Environmental Sciences worth learning?

So I am an EU student and I really want to study in the UK.
My problem is that I really don't have a good idea of what I want to study. I will take my State exams in :frown:

predicting)
English(5)
Estonian
Math (4 or 5 if I study real hard)
Biology(5)
Geography(5)

I am not sure how well I can manage with Math cause I used to be excellent at it but my new teacher is the worst ever and in my country the exams are pretty horrible and parts of Maths exam will require knowledge in Physics which I really lack of.

I thought about law in the beginning but the Law Test I tried in the internet went quite bad. Also I am not entirely sure I'll get 5's in 3 subjects. And I'm afraid it could be just too much studying and not right for me.

Engineering- No cause Physics is bad and Math and I feel that if I really don't enjoy the subjects it will be a struggle.

As I quite enjoy Biology and Geography but am not good in Physics I thought that ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES look pretty good. But then when I look at the A-levels required - it's usually BBB-BBC. AAA if you want with a year in Australasia. If I manage to get like AAB it seems to be a waste to go for a subject with BBB-BBC

So it got me thinking that if it has such low grades - is it really a good thing to study? I mean I quite like environmental problems and climate change and stuff... Does it have low grades cause most of ppl good in science will choose some kind of engineering or physics or stuff and no-one wants Environmental Sciences?

Also the problem is that I have looked at the course structure but I don't really know what I'll be studying exactly and where will my subject lead... :s-smilie:

I am afraid that maybe I'll have to stay in some lab or monitor some pointless lizards in the middle of nowhere for the rest of my life.

The things I'm most interested I think are climate change or how some pollution is affecting environment, extinction of species or smth. The thing is that I don't have any environmental sciences in my country and I don't really know if I'm going to learn things like that....or would any other degree be more suitable. I picked that one cause it seemed to cover everything as I'm afraid I might get bored or not be interested in only studying Biology or smth.

I have also noticed that top Uni's don't have the course at all I wonder why is that. :eek:

.

So the best uni's that have the course are:
Manchester
Reading
Birmingham
Southampton
Nottingham
Sheffield
Newcastle
Leeds
East Anglia

Which 6 should I choose if I do decide to go for it ???

I know my post is soooo long but could you give me any advice if it is good to study it or recommend some other courses that suite my exams.

APPRECIATE YOUR HELP!!!!!!!

Reply 1

trm90

East Anglia, without a doubt, has the best Environmental Sciences courses in the country.

Click here for a list of modules that you can take for your degree - the list is almost endless and caters to any type of student.

About Environmental Science itself: You are not 'wasting' your time applying for a BBB-BBC course :smile:

It just means it's under subscribed because so few people out there actually like it and it gets a terrible rep at High School level. The actual degree takes you into many fields - it is probably one of the broadest sciences out there. You'll learn about geology, ecology, earth system science, climatology, and environmental geography.

Yes, it's all very broad - but similarly, your environmental science research projects can be catered to whatever: conservation... ecosystem populations and dynamics... pollution in area X and its effect on river Y... landslides in area X and its effect on species Y... etc. That's where your Env Sci degree will lead you.

Now, provided you get a BSc - you can continue with an MSc in Conservation, Hydrology, Climatology, Ecosystems, (Environmental) Geology... the list goes on. Alternatively, if you head to Soton or Sheffield, you can do an undergraduate masters - an MSci - where you can just continue with whatever there.

Career wise well... it's up to YOU what sort of environment (no pun intended) you'd prefer to work in. Yes, you might want to stick yourself in a lab analysing soil samples. You might want to chase tigers around a savanna trying to understand how the introduction of a new animal is scaring them off or something. You might even go to a river every morning to understand its variations in velocity and see if the resident wildlife's going to be affected by it downstream/upstream.

Ugh sorry for the wall of text :s-smilie:

Back to my main points: no, don't worry about 'overachieving', yes, there are decent job prospects, and finally, just go over the course content if you're still unsure of what it entails. Best of luck :smile:

Reply 2

Prince Rhyus

Environmental sciences are going to become more important across the EU as regulations for planning and construction are tightened. If you want anything in the way of security as a career, this is one of the paths that will give this to you.

Reply 3

Alison267

I just wrote a post and accidently deleted it..ARGGHHH!

Anyway...
In september i'm going to do env.science at Nottingham.
I also vistied UEA (East Anglia) although the course was impressive, i found Nottingham much more suitable for me. I also applied to Leeds, but didn't visit as i went to Nottingham first and reeeaaally loved it.
I'd suggest you visit all the uni's which seem the best to you and then make your decision, don't base it upon league tables, only have it as your rough guide.
As for the grades which they ask for BBB they aren't 'low grades' but fair enough. I see if you get AAB then you may feel that it's wasted, although if you have a passion for it, does it really matter.
Don't worry about not doing it at A-level, when i went to the open days and spoke to others very few actually did environmental science at A-level, they mostly did biology/geography.
As with most uni courses there is a verrryy wide range of modules which you are able to pick so if things don't interest you then you don't have to do them and you can do others which are.
There are many options as to what you can do with your degree, such as working within the environmental agency, or research, search on the internet and you'll get some idea.

Oh and you only pick 5 unis to apply to not 6 :smile:

If you've got anymore questions feel free to ask :biggrin:

Ok thanx for help :smile:

1. So UEA is the best? What would you suggest my best 5 choices would be?

Also any idea why the best Universities don't offer the course(Oxbridge, Durham, Bristol....) :s-smilie:

?

2. I am pretty sure I have already read about it, but don't remember anymore: If I for example want to go to UEA and it has courses with year in Australasia(AAA) and choice to take a course with Europe, America and Industry then if I apply for Australasia(AAA) and don't meet the conditions, will they automatically offer me a place with America which only needs (AAB) or some other lower one??

3.One other thing - if I come from the EU I know I am eligible for a loan to cover my course fee and have to start repaying once I start working afterwards, but can I take a student loan to cover my accommodation/living cost and when and how will I start repaying that?

4. Lol another thing :biggrin:

For how long can I stay and work in England after I finish my course(any diff between BSc/Masters) and how easy it is to start living in England permanently? Also are English much more preferred than foreigners in terms of getting a degree lvl job?

Reply 7

Ekpyrotic

ornella,

Some universities offer similar (not identical) courses which are named differently. It is worth researching these courses as well; for example, St. Andrews offers Environmental Geoscience and LSE offers Environmental Policy.

St Andrews' course: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/gg/courses/ug/envgeosci.shtml

Reply 8

Emma-Jane

Hey, I am going into my second year of environmental science at the university of Nottingham and would definitely recommend both the course and the uni.

I think Nottingham is the second (?) for environmental science, after UEA. But I went to visit and was blown away by the facilities and the campus - in my opinion there was no competition. I can't remember there being much difference in course structure either - but that may have changed.

Don't be put off by the low(er) grades needed by some unis - i was offered BBB and got ABB. It really is a great course, and so relevant now and for the near future. It will be the environmental scientists at the top of the pay range in the future, or so i'm told!!

You definitely do not need to have done environmental science before hand, in fact they prefer you not to have done, in my experience. Preferring sciences, maths or geography so you have a wider base of knowledge.

The wonderful thing about the course, is there' so much choice and you can take it in so many directions. You can choose whether and what to specialise in, and tailor the degree to what kind of career you want in later life. You could end up doing so many different things with the degree i think there would be something for everyone.

Alison267

In september i'm going to do env.science at Nottingham.

If you have any questions about anything, feel free to PM me. Or if anyone else has any questions about the course or Nottingham uni, feel free to get in touch and i will do my best to help out!