Environment and Natural Resources - bachelor

180 credits, taught in Norwegian. Contact: Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences (IPM),www.umb.no/ipm Contact: studieveileder-ipm@umb.no

There is an increasing demand for professionals with broad knowledge of natural resources and how these are affected by naturally occurring and human-made changes. Also in demand is knowledge about the effects of changes in area usage, ecosystem reactions resulting from climate change, diffuse and long distance pollution, low dose exposure over a long period of time, with knowledge of international politics and the connection to social structures in developed and less developed countries.The Bachelor\'s degree with an average of C qualifies students to the Master\'s degree programme in Environment and Natural Resources at UMB and also prepares graduates for related Master\'s degrees in Norway and abroad. Bachelor\'s degree education is in itself not a professional education, but it gives job opportunities such as consultants in municipalities, counties or consultancy firms, etc.

Admission requirements
More general information about admission to UMB: http://www.umb.no/study-options/article/admission Higher Education Entrance Qualification; specific requirements in science.

Internationalisation, studies abroad and exhange agreements
The study programme has a broad international profile through contacts with relevant educational institutions outside Norway. The study programme focuses on both Norwegian and international questions connected with environment and natural resources.It is designed for students, mainly the third year, can take half a year of study abroad or at another educational institution in Norway. There is great flexibility in organizing study abroad, both compulsory and optional course portfolio can be completed at other institutions. IPM and UMB has a number of agreements with other universities, examples include University of Nebraska (USA), Lincoln University (New Zealand) and UNIS (Svalbard).

Some courses may be given in English if requested by the students. Agreement of individual coursework can be made.

Related studies
The Bachelor?s degree study programme in Environment and Natural Resources is interdisciplinary and consists of courses from several of UMB?s departments. The study is related to other UMB Bachelor?s programmes such as ecology, nature management, forest sciences, plant sciences and renewable energy. Compared to nature management, B-MINA is directed more to processes in nature (chemistry, physics and biological) and contains ecology and management subjects.

Learning goals
Knowledge: Demonstrate knowledge of basic subjects required in the Environment and Natural Resources: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology Demonstrate knowledge about the natural features and processes in soil and water systems and how human activity has affected the environment. Demonstrate knowledge of various pollution sources and migration (nitrogen, phosphorus, erosion, greenhouse gases, heavy metals, radioactivity) and how they affect the environment. Demonstrate knowledge of the effects of land use changes. Ecosystem response to such climate change, diffuse and long-range pollution, low-dose exposures over a long time connected with knowledge in the subject in a broader perspective. Demonstrate knowledge of how historical, theoretical, technical and methodological innovation (FoU) provides new opportunities for reducing environmental impact and increase sustainability in interaction with other disciplines. Skills: Can apply and combine knowledge from basic sciences and disciplines related to the program to explain the choices that are made. Finding, evaluating and referring to the subject matter in a fair and ethical manner and present this to highlight problems related to the environment, natural resources and land use. Using various scientific methods to conduct surveys of soil and water systems, including the collection and processing of data, and to present and inform (prepare report). General competencies: Structuring the semester in order to obtain steady work load. Develop their skills in collecting material from various sources and activities. Reflecting on their professional judgment with the help of a tutor. Participate in and contribute to work in groups with different academic composition and backgrounds. Plan and carry out simple tasks related to the field so that both the professional and ethical requirements, such as safety procedures. Communicate their knowledge and results both orally and in writing. Participate in discussions and exchange experiences in their specialties

Teaching and evaluation methods
In addition to lectures (theory), practical field and laboratory teaching is central to this programme. Registration/mapping, sampling, treatment and analysis are followed by practice in interpreting and weighing of data that may be important in evaluating plans for action. This principle is important for future job situations, and will be reflected in the individual courses and entire programme. The aim is a good balance between independent work and group work with presentation of results in oral and written form. Several of the study programme?s 200 level courses have research-based parts.The students are evaluated both through continuous assessment and final written examinations. The final examination will generally be written, but oral examinations are also used. Independent work and exercises with journals and reports will, together with multiple-choice exams, be used in continuous assessment. Specialised courses with a large proportion of practical field and laboratory work are characteristic for this programme. These will to a large degree be used in continuous assessment of both group and individual work, with a possible written or oral final examination. The step-by-step principle in these field and laboratory courses allows for testing/evaluation underway (field reports, lab journals, etc) and this is one way of giving continuous feedback of the students progression.

Programme content
The programme requires a good knowledge in basic natural sciences subjects. These are taken in the first two years of the programme and include mathematics (10 credit), statistics (10 cr), physics (10 cr), chemistry (10 cr), biology (10 cr) and examen philosophicum (10 cr), a total of 60 cr. In addition, there is obligatory courses in geology (10 cr), soil (5 cr), biology (5 cr), hydrology (10 cr) and environment and natural resources (20 cr), a total of 50 cr. Students must also choose a minimum of 30 cr from a list of subjects in geology, water, soil and chemistry (conditional electives). The obligatory course portfolio totals 140 cr, of which 40 cr are electives.

Spesialisation requirements
80 credits are required for a specialisation. Eighty study points are required for specialisation. The Bacholor\'s degree study programme in Environment and Natural Resources consists of 60 credits obligatory basic courses, 50 cr obligatory interdisciplinary courses and 30 cr obligatory conditional courses. Students who plan to finish the studies with a bachelordegree are recommended to write a Bachelor thesis.

Student advising

Evaluation