The Student Room Group

Pathways to Wildlife Conservation as a Uni dropout?

Hi, so to put it simply I went to Leeds Arts Uni but decided the art pathway may not be for me and withdrew after a year. I want to go down the Wildlife Conservation pathway however I’m completely unsure where to begin. My A-levels were all art related courses, so I do not meet the requirements for Conservation university courses. Do I go back and retake relevant A-levels such as biology or even subject specific courses such as T-levels in Conservation and Animal Management? I’m 21 in February of 2025, I know there are some colleges that accept mature students but I’m worried I’d be the only one. Any advice would be much appreciated, what should I do?
Original post by Elijah.pw
Hi, so to put it simply I went to Leeds Arts Uni but decided the art pathway may not be for me and withdrew after a year. I want to go down the Wildlife Conservation pathway however I’m completely unsure where to begin. My A-levels were all art related courses, so I do not meet the requirements for Conservation university courses. Do I go back and retake relevant A-levels such as biology or even subject specific courses such as T-levels in Conservation and Animal Management? I’m 21 in February of 2025, I know there are some colleges that accept mature students but I’m worried I’d be the only one. Any advice would be much appreciated, what should I do?

Typically, I would recommend people to do Access in Science (with at least 15 credits in biology and 15 in chemistry) where possible. Most of the people in these courses are in their mid-20s and early 30s (some are parents). You will get some people who are in their 40s and 50s, but they are in the minority.

Note: You can sometimes get away with no having done A Levels in biology or chemistry, but it's rare e.g.
https://www.harper-adams.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/201001/wildlife-conservation-and-ecology#entry-requirements
https://www.bishopburton.ac.uk/university-centre/study/view-all-courses/bsc-hons-animal-behaviour-and-wildlife-conservation-2
https://www.sruc.ac.uk/course-catalogue/wildlife-and-conservation-management/bsc-hons-wildlife-and-conservation-management/

Do also note: you don't need a degree in conservation to work in conservation. See for example:
https://www.greencareershub.com/find-your-green-role/job-profiles/environmental-conservation-officer/
https://www.environmentjob.co.uk/blog/how-do-i-become-a-conservation-officer/
https://greenjobsfornature.org/job-profiles/emma-douglas/

If you do a degree, the recommended subjects are in the following link:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/nature-conservation-officer#qualifications
Original post by Elijah.pw
Hi, so to put it simply I went to Leeds Arts Uni but decided the art pathway may not be for me and withdrew after a year. I want to go down the Wildlife Conservation pathway however I’m completely unsure where to begin. My A-levels were all art related courses, so I do not meet the requirements for Conservation university courses. Do I go back and retake relevant A-levels such as biology or even subject specific courses such as T-levels in Conservation and Animal Management? I’m 21 in February of 2025, I know there are some colleges that accept mature students but I’m worried I’d be the only one. Any advice would be much appreciated, what should I do?

To be competitive for employment you should begin with volunteering. This is a sector that has a very strong volunteering basis, it is not well paid and it is 'passion' based. If you don't have a volunteering background, a qualification alone will not make you competitive against those that can demonstrate greater practical skills and experience than a course alone shows.

Having said that, there are plenty of courses - depending on where you are in the country and if you want to move. Look at Writtle, Hartpury etc and the Biaza website as a start.

Going the route of resitting A levels or taking a Foundation year may not be wise unless you have practical experience to go with it.
Reply 3
Original post by MindMax2000
Typically, I would recommend people to do Access in Science (with at least 15 credits in biology and 15 in chemistry) where possible. Most of the people in these courses are in their mid-20s and early 30s (some are parents). You will get some people who are in their 40s and 50s, but they are in the minority.
Note: You can sometimes get away with no having done A Levels in biology or chemistry, but it's rare e.g.
https://www.harper-adams.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/201001/wildlife-conservation-and-ecology#entry-requirements
https://www.bishopburton.ac.uk/university-centre/study/view-all-courses/bsc-hons-animal-behaviour-and-wildlife-conservation-2
https://www.sruc.ac.uk/course-catalogue/wildlife-and-conservation-management/bsc-hons-wildlife-and-conservation-management/
Do also note: you don't need a degree in conservation to work in conservation. See for example:
https://www.greencareershub.com/find-your-green-role/job-profiles/environmental-conservation-officer/
https://www.environmentjob.co.uk/blog/how-do-i-become-a-conservation-officer/
https://greenjobsfornature.org/job-profiles/emma-douglas/
If you do a degree, the recommended subjects are in the following link:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/nature-conservation-officer#qualifications

