Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health (Online Learning) MSc, PgDip (ICL), PgCert (ICL), PgCert, PgDip, PgProfDev

Our online learning technology is fully interactive and enables you to communicate with our highly qualified teaching staff from the comfort of your own home or workplace.

Our online students not only have access to Edinburgh’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world.

Studying online at Edinburgh

Find out more about the benefits and practicalities of studying for an online degree:

• Postgraduate online learning

The programme is delivered using innovative online learning. It involves a mixed teaching approach that includes independent study and reflection, as well as online discussion and group project work.

Year 1: Certificate

You will study the following areas:

• Evolution and Biodiversity
• Ecosystem Health and Sustainability
• Environmental Ethics and Governance

Year 2: Diploma

You will choose six elective courses from the following:

• Behavioural Flexibility
• Climate Change, Policy and Practice
• Connecting Environment and Society
• Conservation and Conflict
• Conservation Genetics
• Ecosystem Resilience and Extreme Events
• Innovative Approaches to Health Challenges Across Disciplines
• An Introduction to Transboundary Diseases
• Introduction to GIS and Spatial Data Analysis
• Introduction to Wildlife Forensics
• Invasive Non-Native Species
• Land Use and Food Security
• Managing and Leading Conservation Projects
• Reflections on Professional Development
• Science Communication and Engagement for Practice
• Species Translocations
• The Marine Environment
• The Modern Zoo
• The Use of Artificial Reproduction Technologies in Threatened Species
• Understanding Environmental Law
• Water and Sanitation
• Wildlife Trade
• Wildlife, Animal Health and Environment
• Zoonotic Disease

Elective courses are subject to minimum student numbers and timetabling restrictions.

Year 3: Masters

You will complete your own choice of dissertation of 10,000-15,000 words.

• Read more about the programme structure

Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD)

Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) is aimed at working professionals who want to advance their knowledge through a postgraduate-level course(s), without the time or financial commitment of a full Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate.

You may take a maximum of 50 credits worth of courses over two years through our PPD scheme. These lead to a University of Edinburgh postgraduate award of academic credit.

Alternatively, after one year of taking courses you can choose to transfer your credits and continue on to studying towards a higher award on a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme. Although PPD courses have various start dates throughout a year you may only start a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme in the month of September. Any time spent studying PPD will be deducted from the amount of time you will have left to complete a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme.

Please contact the programme team for more information about available courses and course start dates.

Semester dates for the academic year 2022-2023

These are key dates in the academic year, which vary slightly year to year. For your programme these are:

• Welcome Week: 12 September 2022
• Term 1: 19 September - 9 December 2022
• Term 2: 9 January – 31 March 2023
• Term 3: 10 April - 30 June 2023

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

This programme has been designed to help you find work in environmental, intergovernmental, national and international agencies, as well as lobby groups, NGOs and other research groups.

• Student and Alumni Stories

If I could, I would indeed re-take this amazing Master's programme, because it helped me to understand and see different perspectives on environmental issues across the globe.

I think what makes this particular Master's programme so valuable is not only its time flexibility, but the knowledgable professors, as well as the diverse pool of students all of which are always engaged and willing to support one another.

I think the biggest challenge I faced during my Master's program was completing my thesis but my thesis advisor was a great support all throughout the process. Due to the direction my thesis took at the end, I gained new technical and problem-solving skills which I am applying at my current job. I highly recommend this programme to anyone looking into entering the conservation field or even established professionals seeking to gain new skills.

Denisse Guitarra

Student testimonial: Anthony Adeea

How does online learning work?

These entry requirements are for the 2023/24 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2024/25 academic year will be published on 2 October 2023.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a zoological, biological, environmental, veterinary or a relevant bio-science topic.

We may also consider your application if your degree is in an unrelated discipline but you have relevant work experience; please contact us to check before you apply. You may be admitted to Certificate level only in the first instance.

Students from China

This degree is Band D.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 62 with at least 59 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than three and a half years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

The University of Edinburgh offers a small number of scholarships to outstanding candidates. These are very competitive. We publish data on the success rate for scholarship applications to help you understand the level of demand.

• Scholarship applications - success rates

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

• Online Learning Scholarships

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding