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MSc Biodiversity and Global Change

Build the skill set and in-depth knowledge you need to address urgent biodiversity issues as a conservation scientist, on this advanced-level master’s run in collaboration with the Institute of Zoology and the Natural History Museum. 

 

About the course

Human-driven global changes are having a dramatic and devastating impact on biodiversity. 

There’s a growing need for professionals who can apply advanced scientific tools and understanding to precipitate the fundamental societal changes needed to protect our living world.  

A collaboration between three internationally-renowned research institutions, this course will give you an intensive training in the core science, methodologies and hands-on skills of the field.  

You’ll build the expertise and network to forge a conservation-focused career in academia, environmental policy and management or any organisation committed to securing a more sustainable future.

 

What you can look forward to 

  • Work alongside leading academics from UCL's Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, the Natural History Museum and the Institute of Zoology, and access a vast array of research into topics of critical importance for a sustainable future.  
  • Build your skills in the most up-to-date tools, platforms and technologies in data analysis, coding, ecological modelling, remote sensing and geographic information systems. 
  • Spend six months on taught modules, learning the science behind biodiversity patterns and biodiversity change, computational and analysis methods, and the application of biodiversity science to real-world conservation decisions – and optional areas like behavioural ecology, plant evolution and AI for the environment. 
  • Spend the second half of your year immersed in your own research project, building your investigative, analytical and presentation skills with close supervision and mentorship from a leading academic. 
  • Learn to collect, manipulate and perform statistical analysis on field courses at Blakeney point in Norfolk. 

 

Take a look at where you'll be studying 

Join us in shaping the future of biodiversity research, and unlock endless oppurtunities for personal and professional growth in one of the world's most vibrant and diverse cities.

Take a virtual tour of our campus 

 

Where the course can take you 

This MSc offers excellent preparation for PhD-level scientific research. You could apply your expertise and skills to environmental policy and management or scientific journalism, or to the conservation work of NGOs, environmental charities, or private organisations with sustainability agendas. 

 

2022 Field Trip: Blakeney Point

students in a field

bird

 

The trip, which involved students staying on Blakeney Point for two to three nights, provides students with their first exposure to teaching on their course, and aims to encourage them to think about experimental design, how to design a protocol for field sampling to solve a specific problem, and collect data following said protocol. This introduces them to some of the problems they may experience whilst working with biological samples and sampling.

UCL has been running field trips to Blakeney Point for over a century. Students arrive by boat in small groups and are often the only people staying on the Point at one time. During their stay, students are able to see the habitat of an array of residential and migratory wildlife.

Professor Tim Blackburn states: “The Blakeney field trip is a great way for us to get to know the students – and for the students to get to know each other – against the backdrop of one of England’s oldest nature reserves." You can read about the 2022 visit to Blakeney Point in this article: Latest News from Blakeney Point.

 

Explore some of our biosciences research 

 Predicting extinction risk from climate change 

Biodiversity indicators to inform international conservation policy 

Understanding disease spill-over from wildlife to improve public health

IUCN Standard to support global action on invasive alien species

All the details 

Read more about the course entry requirements, how this master's is structured, and everything from modules and assessments, to fees and funding here:Apply here

Apply for a grant

If you’re a UK student, or Ukranian student granted Home fee status, you may be eligible for a £10,000 grant to help with your study costsApply for a grant

Programme Lead

Tim Newbold
​​​​Dr Tim Newbold – Professor of Conservation Ecology – UCL Genetics, Evolution and Environment


Dr Newbold’s research aims to understand how biodiversity is changing in response to recent environmental change, and to predict how biodiversity will change in the future. He’s also looking at the consequences of biodiversity change for human societies. His work centres around large-scale data analysis and developing models of biodiversity and ecosystems.

Learn more about Dr Newbold

Graduate Open Event

See what UCL is like for yourself by coming along to one of our Graduate Open Events. It’s a great chance to find out more about studying with us and what UCL can offer for your graduate studies. Book onto one of our next graduate open events