Environmental Sciences: Biological and Biomedical Sciences

B.A. (Moderatorship) Honours Bachelor Degree (NFQ Level 8)
4 Years Full-Time
CAO Points 555 (2023)
CAO Code TR060

Overview

What is Environmental Sciences?

Environmental Sciences is by its nature a multidisciplinary academic field, comprising a study of the frequently complex interactions between the biological, chemical and physical components of our environment. The environmental science discipline has evolved over the last numbers of decades as key environmental problems such as climate change, air, water and soil pollution, sustainable development, deforestation, desertification and urbanisation to name a few, have become the focus of scientists, policy makers and the general public. Environmental scientists have training that is similar to other physical or life scientists, but is specifically applied to the environment. A broad scientific knowledge is required which involves a fundamental understanding of the physical and life sciences in addition to mathematics, economics, law and the social sciences.

Environmental Sciences: The course for you?

If you are interested in developing the skills required to safeguard the future of the planet through monitoring, protecting, conserving and sustainably managing the environment, then this is the course for you. The undergraduate degree course offered by the School of Natural Sciences has been designed to provide for the needs of students with an interest in this rapidly developing academic and professional field. 

Environmental Sciences at Trinity

Environmental Sciences at Trinity is a multidisciplinary programme with cross-discipline contributions from the Trinity Centre for the Environment and the disciplines of Botany, Engineering, Geography, Geology and Zoology. The course is delivered through small-group teaching, lectures, tutorials, laboratory classes and field study, and these approaches are blended with the theoretical content to provide our graduates with the training required to become highly successful practitioners in this field. Fieldwork is a core component of the course structure, and students have the opportunity to attend a range of residential field excursions around Ireland, as well as in the Canary Islands and Kenya. The staff that contribute to this course are all research active and are addressing key issues in environmental sciences across temperate, tropical and polar systems. .

Graduate skills and career opportunities

As a graduate in this area you will be able to take advantage of the worldwide demand generated by increasing environmental awareness. Our graduates pursue careers in conservation, resource management, waste management, environmental research, environmental protection, policy development, and environmental education.

Many graduates move straight into environmental consultancy, while others find employment in NGOs, national and local government departments, monitoring agencies, conservation bodies and analytical laboratories. It is also common for a number of our graduates to choose to further their education by pursuing postgraduate degrees in Environmental Science and related fields.

Your degree and what you’ll study

The first two years is common to all entrants, with students covering a number of science-based learning and practical modules.

Third year

Mandatory modules include:

  • Plants and the Irish Environment.
  • Fundamentals of Ecology.
  • Environmental Monitoring. 
  • Global Environmental Change.
  • Soil Science.
  • Environmental Governance.
  • Experimental Design and Analysis.
  • Desk Study: Key Challenges in Environmental Science.

Optional modules include: Hydrology and Water Quality; Ice Age Earth; Plant Physiology; Blue Earth; Understanding the Function of Marine Systems; Field Skills in Plant and Environmental; and Science and Terrestrial Field Ecology.

Students will also have the opportunity to take up to two modules from the Trinity Electives. You can learn more at: www.tcd.ie/trinity-electives/electives

Fourth year

Mandatory modules include:

  • General Environmental Sciences.
  • Capstone Research Project.
  • Data Handling.
  • Research Comprehension.
  • Environmental Impact Assessment.
  • Restoration Ecology and Rewilding. 

Optional modules include: Plant Conservation and Biodiversity; Environmental Governance II; Tropical Ecology; Plant-Animal Interactions; Vegetation Description and Analysis; and Spatial Analysis using GIS.

Click here for further information on modules/subject.

Study Biological and Biomedical Sciences Programme at Trinity

Biology is the study of life in all its complexity and diversity. In the Biological and Biomedical Sciences programme, we explore how life first arose; the properties that distinguish living organisms from inert matter; how living organisms function and how the vast diversity of life forms was generated; and how organisms reproduce themselves and how they interact both with each other and with the environment.

Course Details

Awards

B.A. (Moderatorship) Honours Bachelor Degree (NFQ Level 8)

CAO Information

CAO Points 555 (2023) CAO Code TR060
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Course Options

Students who wish to study Environmental Sciences apply to the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Stream (TR060) and may select Environmental Sciences as their specialist subject for the third and fourth years at the end of the second year.

Related courses:

Science - TR061 Chemical Sciences

Science - TR062 Geography and Geoscience

Science - TR063 Physical Sciences

Admission Requirements

To see admissions requirements for this course, view the main Biological and Biological Sciences course page

Apply

To apply to this course, click on the relevant Apply Link below

EU Applicants

Read the information about how to apply, then apply directly to CAO.

    Non-EU Applicants

    Advanced Entry Applications

    Read the information about how to apply for Advanced Entry, then select the link below to apply.

      Get in Touch

      zoboes@tcd.ie

      Website

      www.naturalscience.tcd.ie/undergraduate/environsci/index.php

      Register Your Interest

      Register your interest in studying at Ireland’s leading university, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin.

      Register Your Interest

      I decided to study Environmental Science as it was best suited to my own interests and the broad scope of future career choices it allowed. Beginning the course under a Natural Sciences title gives the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects in the first two years; an excellent experience which offers the chance to consider all options before deciding on a speciality. The Environmental Science course itself was full of relevant and interesting modules that were not only applicable to science but also to current affairs and global politics (such as the Environmental Governance module). The practical side of this course was ongoing and involved plenty of lab work, field studies and trips to places such as Gran Canaria. It also connected with external opportunities such as Operation Wallacea that allowed students the optional chance to gather data for their theses in more exotic environments during the summer of third year. Overall, I would consider this course to be one of the most exciting areas of study regarding the future global climatic and economic situation. I have found the opportunities offered are huge and can filter into many different types of careers. I am now carrying out a Ph.D. on greenhouse gas emissions in Teagasc.

      Rosie O’Neill

      Graduate

      This course is incredible. It provides the broad interdisciplinary knowledge that is essential in understanding modern environmental problems, and a well-balanced combination of lab work, field work, and desk studies. The work that you do in the course throughout the year will have immediately apparent relevance to your exams, your degree, and to anything you choose to do with your future. The lecturers in all of the departments are engaging, understanding, and exceptionally approachable. If you want a close working relationship with your lecturers, a broad understanding of the natural sciences, and the opportunity to specialise through a wide selection of optional modules, then this course is for you. Since graduating I have completed a M.Sc. in Water Science Policy and Management at the University of Oxford, School of Geography and the Environment and am now undertaking a Ph.D. looking at discrete forms of rural-urban competition for water and how this competition influences and interacts with outcomes for people and the environment.

      Isabel Jorgensen

      Graduate