Program Overview

Environmental Science and Sustainability with Foundation Year BSc (Hons)

Course Description

This is a future-focused course, specially built to equip you with the applied skills to help mitigate today’s environmental issues and identify those which may emerge in the future. This is also an interdisciplinary course, enabling you to specialise in a specific area to suit your career ambitions or study a range of topics for a broad knowledge-base.

Study Options

• Full-time: 4 years
• UK fee: £9,535 per year (2025/26)
• International fee: £16,900 per year (2025/26)
• UCAS points: 72 (September 2025 entry)
• UCAS code: F75F
• Start date: September
• Location: Kedleston Road, Derby Campus

Why Study Environmental Science and Sustainability at Derby?

• This course is designed to meet the growing demand for graduates skilled in shaping innovative solutions that have a positive impact on environmental and sustainability issues.
• Our graduates will have an interdisciplinary and problem-solving approach to global sustainability, an understanding of the responsibilities of personal and organisational actions and accountability, and an applied and solution-based approach to global issues.
• We blend theory with plenty of practical experience.

Inter-disciplinary Learning

• The challenges facing today’s world are complex and won’t be solved through the efforts of a single subject, so the content of this course is inter-disciplinary, connecting you with expertise from a range of subjects to give you a balanced understanding of the factors involved and the scale of today’s environmental fragility.
• Studying this way means that upon graduating, you will have a vast set of skills to impress future employers and contribute to global sustainability.

Our Vision

• Our vision is to address local, national and global goals for sustainable development, environmental understanding and clean growth, through an applied and inter-disciplinary approach.
• We’re making progress on our ambitions through our Zero Carbon research theme, where our teaching teams carry out important research to inspire and inform change.

Who is this Course for?

• This course is for those who are passionate about securing the long-term sustainability of life on Earth.
• Whether you are interested in the development of clean energy, the sustainable management of businesses, the protection of the natural world, the impacts of climate change or the management of ecosystem services, this degree has the breadth to allow you to develop your career in the development of a sustainable future for the planet.

Expert Teaching

• As a student at the University of Derby you'll be working with lecturers and tutors who have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and are carrying out research designed to offer fresh perspectives on significant issues.
• Their wide-ranging work includes:
  • Dr Michael Sweet: main research interests include epidemiology, microbial interactions with hosts, the roles pathogens play in disease causation, immune responses of hosts to specific diseases and ways to manage or mitigate spread of disease.
  • Dr Richard Pope: main research interests include Late Quaternary and Holocene Landscape development in Mediterranean drylands.
  • Dr Jordan Phethean: main research interests include unravelling the enigmatic tectonic origins of Iceland (the world's lost 8th continent) and exploring ultra-deep groundwater resources for the next generation.
  • Dr Joana Carvalho: main research interests are in primates.

Boost your Employability with a Placement Year

• Take an optional placement year to put your skills into practice in a real-world setting.
• We’ll support you in finding a placement and throughout your time in industry.

Facilities and Fieldwork

• Today’s problems can only be solved through the application of cutting-edge technology and software.
• You’ll have access to industry-standard specialist equipment and software including drone technology, field spectrometers, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), map library, and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).
• You’ll also work in modern laboratories, as well as our Aquatic Research Facility, glasshouse and insectary.

What you will Study

• Foundation Year
• Year 1
• Year 2
• Optional Placement Year
• Year 3

Core Modules

• Foundations in Geoscience
• Organisms and their Environments
• Academic and Practical Skills in Environmental Sciences
• Introduction to Environmental Science

Optional Modules

• Sociology
• Fundamentals of Human Behaviour
• Principles of Chemistry
• English
• Mathematics

Careers

• As part of the consultative process when creating the course, we engaged with leaders from across the industry to ensure that the content we deliver is aligned to the skills and experience that employers need from graduates now and in the future.
• Your experience will be valued by organisations where sustainable growth is a priority.
• This could include helping them to achieve targets such as moving to 100% renewable energy, increasing their energy production or switching to electric vehicles.
• You could also lead on developing strategies for conserving wildlife, better waste management, reducing greenhouse gases, managing environmental and sustainability plans, designing sustainable environments, and much more.

Entry Requirements

• 2025 entry
• UCAS points: 72
• A Level: DDD
• T Level: Pass
• BTEC: MMP
• GCSE: GCSE Maths and English are preferred, however if you don't have these qualifications you will be able to undertake Maths and English at Level 2 as part of your course of study
• Access to HE: Pass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits: 45 at Level 3 with a minimum of Distinction: 0, Merit: 24, Pass: 21
• English language requirements: IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area)

Fees and Funding

• 2025/26
• UK: £9,535 per year
• International: £16,900 per year

Additional Costs and Optional Extras

• You will receive a laboratory coat, a rite-in-the-rain notebook and a re-useable coffee cup
• All equipment and consumables needed for your experimental/ fieldwork are provided by the University.
• Residential fieldtrips in compulsory modules and mandatory day fieldtrips in optional modules
• If not already owned, appropriate footwear for fieldwork such as wellington/walking boots - approximate cost is between £10-£100
• If not already owned, appropriate outdoor clothing such as a waterproof jacket and trousers - approximate cost is between £50-£100
• Recommended textbooks - approximate cost is £60
• Travel to work experience/placements - cost is dependent on your placement venue of choice

How to Apply

• Please look at our application deadlines before you apply.
• Our undergraduate and postgraduate course pages will show the intakes that are available and open to applications.
• It's best to apply early so you can secure your place and beat the rush.
• Once we have received your application and supporting documents (such as qualifications or references), we will review it and contact you within 4 weeks to let you know if you have been successful or not.