Conservation Management in Freshwater Environments MSc

What is special about this course?

If you’re looking for a master’s programme that takes you beyond the classroom and into the heart of real-world conservation, this is it. Our MSc in Conservation Management in Freshwater Environments is designed to immerse you in the practical skills, scientific knowledge, and field experience needed to make a tangible impact on freshwater ecosystems.

You’ll be based in the stunning Scottish Highlands, where your learning will culminate in a professional placement with a conservation-active organisation. This is your chance to get directly involved in applied conservation, whether that’s collecting environmental data in the field, analysing samples in a cutting-edge eDNA lab, or using programming and GIS to explore patterns in biodiversity. Alongside your placement, you’ll deepen your expertise through focused study in topics like applied genetics, freshwater conservation science, and data visualisation in R.

Throughout the course, you’ll be guided by leading experts and supported to develop the skills that conservation employers need, from hands-on fieldwork to critical analysis and effective communication. You'll leave the programme not just with a degree, but with real experience that sets you apart.

Graduates from this programme go on to careers as wildlife biologists, environmental consultants, policy advisors, and GIS specialists, as well as into roles in conservation education and ecotourism. Whether you want to work in the field, in the lab, or at the interface between science and policy, this MSc gives you the tools, and the experience, to make it happen.

Special features

• Placement with a conservation active organisation in the Scottish Highlands 
• Fieldwork in the Scottish Highlands
• Lab work in a state-of-the-art environmental DNA lab
• Lectures from experts in their fields

Entry requirements

• 2:2 Undergraduate Honours Degree in a related subject OR
• 2:2 Undergraduate Degree in a non-related subject PLUS a minimum of 2 years relevant work experience in the conservation sector OR
• Postgraduate Diploma or professional qualification in a related subject
• This is a Category 2 PVG course: PVG Scheme membership is required for specific optional modules/unit(s), where there is guaranteed contact with vulnerable groups in optional module/unit(s), but an alternative pathway exists to achieve target qualification. For further information visit our PVG scheme webpage

PgCert

You will study the following core modules:

• Applied conservation genetics
• Freshwater conservation science
• Introduction to R and data visualisation

PgDip

You will study the following core modules:

• Applications of GIS
• Fundamental statistics

Plus 1 of the following optional modules:

• Advanced GIS and remote sensing
• Biodiversity management
• Statistics 2

MSc

To achieve the award of MSc Conservation Management in Freshwater Environments, you must also complete a placement with a Scottish conservation-relevant organisation and report back on the real-world conservation actions you participate in.

Fees

For information on costs of this course please contact the campus where you wish to study.

Funding

UHI offers assistance in the form of bursaries, such as the Reid Endowment Fund, for students who need to travel to attend mandatory academic activities. Please visit our funding pages for more information.

Additional costs

You will be required to attend a one-week field course and a one-week lab course as part of the programme, both of which are based in UHI Inverness. These will incur travel and accommodation costs for students who are not resident in Inverness (see the Funding section for financial assistance).