International Graduate School
MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Policy
Field Trips
Fieldwork is an important element of the programme's teaching philosophy. Each year there are two compulsory residential field trips and several one-day study visits that allow students to develop a grounded understanding of the issues involved.
Field trips and study days planned for 2011/12 include:
- A three day induction field trip to the Isle of Purbeck to get to know each other and think about ideas of landscape and heritage and the governance of Kimmeridge Bay, located within the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
- A four day field trip to Brussels and Holland to understand the role of EU institutions in environmental governance and to explore the motivations and implications of Dutch re-wilding policies and visit colleagues in Amsterdam involved in the development of web-based research. This will be a new field course and a departure from previous field trips to Paris.
- A day study tour Waddesdon Manor and Stowe Landscape Gardens in Buckinghamshire to study the origins of positive perceptions of nature in western thought.
- A study day to London to understand the city as an emerging centre of ethical and environmental governance of markets and businesses.
In addition to the compulsory field trips, there may be other opportunities to work in the field, either as daytrips, or assisting one of the academic staff members with their research. Additionally, many (if not most) of the research dissertations will have a fieldwork component for which appropriate instruction will be given.