Our Environmental Social Sciences degree emphasises understanding of the cause and consequences of environmental change by looking at consumer and economic behaviour, land management, technological innovation, political influence and the management and planning of critical and scarce resources. You develop an understanding of what led to the ecological and social crises of the 21st century and gain the practical skills needed to bring about change.
You are encouraged to engage with a variety of environmental understandings from a range of subjects, including: anthropology, politics, economics, philosophy, law, history, literature and the creative arts. You can also develop practical skills (for example, biodiversity monitoring) and can choose to do an independent research project on a subject largely of your choice.
This programme will be of particular interest if you have studied geography, environmental studies or biology.
During your first year, you gain a solid grounding in the wide range of environmental issues which threaten our world, while also developing field skills essential for work in this discipline. Modules may include People and Nature in the 21st Century, Biodiversity, Environmental Sustainability or Sustainable Land Use Systems. Optional modules allow you to expand on areas of particular interest, which may include Fundamentals of Sociology, The Green Planet, Microeconomics for Business or Social Anthropology.
In your second and third years, you take only two compulsory modules allowing you the flexibility to structure your degree around your personal interests and passions. In your final year, you undertake a research project, choosing your topic with your project supervisor. Students often undertake their field research abroad with some joining our annual expedition to our research vessel on the Peruvian Amazon.
You enjoy a wide and varied choice of optional modules enabling you to expand your perspective or develop a specialism. Modules may include The Anthropocene: Planetary Crisis and the Age of Humans, Conservation and Communities, Creative Conservation, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Human Ecology: An Introduction to Social-Ecological Systems, Human Wildlife Conflict and Resource Competition or Inviting Doomsday: US Environmental Problems in the Twentieth Century.
Environmental Social Sciences student Adele talks about her course at Kent.
The year in professional practice is a wonderful opportunity to spend up to a year, between the second and final years, undertaking work placements with organisations relevant to your degree programme. You spend a minimum of 24 weeks on placement at one or more organisations. Placements can be at home or abroad and give you the opportunity to apply your academic skills in a practical context, offering you rare and unique experiences which will set you apart. Previous placements have included: environmental consultancy for Afzelia Limited, Zambia; forest impact surveying a the Danau Girang Field Centre, Borneo; project co-ordination for the Uganda Conservation Foundation; project work for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Germany; wildlife crime mapping for the Freeland India Consultants Private Limited; and small animal and bear monitoring for the Administration of Rodna Mountains National Park, Romania.
Alternatively, you can take our three-year Environmental Social Sciences degree, without a work placement. For details, see Environmental Social Sciences BA (Hons).
A number of our modules include opportunities for learning and experiences outside of the classroom through field trips in the UK and abroad. Potential local excursions are:
Students on the Tropical Ecology and Conservation module spend two weeks at the Danau Girang Field Centre in Borneo. You'll explore the beautiful, picturesque rainforest before venturing deeper into the jungle to the field studies site. The Centre is located in an area where huge swathes of jungle have been removed and replaced by plantations. You work on the front line between managing the needs of the community and the impact on biodiversity.
These opportunities may change from year to year and may incur additional costs. See the funding tab for more information.
The School of Anthropology and Conservation has excellent teaching resources including dedicated computing facilities. Other resources include:
The Conservation Society and Anthropology Society are run by Kent students and are a good way to meet other students on your course in an informal way. Student societies also work with local organisations and charities providing lots of opportunities for volunteering, community work and outings.
The School of Anthropology and Conservation puts on many events that you are welcome to attend. We host two public lectures a year, the Stirling Lecture and the DICE Lecture, which bring current ideas in anthropology and conservation to a wider audience. We are delighted that these events attract leading conservation figures from around the world.
Each term, there are also seminars and workshops discussing current research in anthropology, conservation and human ecology.
This programme is taught by members from across the School, including the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) research centre. DICE is a leading international research and training centre dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems around the world.
DICE was founded in 1989 with a clear mission: to conserve biodiversity and the ecological processes that support ecosystems and people. It does so by developing capacity and improving conservation management and policy through high-impact research. That is why DICE is in a School that does research and teaching in anthropology alongside conservation.
One component of DICE’s work is to train a new, interdisciplinary generation of conservationists who think innovatively about the challenges that lie ahead. As undergraduates, you are part of a dynamic and growing community of conservationists whose work spans all major regions of the world.
Please also see our general entry requirements.
BBB
The University will not necessarily make conditional offers to all Access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis.
If we make you an offer, you will need to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above.
Distinction, Distinction, Merit
34 overall or 15 at HL
Pass all components of the University of Kent International Foundation Programme with a 60% overall average including 60% in LZ045 Life Sciences (1 & 2), 60% in LZ036 Academic Skills, and 50% in LZ013 Maths and Statistics (if you do not hold GCSE Maths at 4/C or equivalent).
