MSc Conservation Leadership

Content

The modules listed are indicative of the course structure and subject to final UWE Bristol approval:

Year one

• Conservation Business and Finance (30 credits) - Learn how to make your project financially viable and sustainable.
• Conservation Communication and Marketing (30 credits) - Build experience developing your marketing strategy and communicating across different media.
• Conservation Impact (30 credits) - Design evidence-based, feasible objectives that allow you to measure your impact.
• Conservation Leadership in Practice (60 credits) - Experience working within a conservation project team for 6 months, participating in strategy planning, stakeholder meetings, fundraising and decision making.
• Conservation Project Management (30 credits) - Develop, plan and coordinate a project through its different phases and learn how to best manage teams locally and remotely.

This structure is for full-time students only. Part-time students study the same modules but the delivery pattern will be different. 

The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved, we will inform you. 

Learning and Teaching

Course delivery consists of a one-year curriculum on site at the Bristol Zoo Conservation Campus. Bristol Zoo offers an exceptional learning facility for experiencing behind-the-scenes wildlife conservation, including ex-situ conservation, and national and international conservation project management. The course offers a wide-ranging curriculum taught through lectures, seminars, workshops, and work-based experiences.

Unlike most other MSc courses, you will have the opportunity to become embedded within a strategic conservation project team, where you will shadow an established Conservation Project Manager for six months. During this time, you will become an integral part of the team, learning how to effectively design and carry out conservation initiatives. Activities you may be involved in include, but are not limited to, project planning, report writing, communication strategy design, stakeholder engagement, community outreach or the development of funding bids.

Develop and refine your skills with organisations tackling a broad variety of conservation issues, locally and globally.

Receive one-to-one guidance and feedback throughout from our experienced academic and personal tutors, as well as applied conservation professionals.

See our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.

Study time

The course will take place over 12 months for full-time students, and 24 months for part-time students. Teaching is shared between UWE Bristol and Bristol Zoological Society , to include in-person teaching and practical learning.

Assessment

Our assessments will develop your problem-solving, finance, and staff management skills and are based on real-world scenarios so you can directly apply them to your professional careers. The assessments you produce are directly relevant to your career in conservation.

For example, you'll produce a communication strategy, a project plan, a business case and a case study analysis. You'll also engage with blogs, online marketing and web page design, to help you develop sought after e-communication skills.

During your conservation project placement, you'll experience project management first-hand. You'll develop a portfolio that will include all materials you create or contribute to, which can be used when you enter the job market post-graduation.

See our assessment information pages.