Course summary

This is a four year degree taught at our Hope Park campus. The Foundation Year aims to develop your skills so that after a year, you will be equipped with the necessary skills needed for studying the full BA Hons degree programme. Conservation Biology Conservation biology is concerned with the protection and management of nature and the Earth’s biodiversity. It involves an evaluation of human and other factors that affect all living organisms with the aim of protecting and conserving species, their habitats and ecosystems. It is an interdisciplinary subject that draws on natural sciences to devise satisfactory processes and approaches by which to sustain and protect plant and animal biodiversity in the UK and abroad. This course mainly focuses on conservation in terrestrial environments. It develops knowledge of key areas such as the principles and practices of ecology, habitat management, nature conservation and the functioning of natural systems, particularly with regard to different points of view including scientific, ethical and philosophical perspectives. Opportunities are provided to apply knowledge and understanding of conservation biology during field courses within the UK and abroad giving first-hand experience of a range of ecosystems. Philosophy & Ethics Philosophy and Ethics explores the big questions of life and morality: on what basis do we judge things good or evil? It challenges you to examine your assumptions, opinions and worldview. Do we need to believe in God for life to have meaning – or have the arguments for the existence of God broken down? What does it mean to be human? Do we have free will, or is our life completely determined? Through close attention to the primary texts of philosophers such as Plato, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant and Nietzsche, our Philosophy and Ethics degree will help you learn to analyse and evaluate arguments, and to compose and communicate your own ideas in a reasoned way. You will have a grounding in the foundational questions of philosophy. As you progress, you will look in depth at philosophy of religion, political philosophy, applied ethics and issues of human personhood, artificial intelligence and animality. The degree is taught by a core team of critical academics who are passionate about teaching and are internationally recognised researchers and writers. This degree will equip you with the intellectual skills and perspectives needed to face the ethical and ideological challenges of the contemporary world.