Program Overview

Program Overview

The Analyses of Environmental Changes - Focus: Archives program is a 15-credit course offered at Umeå University. This program aims to provide knowledge on how different biogeochemical approaches can be used to study environmental change in a broad context, with a focus on natural archives such as lake sediments.

Program Structure

The program is divided into two modules that run in parallel:

• Module 1: Analyses of Environmental Change, Theoretical Module (7.5 credits)
  • This module discusses environmental change and natural variability from different perspectives, with the aim of increasing the student's ability to apply a scientific approach when dealing with complex problems.
  • The module consists of a combination of lectures, laboratory work, exercises, workshops, and/or seminar discussions.
• Module 2: Analyses of Environmental Change, Project Module (7.5 credits)
  • This part of the program consists of projects where students couple theoretical aspects from Module 1 to the practical aspects of analyzing environmental changes using biogeochemical methods.
  • The aim of this module is to train the student's ability to use relevant information (e.g., literature and/or analytical data) in a scientific way.

Eligibility and Selection

• Eligibility: 120 ECTS-credits of which 60 ECTS-credits (including at least a 15 ECTS-credit independent project) in Physical Geography/Earth Science, Biology, Environmental Health, or Environmental Science; or its equivalence. English proficiency equivalent to English 6/level 2 from Swedish Upper secondary education.
• Selection: Academic credits

Application and Tuition Fees

• Application fee: SEK 900
• Tuition fee, first installment: SEK 38,075
• Total fee: SEK 38,075

Program Details

• Type: Course, second cycle
• Study pace: Full-time
• Study location: Umeå
• Type of studies: On campus
• Language: English
• Application code: UMU-50707
• Starts: 19 January 2026
• Ends: 23 March 2026
• Number of credits: 15 credits
• Teaching hours: Daytime

Department and Research Area

The program is given by the Department of Ecology, Environment, and Geoscience. The research area focuses on biogeochemical processes and their impact on the environment, using natural archives to understand slow and gradual changes over centuries to millennia.