natural sciences change to environmental sciences

Hi guys !

So im currently studying a Natural Sciences degree with the OU and loving s104 ! Alongside this im also studying s141 which im not loving so much . I totally get maths is a language of its own and I really am giving it a go and trying to embrace it, especially the short course 'Understanding the Weather'.

The thing is I keep getting this feeling that I should be doing environmental sciences . Has anybody else switched over to this from natural sciences? Is it easy to switch ? Part of me feels im throwing in the towel too early with the maths and to stick with it , but the other part of me lovesss all things climate and earth related .
I've tried to look on the OU website but I cant see the content of the modules for Environmental Sciences to compare with Natural Sciences which is a bit annoying. Could I stick with the Natural Sciences degree but tailor it to an environmental route that has the same/similar modules OR will I be missing out by not doing a fully environmental sciences degree ?

Sorry for the hundreds of questions ive been stewing on this for a bit , and I will of course ring student support for answers , but I would love some real opinions . Thanks so much !

Reply 1

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

Click here to see the modules you take in the Environmental Sciences degree. Click here to see the modules you take as part of a Natural Sciences degree, scroll down to see the specialised Environmental Science route. You should be able to click the modules to see a full description, if that doesn't work then look for them on the module list.

Yes, you should be able to switch easily. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the BSc Natural Sciences (Environmental Sciences) and BSc Environmental Sciences degrees is the level 1 maths module.

(edited 8 years ago)

Open University

Milton Keynes

Reply 2

splunket

It's not helpfully laid out, but if you can make sense of the links that Snufkin has provided, then there are differences in the available module options at levels 2 and 3.

The common modules for both degrees that I assume you would take are S206 Environmental Science (60 credits), S396 Ecosystems (30 credits) and SXE390 Environmental Science Practical Project (30 credits). All of these follow on nicely from each other, and feature equations to explain how the environment works, as well as the statistical tests used to make sense of environmental data, which are introduced in S206, examined further in S396 and you would use them for your own data in SXE390.

If you are wanting to avoid the higher level maths then Environmental Science looks like the way to go, unless you did a Natural Sciences pathway focusing on Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences and a bit of Biology or Health Sciences. The Physics, Astronomy and Chemistry modules are where all the trickier maths comes into play. Having said that, there isn't any calculus even at level 3, unless you do the quantum physics or relativity modules.

If Earth Sciences and Environmental Sciences are what float your boat, then you would want to be finishing your degree with either SXE390 or SXG390. SXG390 is more of a literature review of many academic papers around a chosen geoscience topic, so it is not advisable unless you take S209 and probably another geoscience module at level 3. SXE390 would possibly be better even though you have to do some maths (statistics) on your results - it all gets taught in S206. Also, if you did an Environmental Sciences degree you would get to take U316 The Environmental Web for a whole 60 credits at level 3 which has almost no maths in and is more about teaching how ecosystems/environment are linked to culture and society and industry and all that.

If you stick with the maths, you will be surprised how much you get out of it. I was terrified of the maths involved in a sciencey degree before I started with the OU, but I wish I'd taken more quantitative modules now that I'm nearly finished!

I hope all the above isn't too confusing, feel free to ask more specific questions