Postgraduate Course: Dissertation - Environmental Sustainability (PGGE11057)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 60 |
ECTS Credits | 30 |
| Summary | Concern over the environmental sustainability of human activities is becoming an increasingly important influence on the development of international policy and the behaviour of public agencies and private companies. This programme is designed to equip students with the knowledge to work effectively in organisations seeking to promote sustainable development or improve environmental performance. The course is strongly interdisciplinary, providing the opportunity to integrate scientific, socio-economic and policy perspectives to gain a broad understanding of sustainability and how it can be achieved.
The University defines the dissertation as an extended piece of scholarship in which students have the opportunity to study in some depth a topic (largely) of their own choosing. In practice, the subject will be chosen iteratively on the basis of students¿ own interests, what relevant staff are able to supervise, and what is feasible given the literature and time available. |
| Course description |
The dissertation should be distinct from earlier assessed work by the greater depth of comprehension and criticism demonstrated. Equally, of course, students are not expected to undertake the exhaustive scale of literature review or empirical work typical of a research degree. The dissertation may vary in the breadth of coverage. Since the time available for this work is short, it is not expected that the dissertation should report notable or original contributions to knowledge. The point is that it must have a clear focus with definable objectives and boundaries, achievable in the time and word length available.
The exact format of the dissertation will vary from case to case depending on the work done. It may take the form of field work, an experiment, an opinion survey, a literature review, a management plan or any other exercise approved by the Programme Director. Its objective is to provide the student with an opportunity for demonstrating his or her competence in the chosen area of study. Please note that examiners mark for quality and not quantity of written work.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 50 |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
600
(
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 12,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
578 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Dissertation proposal due 12 noon Monday 29th March 2021
Dissertation due 12 noon Thursday 5th August 2021 |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- to work effectively in organisations seeking to promote sustainable development or improve environmental performance
- product of scientific reports including appropriate referencing
- review existing knowledge based on reports from previous studies
- collect, record and analyse data
- integrate scientific, socio-economic and policy perspectives to gain a broad understanding of sustainability
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Reading List
Allen, G. R. (1976). The Graduate Students Guide to Thesis and Dissertation - Practical Manual.
Barrass, R. (1978). Scientists Must Write - A Guide to Better Writing. Chapman & Hall.
Berry, R. (1986). How to Write a Research Paper. 2nd Edition.
Day, A. (1996). How to get research published in journals. Gower.
Day, R. (1989). How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. 3rd Edition. Cambridge Univ.Press.
Hall, G.M. (ed) (1994). How to write a paper. BMJ Publishing Group, London.
Roget, P.M. New Edition of Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. Longman, London.
Russell, T.M. (1993). Essays, reports and dissertations: guidance notes on the preparation and presentation of written work. Edinburgh University Library.
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Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Rowan Jackson
Tel: (0131 6)51 4340
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Louisa King
Tel: (0131 6)50 2543
Email: |
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