Thank you for your reply! Is Access in Science a course?
Reply 4
Original post by threeportdrift
To be competitive for employment you should begin with volunteering. This is a sector that has a very strong volunteering basis, it is not well paid and it is 'passion' based. If you don't have a volunteering background, a qualification alone will not make you competitive against those that can demonstrate greater practical skills and experience than a course alone shows.
Having said that, there are plenty of courses - depending on where you are in the country and if you want to move. Look at Writtle, Hartpury etc and the Biaza website as a start.
Going the route of resitting A levels or taking a Foundation year may not be wise unless you have practical experience to go with it.

Thank you!! Is volunteering something I could do alongside my part time job? And would you recommend I start volunteering and then go onto attaining a qualification? Such as an A-level in biology, to then have both practical experience and educational. I’m concerned that I will lack one or the other, either practical experience and no educational, or like you mentioned, educational but no practical.
Reply 5
Original post by MindMax2000
Typically, I would recommend people to do Access in Science (with at least 15 credits in biology and 15 in chemistry) where possible. Most of the people in these courses are in their mid-20s and early 30s (some are parents). You will get some people who are in their 40s and 50s, but they are in the minority.
Note: You can sometimes get away with no having done A Levels in biology or chemistry, but it's rare e.g.
https://www.harper-adams.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/201001/wildlife-conservation-and-ecology#entry-requirements
https://www.bishopburton.ac.uk/university-centre/study/view-all-courses/bsc-hons-animal-behaviour-and-wildlife-conservation-2
https://www.sruc.ac.uk/course-catalogue/wildlife-and-conservation-management/bsc-hons-wildlife-and-conservation-management/
Do also note: you don't need a degree in conservation to work in conservation. See for example:
https://www.greencareershub.com/find-your-green-role/job-profiles/environmental-conservation-officer/
https://www.environmentjob.co.uk/blog/how-do-i-become-a-conservation-officer/
https://greenjobsfornature.org/job-profiles/emma-douglas/
If you do a degree, the recommended subjects are in the following link:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/nature-conservation-officer#qualifications

Thank you for your reply! Is Access in Science the name of the course? If so, what level is the course?
Original post by Elijah.pw
Thank you for your reply! Is Access in Science a course?

Yes, it's the equivalent of A Levels (although most would say it's not an exact substitute for A Levels), so you would be able to do the degrees in conservation with it. It's an NVQ Level 3. See the following for example:
https://www.solihull.ac.uk/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-science/

The courses are usually widespread so you can easily find an adult or vocational college that does it local to you (see: https://www.accesstohe.ac.uk/course-search).
The key thing is that you need to make sure it has at least 15 credits in biology (and at least 15 in chemistry ideally) for most of the degrees you intend to do.

Do note: unfortunately not all unis accept Access (as per above), so you should check the entry requirements of the individual degrees prior to applying.

Note 2: As you have done A Levels before, you're likely going to need to fund the Access course yourself (or wait until 2025 for the ELQ policy to expire) or get an Advanced Learner's Loan (if you intend to apply to an offline college that's recognised in Ofqual register, see: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-regulated-qualification). There are online Access courses available, but they might be more difficult to learn from and the degrees of your choice tend to be focus on biology so you would want something offline for the practical experiments).
An online Access course can cost £1000 or thereabouts. An offline one £3000.
Original post by Elijah.pw
Thank you!! Is volunteering something I could do alongside my part time job? And would you recommend I start volunteering and then go onto attaining a qualification? Such as an A-level in biology, to then have both practical experience and educational. I’m concerned that I will lack one or the other, either practical experience and no educational, or like you mentioned, educational but no practical.

Yes of course. Most volunteer programmes are pretty flexible about when people volunteer. Look up the Do-it website for opportunities.

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