Masters in Integrated Resource Management

Degree Structure

Queries? - Contact the Postgraduate Secretary: Tel: +44 (0) 131 650 6708, or Email: irm@geos.ed.ac.uk

The programme starts in September each year (the first year is 2008).

MSc: 12 months full-time (180 credits)

Diploma: 9 months full-time (120 credits)

The programme consists of taught courses (compulsory and elective) and a dissertation. The taught component of the programme is completed over two semesters and is valued at 120 credits at Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level 11, and is made up as follows:

Taught courses

40 credits from the following compulsory courses:

• Integrated Resource Management (20 credits) (Semester 1) [More...]
• Integrated Resource Planning (20 credits) (Semester 2) [More...]

80 credits from the following elective courses provided by the School of GeoSciences. Additional courses are available from other Schools or Colleges. Selection of elective courses will be guided by the MSc Programme Director and will be subject to timetable constraints and restrictions on class size.

• P00684 - Applications in Ecological Economics
• P00688 - Atmospheric Quality and Global Change
• P00805 - Culture, Ethics & Environment
• P00734 - Ecosystem Management
• P00777 - Environment & Development
• P00690 - Environmental Impact Assessment
• P00744 - Environmental Modelling
• P01523 - Forest Ecosystems
• P00737 - Forests and Environment
• P00685 - Foundations in Ecological Economics
• P01227 - Geoinformatics
• P00779 - International Development
• P01241 - Introduction To Spatial Analysis
• P00691 - Land Use/Environmental Interactions
• P00806 - Management of Sustainable Development
• P00716 - Participation in Policy and Planning
• P00807 - Principles of Environmental Sustainability
• P01090 - Principles of Geographical Information Science (Block1)
• P00686 - Project Appraisal
• P00808 - Research Methodology
• P00719 - Rural Development
• P00780 - Society & Development
• P00692 - Soil Protection and Management
• P00729 - Water Resources Management

Dissertation

The MSc dissertation project is valued at an additional 60 credits. The topic of the MSc dissertation will be agreed with the MSc Programme Director. The exact format of the dissertation will vary from case to case, depending on the nature of the work done. It may take the form of:

• A scientific paper
• A literature review
• A management plan
• A technical report
• Any other exercise approved by the programme director

Assessment

Assessment will be by a combination of continuous assessment, written examination, and the dissertation. Examinations are held at the end of the semester in which the course finishes, although for some of the more applied courses, the assessment is entirely practical (e.g. a project, a plan, a report, etc).

Students must achieve adequate performance (an overall pass) in the taught component of the programme before being allowed to continue to the dissertation project, for which they will be required to submit a dissertation on an approved topic in August.

Students initially have concurrent registration for the MSc and Postgraduate Diploma programmes. Where a student has not attained the requirement for progression on the MSc programme, but has attained the requirements for a Postgraduate Diploma, the student may be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma.