Overview

After the introductory lecture, the module will consist of six topics which we will look at in detail. For each there will be a seminar led by the module organizer, and an associated student-led seminar based on reading which I will assign. Associated with each student-led seminar there is a timetabled study group to make it easier for you to find time to work together as a group to plan the presentations you will give in the student-led seminars.

For assessment, students will submit a brief summary of their learning from each topic (based on the material presented in both the staff-led and the student-led seminar). Students can submit between three and six in total (one and four for students on the 10-credit version) and their best three (one for students on the 10 credit version) marks will count. There will be two opportunities to hand these in. There will be a session part way through the term where students will get feedback on the summaries submitted so they can improve their style. In the second part of the course students will spend most of their time working individually on their in-depth report. These have a limit of 2000 words for the 20 credit version, and 1500 words for the 10 credit version. There will be tutorials available with the module organiser to help students improve their use of the literature and the structure of their argument.

Learning Outcomes

• A deep understanding of a range of current issues in conservation science, policy and practice

• An ability to use the academic literature to critically explore a current conservation issue in depth (and reference the literature appropriately).

• The ability to summarise information based on a range of sources to produce a concise, critical and informative written summary.

• The ability to write a professional, critical and well-referenced report (in the style of an 'essay' in the journal Conservation Biology) on a current conservation issue of their choice.