The ocean covers 71% of the surface of the Earth, but when depth is accounted for, occupies 97% of the volume of the biosphere. This means that the sea and life within it has a profound influence on the processes which keep the planet habitable. Yet until recently the ocean has been neglected in terms of management and protection, despite growing evidence of adverse impacts from a long list of human influences, such as overfishing, habitat damage and biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change.
Global attention is now turning rapidly to how to safeguard ocean life and the people and industries that depend on it, leading to increasing demand for trained practitioners of marine environmental management. MSc Marine Environmental Management delivers this training, giving you a thorough grounding in a wide diversity of marine ecosystems, their ecology, functioning, and values to people.
The programme explores the diverse ways in which human activities affect marine life and introduces management approaches to alleviate pressures from activities such as fisheries, tourism, coastal development and climate change. It examines in depth the science and practice of creating and managing marine protected areas to safeguard marine life and promote human livelihoods and wellbeing.
The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Compulsory Modules
- Research Project
- Statistical Modelling
- Fisheries Management
- Protected Areas
