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Environmental Science Question at Uni

Hello! So I am currently in year 10 preparing for my GCSE's, and I was taken to an open day at my local university a short while back as part of a school trip to start thinking about what you might want to do (if you go to Uni and therefore start thinking about what A-Levels to choose). Originially, I wasn't too keen on science, having picked only double, not triple, science for GCSE's. However, my friend dragged me to an Environmental Science subject talk and though I initially wrote it off it was actually really interesting. I really enjoy Maths, Geography, Geology, and the like, and I have also found Biology interesting. However I'm not too keen on Chemistry. Having listened to the talk there is a lot of continuous fieldwork involved in the course but I do not want to take Chemistry as an A-Level or Physics either. I was wondering if Biology was alone was enough for an Environmental Science course when I'm not too keen on the other Sciences? (For example I am aware that to go into medicine you'd need a Chemistry A-Level). Also, if I decide to go down a Science route, would i be at a disadvantage for having done combined science as opposed to seperate at GCSE level? Any other general, relevant info on this course would also be greatly appreciated as it is still early on, and I am still exploring my options - the more info I can get the better! . Many thanks, Bex :smile:
(edited 6 years ago)

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Original post by Bex03
Hello! So I am currently in year 10 preparing for my GCSE's, and I was taken to an open day at my local university a short while back as part of a school trip to start thinking about what you might want to do (if you go to Uni and therefore start thinking about what A-Levels to choose). Originially, I wasn't too keen on science, having picked only double, not triple, science for GCSE's. However, my friend dragged me to an Environmental Science Science subject talk and though I initially wrote it off it was actually really interesting. I really enjoy Maths, Geography, Geology, and the like, and I have also found Biology interesting. However I'm not too keen on Chemistry. Having listened to the talk there is a lot of continuous fieldwork involved in the course but I do not want to take Chemistry as an A-Level or Physics either. I was wondering if Biology was alone was enough for an Environmental Science course when I'm not too keen on the other Sciences? (For example I am aware that to go into medicine you'd need a Chemistry A-Level). Any other general, relevant info on this course would also be greatly appreciated as it is still early on, and I am still exploring my options - the more info I can get the better! . Many thanks, Bex :smile:


Hey, I am currently studying Biology in university and I 'think' you will be okay as we had a lot of Environmental students in the first year. You can also check the entry requirements in ucas. It tells which subjects you exactly need for the university you wish to apply to.
I'm glad you are starting to look now, I had no idea what I wanted to do until the second year of college. Look at the entry requirements and do the courses that suit it.
Original post by GreenBell
Hey, I am currently studying Biology in university and I 'think' you will be okay as we had a lot of Environmental students in the first year. You can also check the entry requirements in ucas. It tells which subjects you exactly need for the university you wish to apply to.
I'm glad you are starting to look now, I had no idea what I wanted to do until the second year of college. Look at the entry requirements and do the courses that suit it.


Ah right okay, thank you for your helpful advice. All the best with your studies
Original post by Bex03
Ah right okay, thank you for your helpful advice. All the best with your studies


Thanks, all the best to you too.
Original post by Bex03
Hello! So I am currently in year 10 preparing for my GCSE's, and I was taken to an open day at my local university a short while back as part of a school trip to start thinking about what you might want to do (if you go to Uni and therefore start thinking about what A-Levels to choose). Originially, I wasn't too keen on science, having picked only double, not triple, science for GCSE's. However, my friend dragged me to an Environmental Science subject talk and though I initially wrote it off it was actually really interesting. I really enjoy Maths, Geography, Geology, and the like, and I have also found Biology interesting. However I'm not too keen on Chemistry. Having listened to the talk there is a lot of continuous fieldwork involved in the course but I do not want to take Chemistry as an A-Level or Physics either. I was wondering if Biology was alone was enough for an Environmental Science course when I'm not too keen on the other Sciences? (For example I am aware that to go into medicine you'd need a Chemistry A-Level). Also, if I decide to go down a Science route, would i be at a disadvantage for having done combined science as opposed to seperate at GCSE level? Any other general, relevant info on this course would also be greatly appreciated as it is still early on, and I am still exploring my options - the more info I can get the better! . Many thanks, Bex :smile:


Hi Bex,

Having had a look at the entry requirements for several Environmental Science degrees at various universities, most require 2 science subjects, however these often include Geography, Geology and Environmental Science as science subjects, in addition to the 'core' Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths. Therefore, if you were to take for example Biology and Geography as two of your A Level subjects, then you'd be able to apply for the majority Environmental Science degrees.

Also, I think that generally the most important requirements in terms of GCSEs tends to be a pass in Maths and English Language.

I hope that helps :h:
Original post by Bex03
I really enjoy Maths, Geography, Geology, and the like, and I have also found Biology interesting. However I'm not too keen on Chemistry.

I genuinely could have wrote that exact thing myself. You'll be fine without chemistry or physics. Biology would have helped, but I was fine even without that, it just meant I had to read more. There are people on my course who didn't do geography. There are others who did environmental science as an A level (I had no idea that existed).

If you do your A levels in what you said you enjoy, it'll be fine, based on my own experience doing the same.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Leviathan1741
Hi Bex,

Having had a look at the entry requirements for several Environmental Science degrees at various universities, most require 2 science subjects, however these often include Geography, Geology and Environmental Science as science subjects, in addition to the 'core' Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths. Therefore, if you were to take for example Biology and Geography as two of your A Level subjects, then you'd be able to apply for the majority Environmental Science degrees.

Also, I think that generally the most important requirements in terms of GCSEs tends to be a pass in Maths and English Language.

I hope that helps :h:


Hello, that's great to hear. I've been doing my own research since I posted this and it matches what you've said - I'm glad I can take A-Levels I like in order to follow this career path and not have to be rail-roaded into specific ones which I might later regret taking. Thank you so much for the help : )
Original post by Bex03
Hello, that's great to hear. I've been doing my own research since I posted this and it matches what you've said - I'm glad I can take A-Levels I like in order to follow this career path and not have to be rail-roaded into specific ones which I might later regret taking. Thank you so much for the help : )


No problem, best of luck! :h:
Original post by Thowaway6431795
I genuinely could have wrote that exact thing myself. You'll be fine without chemistry or physics. Biology would have helped, but I was fine even without that, it just meant I had to read more. There are people on my course who didn't do geography. There are others who did environmental science as an A level (I had no idea that existed).

If you do your A levels in what you said you enjoy, it'll be fine, based on my own experience doing the same.


Wow, wasn't aware there was an environmental science A-Level either! Thanks for sharing your experience; if you don't mind me asking, which course is it you are studying?

Bex
Original post by Bex03
Wow, wasn't aware there was an environmental science A-Level either! Thanks for sharing your experience; if you don't mind me asking, which course is it you are studying?

Bex


Environmental science.
Original post by Thowaway6431795
Environmental science.


Ah yep I thought so, just thought there was no harm in checking. I've heard there is a lot of fieldwork and lab work involved in the course, is that right? I know the course is based on science, but how much science does it actually involve? Because I was told it is not just science but other factors such as management and sustainability are involved and other subjects like maths or geography come into it too and frankly I've been left a little baffled about what this course actually contains. Haha sorry don't mean to pick your brain, it's just good to be able to talk to someone actually experiencing it. :smile:
Original post by Bex03
Haha sorry don't mean to pick your brain, it's just good to be able to talk to someone actually experiencing it. :smile:

Don't worry about it, I'm happy to talk about it otherwise I wouldn't have responded.

There's quite a bit of fieldwork and lab work, yep.

It's something that's hard to explain. It's true, management, sustainability, maths, and geography all come up, but the whole thing is a science. There's science behind management and sustainability, maths (specifically statistics - though I don't think you'd have come across that) is used to get results for the fieldwork etc., geography goes deeper involves... IT? (I really don't know how to explain GIS). It's science, but not what's familiar to you in school. I'm not sure if it's clearer to explain it in terms of subjects you're already familiar with or to tell you what I've studied just how it is.
I got all 5 offers for Environmental Science with biology, geography and English language :smile:
Original post by Amefish
I got all 5 offers for Environmental Science with biology, geography and English language :smile:


Hi,
I'm glad to hear that as those are subjects I'm likely to take myself too. Thanks for your reply.
Bex
Original post by Thowaway6431795
Don't worry about it, I'm happy to talk about it otherwise I wouldn't have responded.

There's quite a bit of fieldwork and lab work, yep.

It's something that's hard to explain. It's true, management, sustainability, maths, and geography all come up, but the whole thing is a science. There's science behind management and sustainability, maths (specifically statistics - though I don't think you'd have come across that) is used to get results for the fieldwork etc., geography goes deeper involves... IT? (I really don't know how to explain GIS). It's science, but not what's familiar to you in school. I'm not sure if it's clearer to explain it in terms of subjects you're already familiar with or to tell you what I've studied just how it is.


Thanks for that, that's actually really useful. I have come across quite a lot of that as in my school they have individual sessions where they explain to you a lot about each subject and possible degrees you could do within the areas you enjoy. So thanks for telling me that, as it makes a lot more sense to me now. I might carry on researching Environmental Science as it really sounds like something I'd like following up in the future. Up until recently I did not have a clue about what I might like doing but I think this is definitely something worth looking into.
Bex
@Bex03 I think to find out the course content you really need to look around. I've been to 6 or 7 open days and found that the Environmental Science courses vary drastically from each other. For example, Newcastle University has a strong focus on agriculture, whereas Northumbria university has a strong focus on cold environments such as the Arctic, and the University of Hull has a strong focus on marine biology, just due to the specialisms of the lecturers.

The course I chose is Environmental Science BSc at the University of Manchester - it involves strong foundations in chemistry, biology, geology and physics and there's a lot of room to choose your own routes and specialisms. The same can't be said for some universities, so that's important as well. If you have a special interest in biology for example, you will need to choose a university that caters for that interest so you can get the most out of your course :smile:

EDIT: Environmental Science is also a great course in that most universities that offer it will offer a year abroad, industrial placement or even a year abroad in an industrial placement! It's really worth looking at the field trips too, if you want to go out into the world make sure you uni caters for this too! I found the Newcastle University is quite limited in terms of field trips - most of them are just based in the fields and rivers in the vicinity of the uni :redface: but the University of Birmingham for example, has an optional year abroad in New Zealand :smile:
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Amefish
quite limited in terms of field trips - most of them are just based in the fields and rivers in the vicinity of the uni :redface:

Don't discount those because they don't sound exciting on paper. Doing fieldwork near university has been surprisingly fun - I'd genuinely say they've been some of my favourite experiences.
Original post by Bex03
I might carry on researching Environmental Science as it really sounds like something I'd like following up in the future.

If you have any more questions after researching it, feel free to PM me.
Original post by Thowaway6431795
Don't discount those because they don't sound exciting on paper. Doing fieldwork near university has been surprisingly fun - I'd genuinely say they've been some of my favourite experiences.


Doing fieldwork near university can be fun, but it's not what everybody is looking for
Original post by Amefish
Doing fieldwork near university can be fun, but it's not what everybody is looking for

I know fieldtrips are a different experience to nearby fieldwork, and so I'm glad I get to experience them at my university. However, for me, there's nearby stuff as well - it's not an either-or thing. I don't know what the case is for where you're applying - is there no local stuff, with fieldwork being rarer? Or is there going to be nearby stuff too? If so, isn't it something you'll be looking at?

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