Environmental Science

Environmental science addresses the physical, chemical, and biological systems that make up the natural environment and the ways in which human activity is transforming them. It draws on ecology, chemistry, geology, hydrology, and atmospheric science alongside the social and policy dimensions of environmental management, making it one of the most genuinely multidisciplinary subjects available. The urgency of climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion gives the discipline immediate relevance, and well-trained environmental scientists are sought after across every sector that needs to understand, monitor, or address environmental impacts.

At the University of Nottingham, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year that provides a structured and supported entry before the main degree, and a sandwich year and work placement that give you extensive professional experience within the programme itself. A year abroad is also included, placing you in a different scientific and cultural environment and broadening your perspective on how environmental challenges are approached internationally. You will study atmospheric science, ecology, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and environmental management, developing both the quantitative skills to work with environmental data and the field skills to collect it.

Research methods training equips you to design studies, evaluate evidence, and contribute to scientific knowledge in an area of growing global urgency.

Graduates from accredited environmental science programmes work in environmental consultancy, government agencies, water and energy companies, conservation bodies, international development organisations, and research institutions. Further study at postgraduate level in environmental science, ecology, climate science, or environmental policy is available for those who wish to pursue specialist or research careers.