Wildlife Conservation

You'll learn about the lives of animals and plants, how they function together in ecosystems across the planet, and the threats they face in the modern world.

You'll learn about British wildlife in detail using the beautiful Newton Park campus as a natural laboratory, along with UK field trips. You'll also have the opportunity to contrast this with a different ecosystem on an international field trip.

You'll learn practical skills in identification and surveying, using both established techniques and new approaches, and explore how we can use an understanding of human society to create positive change for wildlife. There will also be opportunities to develop your creative side, including activities such as artistic workshops and an optional module in wildlife photography and filmmaking.

Year one

You'll study the fundamental concepts of biology, ecology, conservation and natural history. You'll learn key scientific, analytic, practical fieldwork and communication skills that you'll use throughout your degree and beyond.

Year two

Your second year introduces more applied content, and includes key research skills, animal behaviour, ecology, environmental management, and an independent project. You'll learn practical techniques, such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), both on campus and on a residential field course, and you will carry out small group projects. There will also be opportunities for multidisciplinary study including fields such as environmental philosophy, creative arts and geotechnologies.

Year three

In your third year, you'll learn how to put what you have learned into practice, with a focus on more specific skills needed for the workplace. The year will start with a residential field course which will bring together many of the things you have learned in the first two years. You'll conduct your own dissertation research project and explore how you can work with society to create change through a choice of optional modules. Opportunities for multidisciplinary study will continue, allowing you to take novel approaches to conservation tailored to your interests, for example marine biology and wildlife photography.

The assessments will include written coursework, practical and field work, production of digital materials, creation of artistic work, presentations and some traditional exams. Coursework will typically include practical files, laboratory/field reports, essays and technical reports, as well as reflective blogs, filmed pieces, and resource creation.

Many assessments will allow you to choose the precise focus and tailor your studies around your own particular interests.

Most modules, with the exception of some final year independent study units such as the dissertation, will have lead lectures which will introduce the key topics. These lectures will be supported by fieldwork, workshops, laboratory practical classes, seminars, and tutorials, both individual and group. You will also carry out group and individual supervised project work.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our information on Your Learning and Teaching at BSU.

As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.

Fieldwork will form a vital and integral part of your degree. You’ll have opportunities to participate in fieldwork across the three years of study. This will range from use of the natural environment on the campus to residential field trips in the UK and abroad. Residential field courses and optional field trips associated with particular modules may require a student financial contribution.

There is an optional work placement module in year two.

An optional Professional Placement Year (sandwich year) runs between the second and third year, allowing you to gain a year’s professional experience during your degree. Previously, our biology students have worked with organisations such as Bristol Zoo, Operation Wallacea, Natural England, Snowdonia National Park and local authorities.

Amorina Lee shared her experience of studying BSc (Hons) Wildlife Conservation with a Professional Placement Year.

A degree in wildlife conservation could lead to a range of professions including conservation advocacy, reserve management, wildlife education and environmental consultancy.

Students are eligible for a number of Bath Spa Awards and grants, in addition to prizes such as the best dissertation. There is also a possibility of applying for grants to help with funding international field trips.

If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.

You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.

The Professional Placement Year (PPY) provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for, and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.

By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.

Before your PPY, you'll work to identify roles of interest and secure a placement. The Placements Team will support through timetabled sessions and 1:1 appointments.

As well as completing a minimum of 900 placement hours, you will complete two assessments demonstrating your skill development, growth in professional behaviours and how the PPY has impacted your future career aspirations.

The course is based at Newton Park Campus with field locations in the UK and abroad. We will also make use of the university’s other campuses such as the newly refurbished Locksbook Campus, home of the School of Art, Film and Media and Bath School of Design.

You'll have access to our:

The campus acts as a natural laboratory, offering woodland, grassland and gardens as well as a lake.

There are recently refurbished teaching laboratories and project/research laboratories, with appropriate analytical equipment and physiological data collection systems. High-tech Instrumentation includes HPLC, mass spectrometry, PCR, DNA and protein electrophoresis, and GIS, all of which can be used for student projects.

Interdisciplinary work may take place in other specialist areas, such as publishing studios or arts workshops, within the University’s campuses.