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MSc Ecology, Climate Change & Health
| Programme Details | |
|---|---|
| Start Date | September entry |
| Awards Available | MSc |
| Duration | 1 year Full Time |
| Location | UCL East Campus |
About the course
Human-driven processes such as climate change, pollution, urbanisation and intensive agriculture are degrading biodiversity and putting increasing pressure on the planet's ecosystems, with complex consequences for health.
On this new MSc, you’ll develop the expertise and data science skills to work collaboratively across ecological and social domains to define and address current and future problems from a One Health approach.
Study with leading researchers from UCL, the Zoological Society of London, the National History Museum and industry partners, get hands-on experience of developing operational solutions and build a cross-sector network. So you’re equipped to join the next generation of research, policy or implementation leaders, or to make your own contribution to this rapidly developing field by pursuing a PhD.
Why study this programme at UCL?
The MSc Ecology, Climate Change and Health is taught in UCL’s purpose-built People and Nature Lab at the new UCL East campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford in East London. Our People and Nature Lab represents an exciting new cross-disciplinary research and teaching partnership to facilitate innovative approaches to tackle the societal challenges posed by biodiversity loss, global ecosystem degradation and climate change, to support a more sustainable relationship between people and nature.
What to look forward too:
Gain a foundational understanding of the intersections between biodiversity, climate change and public health, and practical expertise in applying the most up-to-date analytical and data science tools to develop sector knowledge and operational solutions.
Learn alongside academics from across UCL, the Zoological Society of London and the Natural History Museum.
Work and network with experts from public health bodies, local and national government, and stakeholders including WHO, WOAH, FAO, UNEP, RSPB, and the UK-CEH.
Study in UCL’s purpose-built People and Nature Lab at the new UCL East campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London.
Build the programme around the aspects of the field that most interest you, with optional specialisms in areas like ecological monitoring, epidemiology, health inequalities and social determinants of health.
UCL’s People and Nature Lab expands the work of the Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research (CBER) within the Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment. Building on nearly two centuries of the study of the natural environment, CBER was established in 2013 as a world-leading centre of excellence for the study of the impact of rapid environmental change on biodiversity, how species are adapting to anthropogenic change, and how the degradation of nature impacts people and society, including through health. This programme is taught in collaboration with the Faculty of Population Health Sciences and the UCL Health of the Public.
The Ecology, Climate Change and Health MSc is directed by Professor Kate Jones, a world-leading ecologist who has made key advances in modelling and forecasting zoonotic disease outbreaks in humans, breaking down traditional barriers between ecology, climate change and public health to inform global policy.
This MSc be run as a new type of post-graduate course taught by a truly cross-disciplinary team of scientists from UCL’s departments of GEE, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, Institute for Global Health, UCL Arts and Sciences, and industry partners from the Zoological Society of London and the Natural History Museum. This breadth of teaching will address the urgent need to produce professionals with expertise across ecology, climate change and public health.
Health Case Study
UCL’s research in Ecology, Climate Change and Health
Researchers at the People & Nature Lab and Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research work with colleagues across academic, business, health and environment policy sectors to develop knowledge and solutions for the health impacts of ecosystem and climate change.
Our research has included major global risk assessments and mapping for emerging infectious disease risk, studies assessing in detail the relationships between land use, biodiversity change and zoonotic disease, and work to understand the cognitive benefits of natural vegetation in cities.
In collaboration with the Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering from the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, we have recently been conducting field studies to understand the relationship between urban landscapes and mosquito-borne disease risk using the QEOP as a case study.
We also work with international partners to link research to implementation to improve health and biodiversity outcomes. Our recent and current projects include the development of actionable climate-based forecasting tools for Lassa fever in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Microsoft Research; socio-ecological research into zoonotic disease at the human-wildlife-livestock interface in collaboration with Uganda Virus Research Institute and UCL Institute for Global Health; and the multi-country WWF-funded Biome Health Project to understand the resilience of ecosystem health to anthropogenic pressures.
Image of mosquito trap © Hector Altamirano, 2023
