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MSc in Environmental Informatics HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATICS?
The Changing Environment:
This is a crucial time for understanding the environment with the gathering
pace of global change, the developing sustainability debate and the impact of
particular environmental crises like flooding and pollution events. There is a
sharply increasing demand on organisations that have responsibilities for the
environment to provide timely, accurate, accessible and comprehensible
information. In order to meet these requirements significant developments
are needed at all points along the information pathway. The MSc in
Environmental informatics will produce graduates who will be highly suited to
working with public and private sector bodies to meet this challenge. New opportunities at Lancaster: As part of the development of the Lancaster Environment Centre the Natural Environment Research Council has moved the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology stations from Merlewood and Winderemere to the Lancaster University campus. This has created one of the largest groupings of environmental researchers in Europe with expertise in the acquisition, analysis, management and dissemination of environmental information. This places Lancaster in an unrivalled position to lead the development of research on all aspects of environmental information and to offer the innovative M.Sc. in Environmental Informatics. WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATICS? In general terms
Environmental Informatics can be considered to be the ‘science and art of
turning environmental data into information and understanding.’ A more
structural definition is given by the Natural Environment Research Council
(science topic 16): ‘Research and system development focusing on the
environmental sciences relating to the creation, collection, storage,
processing, modelling, interpretation, display and dissemination of data and
information’. The M.Sc. in Environmental Informatics addresses each of these
aspects both theoretically and practically using a range of delivery
mechanisms and assessment methods. The core characteristic of
Environmental Informatics is an interdisciplinary endeavour resulting from a
blurring of the boundaries between the environmental, computing and
information sciences and a number of areas in the social sciences.
Environmental Informatics investigates the development of effective techniques
to deliver comprehensive and reliable information for environmental research
and management and public awareness. This assimilates expertise and
technologies and promotes interaction between fields such as environmental
monitoring, environmental databases and information systems, geographical
information systems, numerical simulation modelling, knowledge-based systems,
Internet exploitation, data visualisation, human-computer interaction,
information theory and public understanding of science. Great potential now
exists to adopt the holistic perspective offered by Environmental Informatics
to address the pressing problems surrounding environmental information in the
world today. Graduates of the M.Sc. in Environmental Informatics will be at
the forefront of these developments. Graduates of the M.Sc. in Environmental Informatics will:
The full time course is 12
months duration beginning in October each year.
Taught material is delivered from October to April this comprises a series of core
and optional modules split between 2 terms (October-December,
January-April). A research project or placement is pursued between April and
September. The M.Sc. in Environmental Informatics can be taken on a part-time
basis over 24 months. Core modules: Principles of Environmental Informatics Environmental Informatics in Practice Two optional
modules from: Modelling Environmental Processes Environmental Quality and Standards Software Production Management Information and Communication Technologies Mediated Nature: Communications, Media and Environment The sizeable number of
optional modules reflects the broad interdisciplinary nature of Environmental
Informatics. Students will be free to choose any combination of optional
modules and they may want to take modules across different
departments and sample different thematic areas and a variety of
theoretical perspectives and approaches that are pertinent to Environmental
Informatics. Students
will also have the opportunity of selecting coherent groups of optional
modules, which, together with the core modules and choice of an appropriate
dissertation topic or placement host, offer a more specialised route through
the degree. Such routes can be chosen by students to best suite their
interests and/or future career aspirations and include the following: Environmental Informatics: Data and information management & dissemination. Environmental Informatics: Environmental management. Environmental Informatics: Modelling and software. Environmental Informatics: Protection and regulation. Environmental Informatics:
Information, knowledge and values. STUDENT SUPPORT Masters students are an integral part of the academic community within the Geography Department at Lancaster and the open and friendly atmosphere ensures high levels of interaction between students, academic staff, researchers and support staff. There is an embedded culture of collaboration and interdependence within the department and the central placing of the dedicated office, seminar room and computing laboratory for masters students ensures that this group are inherently involved in contributing to the dynamic research-oriented activity of the community. All masters students are asked to attend the departmental research seminar programmes given by outside speakers and by departmental research groups (doctoral students / staff). Furthermore, Environmental informatics students are able to attend seminars within any of the departments contributing to the M.Sc. Each student taking the MSc in Environmental Informatics is paired a personal Director of Study, with whom they work on an individual basis to ensure an overall coherence in their studies and a balance of skills and knowledge acquisition through appropriate choice of optional module combinations. The Director of Study appraises the students' existing abilities and tailors a programme of research training and may advise the student to take supplementary courses to help boost their communications, interpersonal or quantitative skills. The Director of Study regularly monitors progress, provides a point of support in case of academic or pastoral difficulties, advises the student on opportunities for raising their vocational awareness (such as completing the online 'Personal Development Plan') and ensures a smooth transition from their masters education through to employment or doctoral research. either at least an upper second class honours degree from a British University or CNAA; or a degree of comparable standard from a university or recognised degree awarding body in another country; or
a relevant professional qualification at an equivalent level. Students will be accepted from a wide range of first degree subjects. By drawing on the strengths of EI as an interdisciplinary endeavour, the EI M.Sc. has been designed to be sufficiently flexible as to provide appropriate advanced training for students with previous experience in the environmental sciences while at the same time offering an opportunity for students with, for example, a computing or mathematics background to move into the environmental field. Applicants with little previous experience of the environmental sciences or ICT are interviewed by the Director of Masters Programmes as part of the application process. For students whose first language is not English, we require some evidence of proficiency in English, e.g.: IELTS (International English Language Testing Service) from the British Council and the University of Cambridge, in which we require a minimum overall score of 6.5; and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) where we require a minimum score of 580 (paper-based test) or 237 (computer-based test). NERC studentships are available to UK (stipend and fees) and EU (fees only) applicants. Faculty and department bursaries may be available. Information about other possible sources of funding is available from the university postgraduate admissions web page. An application form can be downloaded from the university postgraduate admissions web page or a paper copy can be requested. For more information visit the Lancaster Environment Centre web pages concerning the MSc in Environmental Informatics. | ||
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Geography Department Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University | ||
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