BSc (Hons) Global Development with the Environment with a Year Abroad

Course Overview

This course is closing after 2024, however, our new course, BSc Sustainable Development is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about the relationship between development and the natural environment.

Have you ever wondered how we promote human development while still conserving the environment? Or questioned how we can achieve fairer, more equitable access for everyone to the planet’s resources? Have you ever asked why malnutrition persists? Or how we can ensure food and water security for everyone? How do we alleviate rural poverty? How do we manage the risks of natural disasters? Who is responsible for climate change and who is most vulnerable? How do we mitigate its impacts and build resilience in our societies? What is the most sustainable and equitable way of managing the world’s natural resources? And can individual or collective action move the world towards a more sustainable future?

Learn to tackle these big questions – and many more – in our BSc International Development and the Environment with a Year Abroad.

Please note we are changing our name to the School of Global Development from 1 August 2023, as we mark our 50th Anniversary.

This innovative course is one of very few in the UK that integrates social and natural sciences, combining a strong interdisciplinary foundation with a specialist environmental lens in the study of international development. You’ll take core modules that seek to understand critical contemporary themes in environmental and natural resource management – including climate change, sustainability, food and water security, coastal ecosystem management and forest conservation, and environmental hazards – and you’ll focus specifically upon the links between the environment, policy, human rights, and the wellbeing of individuals and communities. You’ll obtain key practical skills training, including research and data analysis skills, alongside field experience and project-based fieldwork.

In addition to this environmental focus, you’ll gain a broad grounding in the key issues, organisations and practices of development, fusing insights from environmental sciences with those from across the social sciences, including economics, media, geography, anthropology, and politics. You can develop your understanding of particular regions in the world, through area modules relating to sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or Latin America, and you can pursue your emerging interests in other aspects and perspectives of development.

In your third year, you’ll study abroad at one of our partner Universities, taking courses that complement what you are studying in the School.

The result is an extremely flexible degree programme that you can tailor to suit your particular interests, and that allows you to combine an interdisciplinary foundation with your niche specialism.

By studying with us, you’ll join our close-knit academic community, made up of experts from across multiple disciplines, all housed within the School of International Development. As such, you will not only learn from our world-renowned environmental scientists within the School, but you can benefit from a truly vibrant, interdisciplinary environment.

We are amongst the best in the world for researching, teaching, and practicing development. Come and study with us and help us to create a fairer world.

Entry Requirements

If you do not meet the academic requirements for direct entry, you may be interested in one of our Foundation Year programmes such as:

BA Geography and International Development with a Foundation Year

BA International Development with a Foundation Year

UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.

We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications. If you have a qualification which is not listed here, or are taking a combination of qualifications, please contact us via Admissions Enquiries.

International Requirements

We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. View our International Students pages for specific information about your country.

INTO UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA 

If you do not meet the academic and/or English requirements for direct entry our partner, INTO University of East Anglia offers guaranteed progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme. Depending on your interests, and your qualifications you can take a variety of routes to this degree: 

International Foundation in Pharmacy Health and Life Science (for Year 1 entry to UEA) 

International Foundation in Mathematics and Actuarial Sciences (for Year 1 entry to UEA) 

International Foundation in Physical Sciences and Engineering (for Year 1 entry to UEA) 

International Foundation in Business Economics Society and Culture (for Year 1 entry to UEA) 

International Foundation in Humanities and Law (for Year 1 entry to UEA) 

International Year One in Global Development with Media (for Year 2 entry to UEA) 

Admissions Policy

Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.

Employability

You’ll graduate with knowledge and skills valued by a vast range of organisations related to global development and many of our graduates go on to work in this sector. These include government agencies like the United Nations, private sector companies, consultancy firms, and the many hundreds of large and small non-government organisations that focus on development and humanitarian work.

Alternatively, you could use the academic and transferable skills gained from our degrees for careers in business, the voluntary and public sector, education, and academia.

A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.

Example of careers that you could enter include:

• United Nations World Food Programme

• International NGOs

• Government (both UK and foreign)

• British Red Cross

• Oxfam

Discover more on our Careers webpages.