BSc ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES WITH A FOUNDATION YEAR

How can we change our behaviour to reduce the effects of climate change? What controls the Earth’s natural systems? What might our landscape look like in the future? How do I write a good science report? Prepare to explore it all! By taking your Foundation Year with us, you’ll gain the knowledge, understanding and skills that will prepare you well for undergraduate-level study, all within a nurturing, supportive environment. You then progress to study your chosen degree in the School of Environmental Sciences, taught be lecturers who are world leading in environmental sciences subjects from climate change to oceans to volcanoes. 

Whether you’re a mature student looking for a new career, a student who is wishing to strengthen their qualifications and learning to qualify for entry onto a degree, our Foundation Year is a great route onto our BSc, BA or MSci courses. 

Our BSc Environmental Sciences with a Foundation Year is ranked in the top 20 for Earth and Marine Sciences by 'The Guardian University Guide 2023'.

About

In your Foundation Year, you may choose to study the physical, chemical, and biological surroundings, or opt for more social science-based modules. You’ll retain this flexibility to shape your degree to your interests in your degree studies too. In this foundation year, you’ll discover how natural systems of the environment are interlinked, and the effects of human influence on them as you learn and debate issues such as: 

• What happens in the wide range of natural systems that occur on Earth?  

• What are the greatest challenges for managing the effects of climate change? 

• What is the latest research into understanding the changes in our environment? 

In addition to exploring these big questions, you’ll gain essential academic skills that you’ll apply throughout your degree. Once you have successfully completed your foundation year, you are guaranteed to transfer to the BSc Environmental Science. But we believe our students should have flexibility to shape their studies to their evolving skills and strengths, thus our foundation year students have the option to transfer onto any degree in the School depending on the optional modules selected and grades achieved. Depending on the optional foundation year modules you’ve chosen, your grades and your preferences, you could instead transfer to a different BSc/BA/MSci course in the School of Environmental Science. 

When selecting the course you wish to transfer to after completing your foundation year, you have the option to choose a degree with a Placement Year or Year Abroad, this would give a total of 5 years of study, and we advise a student to inform their funding body of the additional year of study prior to the Year Abroad or on a Placement. Progression is subject to year-to-year grade thresholds.

After the Course

Once you successfully finish your Foundation Year, you’ll go straight onto one of the degree programmes within the School of Environmental Sciences. 

Throughout your studies, you are encouraged to take advantage of the career development support embedded in your courses. We work closely with UEA’s Careers Service to help you meet employers (including alumni), explore career options, speak to industry mentors, and apply for internships, volunteering, and graduate jobs. 

Our degrees lead to a wide range of careers, many of which involve making a difference to the environment, as a graduate employee or perhaps perusing a career as a researcher.   

Career destinations

Examples of careers that you could enter include: 

• Environmental consultant 
• Conservation officer 
• Environmental analyst 
• Renewable energy adviser 
• Graduate sustainability consultant 
• Graduate carbon management consultant