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Course overview

The World is facing a number of global crises – biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, climate change and threats to food and energy supplies. 

The FdSc Countryside Management provides the skills and knowledge necessary for graduates to work in the countryside sector. There is a focus on practical skills relevant to land management, wildlife conservation, and habitat management. The course also provides skills in visitor management on land with multiple uses such as in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and on a smaller scale at countryside sites such as Country Parks and nature reserves. A key feature of the programme is the emphasis on applied and practical applications and opportunities which take advantage of the University’s close links to the countryside management industry. In addition, practical learning is facilitated through the estate, university farm and the proximity to a wide range of natural resources in the surrounding countryside. The programme will suit applicants who have a passion for practical working in an outdoor environment and who wish to work with a diversity of countryside stakeholders including conservation bodies, farmers and landowners, and recreational visitors.  

Expertise in areas including climate change adaptation and mitigation, water management, sustainable energy, land use and food security are integrated in this programme to train a new generation of professionals. A key focus will be practical approaches to the productive management of land whilst balancing the needs of society for a healthy environment. This will include thriving biodiversity, clean water and air, and safety from natural hazards (such as floods and extreme weather) wrought by climate change, agricultural intensification and the demands of a growing UK and global population.  Graduates will develop the skills to address sustainable development issues. This course will provide a combination of underpinning theory and practical application to demonstrate key concepts and allow students to develop their own specialist areas of interest.  This programme is interdisciplinary in nature and students can expect to gain a wide variety of insights into land and countryside management. Students will also gain transferable skills for use in employment or continuation of their studies to a top-up year and graduation of BSc (Hons) Environmental Management and Sustainability. 

The first and final years of the Foundation degree programme both include fieldwork and a residential field course (the latter being in Europe). There is also a wide range of field trips to local sites to contextualise material introduced in lectures and seminars. The programme has a strong applied focus using standard industry techniques underpinned by science.  

Industry best practice has been driven by technological advances in remote sensing, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and GIS. The application of these technologies is embedded in the course to promote sustainable management of the countryside. 

The Foundation degree has a strong emphasis on professional development and employability. In their second year, all students undertake a work placement in the sector for a minimum of 44 weeks. Students will have a wide range of exciting opportunities available to them. During the placement year students will have the support of the placement manager and a dedicated tutor. After successfully completing the placement students return to the university to rejoin their cohort on the final year of the degree. On completion of the FdSc course, students will have the option of taking a top-up year to complete the BSc (Hons) Environmental Management and Sustainability. Alternatively, there is also the option of transferring to either BSc (Hons) Environmental Management and Sustainability or BSc (Hons) Wildlife Conservation and Ecology at the end of level 4, subject to transfer requirements being met. Students will then join level 5 of the BSc (Hons) course in year 3. 

The university is situated in a rural location with easy access to the countryside of Cheshire and Shropshire, including the Meres and Mosses and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The university also has its own estate of 400ha including a range of agricultural and semi-natural habitats. The estate and local sites are used in the course for site visits and practical exercises.  

This is an established course with a long pedigree, taught by staff with a wide range of academic and professional expertise. The FdSc Countryside Management is pending accreditation by the Institute of Environmental Management reflecting its inclusion of the knowledge and skills that are critical to protecting our environment now and in the future. Accreditation ensures that the curriculum is aligned to best practice in the sector.   

Graduates will find employment across a range of sectors, including as Countryside Rangers and Officers with bodies such as the National Trust. Graduates may also ‘top up’ their Foundation degree to BSc (Hons) Environmental Management and Sustainability. 

Accreditation

This programme is pending accreditation by the Institute of Environmental Management (IEMA). IEMA is one of the leading institutes committed to increasing the embedding of sustainability in all environmental activities as well as providing analysis and commentary on the changing land management landscape.