or beyond.

You will study ecological systems and the physical environment, explore the social, economic, and political dimensions of environmental problems, and develop the analytical skills to evaluate environmental policies and to think about sustainability in a rigorous and evidence-based way. The flexibility of the distance learning format means you can progress at a pace that suits your circumstances.

Graduates of environmental studies programmes move into careers in environmental consultancy, local and national government, NGOs and charities, sustainability roles within the private sector, education, and community development. The ability to think across disciplines and to engage with both scientific evidence and policy questions is increasingly valued as organisations across all sectors face pressure to address their environmental impact.