GVMENVC: Environmental Consultancy

Module code: GVMENVC

Module provider: Geography and Environmental Science; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Sarah Duddigan, email: s.duddigan@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

An environmental consultant provides expert assessment for their clients (e.g. developers, industry, government etc.) on a variety of matters pertaining to the management of environmental issues and environmental compliance.

As part of a team, you will work to deliver a practical environmental consultancy project with the subsequent presentation of the findings to a panel consisting of regulators and practitioners from the environmental industry.

You will benefit from a genuine environmental consultancy experience that can be used as a convincing case study to demonstrate competencies to future employers.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Design a sampling strategy and undertake a complex environmental project demonstrating competency in working in a multidisciplinary, multicultural and equitable team
2. Present spatial data
3. Interpret and evaluate environmental data in the context of legislation
4. Present the findings of an environmental investigation to a client

Module content

• Meeting and presenting to a client (stakeholder engagement)
• Desktop study (site history, conceptual models, mapping, sampling strategies)
• Relevant policy related to new developments, and how they might be implemented
• Laboratory and field work

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching will be through a combination of lecture and computer practicals following the flipped classroom approach, supported with laboratory practicals and field work. Split between lectures and practicals will vary between weeks depending on the topic. Methods will be introduced and discussed in lectures and practiced during practicals and group seminars, where students will collect and analyse various types of data. Students will have the chance to test their understanding using real environmental data that they have collected from the field themselves.

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Peer feedback of relative contributions of team members to the desktop study assessment will be used as formative feedback. Interactive lectures and seminars will provide the opportunity for students to practice and receive instant feedback on performance. Drop-in sessions and practise slots for presentations will also be available.

Reassessment

Additional costs