International students should visit our International Student website for further specific information. International fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot study part-time due to visa restrictions.
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
If you need to improve your English language standard as a condition of your offer, you can attend one of our pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes before starting your degree programme. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.
Duration: 4 years full-time, 7 years part-time
The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
On most programmes, you study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also be able to take ‘elective’ modules from other programmes so you can customise your programme and explore other subjects that interest you.
If you want to stand out from other graduates in today’s highly competitive global job market, spending time in the workplace as part of your degree can be invaluable. Many students find that prospective employers are very interested in their professional practice experience.
Participation in the placement year is normally dependent on maintaining a clean disciplinary record during your registration on the degree programme up to the time of your placement. It is your responsibility to find a placement, but the School offers help and support. You must achieve a minimum of 60% across your compulsory and optional modules in Stage 1 to qualify for the Year in Professional Practice. Students who do not meet these conditions or are unable to find a placement will normally be advised to transfer to the standard three-year degree programme without the Year in Professional Practice.
The year in professional practice involves a minimum of 24 weeks spent on placement at one or more organisations whose work is relevant to your degree programme. This contributes to 10% of your final degree classification.
You are required to pay 15% of the normal annual tuition fee to Kent. Placements are primarily internships and vary significantly. Some employers will offer a salary, some offer subsistence whilst others offer no financial support.
During your placement, you work under the direction of a line manager within the host organisation, with additional support via a member of academic staff from the University. You work on one or more tasks agreed in advance; for example, a management plan, a policy report, consultation process, a piece of applied research, or development of a set of educational materials.
Assessment is via an appraisal by your designated line manager (10%) and a written report (80%) and presentation (10%) which are assessed by a member of academic staff.
The 2021/22 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Fees for Home undergraduates are £1,385.
Fees for Home undergraduates are £1,385.
Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
One day trips that are compulsory to a module are financially funded by the School. Optional or longer trips may require support funding from attendees.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Search scholarshipsKent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
You may be eligible for government finance to help pay for the costs of studying. See the Government's student finance website.
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence.
The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.
Our teaching is research-led as all our staff are active in their fields. In addition to lectures and seminars, we run laboratory-based practicals and field trips. You also have an opportunity to conduct a field-based research thesis in your final year. This gives you practical experience of developing a research proposal and research questions, finding appropriate methods, conducting research, analysing and interpreting results, writing up a full research project and giving an oral presentation, all with the support of a dedicated project supervisor.
The year in professional practice is assessed by means of a written report and a short presentation, together with an appraisal from your manager.
We offer you the opportunity to conduct your research project either in the UK or abroad. The type of approach may differ depending on the student’s preferred discipline. For most, it will mean using advanced methods to explore literature and other documents and, in some cases, there may also be opportunities for field research using the skills taught during the course. Some students use this opportunity to take part in our annual expedition to the Peruvian Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth.
Most modules are assessed by a combination of coursework and unseen exam. Some modules are assessed only by coursework, which takes a variety of forms, including essays, short answer tests, presentations, advocacy, individual and team projects, and research reports.
Assessment is by means of a manager appraisal (10%), a written report by the student (80%) and a presentation by the student (10%); the manager appraisal is carried out by the manager within the placement host organisation whereas the report and presentation are assessed by SAC academic staff.
For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
The programme aims to:
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
You gain the following intellectual abilities:
You gain specific skills in the following:
You gain transferable skills in the following:
Anthropology at Kent scored 90% overall and was ranked 13th in The Complete University Guide 2021.
Anthropology at Kent was ranked 5th for graduate prospects and 10th overall in The Guardian University Guide 2021.
Anthropology at Kent was ranked 13th in The Times Good University Guide 2021.
The conservation and environmental sector is an expanding area for employment opportunities. Potential employers include local, regional and national UK government departments, voluntary organisations and the private sector, as well as international conservation and environmental organisations. Many students also go on to pursue postgraduate studies.
Our recent graduates have found work in:
The School offers an employability programme aimed at helping you develop the skills you'll need to look for a job. This includes workshops, mentoring and an online blog featuring tips, advice from employers, job adverts, internship information and volunteering opportunities.
The University’s friendly Careers and Employability Service offers advice on how to:
As a conservation student, you develop expertise in understanding and managing wildlife and biodiversity in a sustainable way. You'll gain skills in gathering and collecting information, analysing data, exploring and communicating challenging ideas. Alongside such specialist skills, you also develop the transferable skills graduate employers look for, including the ability to:
You can also gain extra skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.
This course page is for the 2021/22 academic year. Please visit the current online prospectus for a list of undergraduate courses we offer.
Enquire online for full-time study
Enquire online for part-time study
T: +44 (0)1227 768896
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk
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