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Conservation MSc

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Conservation MSc (2024), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

£18,400

£9,200

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)

£36,500

£18,250

Duration

1 calendar year

2 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2025

Applications accepted

Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Applications with relevant professional experience in conservation or environmental management will also be considered.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 4

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The programme takes an interdisciplinary perspective, engaging with ecological, social and policy dimensions. It has a vocational orientation, with residential field classes providing first-hand experience of practical conservation challenges. At the same time, the programme provides the scientific rigour needed for evidence-based analysis and understanding of the natural environment, which also forms a sound foundation for a career in academia.

Who this course is for

With its vocational focus, the programme is highly suitable for students with a first degree in a relevant discipline (environmental science, geography or biology) who plan to embark on a conservation career, as well as for conservation professionals seeking further training. It also provides an excellent foundation for further research and PhD studies.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

The Conservation MSc is run by UCL Geography, which enjoys an outstanding international reputation for its research and teaching. The Department ranked 7th in the QS World Rankings by Subject 2024, which also highlighted its high employer reputation.

The programme is unique not only on account of its long history and extensive alumni network, but also due to its vocational orientation, its integration of natural and social science aspects of the discipline, and the active involvement of nature conservation professionals in the delivery of degree material.

Research groups contributing to this MSc include those concerned with recent environmental change and biodiversity; environmental modelling and observation; and environment, politics and society. The programme also benefits from the participation of staff from a variety of external conservation and environmental organisations.

“Studying Conservation in the Department was one of the best decisions I have made and I can’t recommend the course enough to any aspiring conservationists and ecologists. It is hard to imagine a better-run MSc Conservation course anywhere in the world and the collaborative, supportive and forward-thinking nature of the Department, its staff and its students is truly unique, providing an engaging academic and social environment in which anyone can thrive.” - Joe Langley, MSc Conservation.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Conservation MSc graduates have been very successful in securing employment with prestigious organisations like:

Natural England.
ZSL.
Kew Gardens.
A wide range of conservation organizations across the world.

We are extremely proud that the current Chair of Natural England and the CEO of the Wildlife Trusts are both alumni of the programme.

According to the Graduate Outcomes survey 2017-2022, our students have also gone on to work in sectors like:

Scientific research and development.
Consultancy.
Energy, natural resources and environment agencies.
Academic research and Higher Education.
Policy and government.

Studying Conservation in the Department was one of the best decisions I have made and I can’t recommend the course enough to any aspiring conservationists and ecologists. It is hard to imagine a better-run MSc Conservation course anywhere in the world and the collaborative, supportive and forward-thinking nature of the Department, its staff and its students is truly unique, providing an engaging academic and social environment in which anyone can thrive.

Joe Langley

Conservation MSc

Read more

Employability

The programme caters to both vocational and academic careers. It is designed to strongly enhance career prospects by training our students in transferable skills attractive to employers across the conservation sector, and in associated fields, such as:

Ability to design and carry out original research.
Critical analysis and interpretation of data.
Creation of scientific outputs in a range of different forms.

You will also learn to solve problems and issues and to build positive working relationships.

Networking

Students will benefit from the expertise of our world-class researchers and due to the inter-disciplinary nature of our work, you can develop your knowledge across subjects, learning from academics not only in Geography but the wider UCL community as well. The department also hosts annual careers events where alumni share their experience of post-graduation training and employment across the wide variety of opportunities available to geography graduates.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through lectures, seminars, computer practicals, and field studies, including a residential field class to Norfolk.

Assessment is through coursework, essays and the dissertation, which includes a presentation of dissertation results.

Each 15 credit module involves 150 hours of learning, including lectures, practicals, pre-recorded lectures, independent study, peer-to-peer learning, tutorial support, and assessment and assessment preparation. This will be supplemented by voluntary in-person activities including research seminars and assessment and feedback hours.

For full-time students, this is typically around 12 hours per week contact time. Outside of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, you will typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using your remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments. Approximately one further week will be taken up with field work. Additionally, you will be expected to complete a dissertation, worth up to 60 credits. You will have regular contact with your supervisor(s) who will guide and support you throughout your work.

Modules

You will take eight taught modules and undertake a research dissertation.

Full time structure:
Term One:
You will take 4 compulsory modules one of which contains residential field-work elements. See below for further details.

Term Two:
You will take 4 optional modules from a range of Geography modules available. Depending on availability, choices may include residential field classes based in the UK or overseas.

Students can select from a range of optional modules such as GEOG0160 Rewilding, GEOG0179 Field Evidence of Environmental Change, GEOG0035 Environmental GIS, GEOG0084 Politics of Climate Change or GEOG0179 Designing and Managing Citizen Science.

Term Three:
While some dissertation planning often commences in term one, the main research and writing are conducted in term three and over the summer. Some of our field-based modules are also scheduled to run in the 3rd term.

Part time structure:
Year One:
In term one you will take 2 compulsory modules.
In term two you will take 2 optional modules.

Year Two:
In term one you will take the 2 remaining compulsory modules.
In term two you will take 2 optional modules.
In term three and over the summer you will complete the research dissertation.

Compulsory modules

Tropical Futures

Conservation and Environmental Management

Environmental Data Acquisition and Analysis

Scientific Basis for Freshwater and Coastal Conservation

Research Project and Dissertation

Optional modules

Coastal Geohazards

Environmental GIS

Politics of Climate Change

Lakes

Aquatic Macrophytes

Biological Indicators of Environmental Change

Climate Proxies

Introduction to Citizen Science and Scientific Crowdsourcing

Rewilding

Field Evidence of Environmental Change

Designing and Managing Citizen Science

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Conservation. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Conservation. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Conservation.

Fieldwork

Planned fieldwork includes a residential field study to a coastal site in Norfolk, as well as the option to join a residential field class, either in the UK or at an overseas destination.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£18,400	£9,200
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£36,500	£18,250

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

There is no fee deposit required for PG Dip and PG Cert applicants.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

Some optional modules carry extra fieldwork costs. The exact cost will depend on the location, exchange rates and the price of travel and accommodation. Please contact the department for further information on individual modules. Additional costs of approximately £20 are also associated with the dissertation poster presentation.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

: Aziz Foundation Scholarships in Social and Historical Sciences

Value: Full tuition fees (equivalent to 1yr full-time) (1yr)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

why you want to study Conservation
why you want to study Conservation at UCL
what particularly attracts you to this programme
how your academic and/or professional background meets the demands of a challenging academic environment
where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This programme only requires one reference in support of your application. Your reference should be academic unless you have been out of university education for more than four years. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.