The continued and growing threats to biodiversity such as climate change, habitat loss, invasive species and pollution are creating a high demand for conservation work. Our biodiversity and conservation related courses place an emphasis on practical application rather than formal lectures, giving you the skills, knowledge and hands-on experience for a career in this sector.
You will be taught by leading academics alongside local staff, which means you will receive expert supervision and have access to advanced research facilities. In fact, 92% of our School’s research is rated as either world-leading (4-star) or internationally excellent (3-star), and we are ranked 13th in the UK for research impact by the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
We offer a huge range of inspiring research projects on contemporary issues, making use of our close links with industry partners including the Environment Agency; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; the Natural History Museum and the Institute of Zoology.
We currently offer four field courses. On the MSc programme in Biodiversity and Conservation, students choose between three options. The first of these focuses on marine biology and takes place on the island archipelago of Cabo Verde, off the West African coast. Here, working alongside Queen Mary staff and local communities, you will gain hands-on training in the study and long-term monitoring of marine vertebrates, including a globally important population of loggerhead turtles. Students will also look at the sea-birds, sharks and cetaceans, which are often seen during field excursions.
The other two field-courses on this programme are both run in the rainforests of Borneo, and will provide you with an immersive experience of tropical biodiversity. Of these, the first focuses on conservation and habitat restoration and is run by Kew staff, and the second focuses on animal ecology and conservation, and is run by Queen Mary staff.
Students on the MSc programme in Plant and Fungal Taxonomy, Diversity and Conservation will travel to a biodiversity hotspot in Madagascar. Here you will be exposed to a wealth of plant and fungal groups. This will provide an introduction to practical field work, including botanical surveys and flowering plant identification and how they can be applied to solving practical problems of conservation management as well as biodiversity research. This module is taught by botanists from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre (KMCC) in Antananarivo.
We reserve the right to cancel field courses and/or change locations in the case of unforeseen circumstances, including political instability and/or lack of student demand, and to refuse participation to individuals who are deemed unfit to travel. Under such circumstances, suitable alternative arrangements will be made.