School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Leeds

End of Year / Pre-Enrolment meeting: Year 2

Welcome

Learning outcomes – aims and objectives, for Year 3

General advice on option choices

Who to approach for advice

Leeds for Life

Careers and employability

Feedback

Important information

Esther has prepared a document with important information on

• Pre-enrolment

• Exams

• Results

• Important dates

Available online – please make sure you read this! This link will be emailed after the meeting.

http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/current/undergraduates/endofyear.html

Special circumstances

You must notify us of any special circumstances that you wish to be taken into account before 18th June 2012. This should be via email to Katrina Firth:

k.firth@see.leeds.ac.uk

If we don’t know we can’t take it into account.

Level 3 Learning Outcomes

• Understand and demonstrate coherent and detailed knowledge of a range of complex environmental issues informed by recent debate and scholarship within the discipline;

• Identify and undertake suitable environmental monitoring for improved environmental scientific understanding;

• Apply environmental theories and methods to a range of environmental problems operating at local, regional and global scales;

• Undertake a substantial piece of independent study and research incorporating aspects of project design, execution and communication.

You have a choice of courses to make up the 120 credits that you take during your final year.

• May specialise or you may keep your options open.

• The amount of choice varies between degree schemes

Make sure you pick modules at the correct level. You MUST choose at least 110 credits at level 3. This is your responsibility. If you are thinking about taking a module which is not at level 3 then talk to your programme coordinator.

Module pre-enrolment:

For all students the dissertation makes up 1/3 of the final year marks.

This is often the thing external examiners tend to look at in detail and is a major consideration in borderline cases.

Also your chance to get involved in a piece of real research and study a topic in-depth. Important in developing and demonstrating independent study and research skills.

With such a long and important piece of work it is vital to manage your time. Don’t leave it all until after Christmas!

Dissertation

For Environmental Science there are 5 pathways at level 3 which follow on from the pathways you chose at level 2. You should pick 2 from

• Earth

• Atmosphere

• Water

• Bio

• Environmental management

Compulsory research-focussed Frontiers module.

You must also pick a skills module from the list (includes fieldwork)

Env Sci pathways

For Met and Climate Science you must take the atmosphere pathway from Env Sci along with an additional block of specialist atmospheric science modules. Also have to take the atmospheric science field trip.

You may then choose 20 credits of options from a list of suggestions (or alternatively up to 20 credits of approved electives)

Met & Climate Science

Choose options from a suggested list (50 credits for Conservation, 80 credits for Biogeo, 40 credits ESS).

More important in this case to think about choice of modules and how they fit together.

Must check timetabling works.

Conservation / Biogeoscience / Earth System Science

How do I choose a suitable module / pathway?

By now you may know which areas of the subject interest you most.

Your choices may well follow on from the modules you have taken in year 2.

You may also be thinking about an MSc / MRes / PhD course after your degree. Options give you the chance to prepare for a particular postgraduate course

How do I choose a suitable module?

You need to check your proposed timetable – Compulsory modules won’t clash and the pathways won’t clash, but some optional modules might clash with compulsory and with other optional modules. It is your responsibility to avoid clashes. The school reserves the right to remove students from modules if they clash with compulsory modules.

You may also want to balance your workload between semesters 1 and 2. Don't forget you will also be working on your dissertation until Easter.

You must seek permission from your programme coordinator or administrator for ANY elective module. If you register for an unapproved module it will be removed from your student record by the school.

Who do I ask about choice of modules?

In the first instance your course convenor:

Env Sci: Steve Arnold / Andrew Ross from July

Earth System Sci: Ian Burke

Met Climate Sci: Andrew Ross

Conservation: Colin Pitts

We may send you off to talk to the module convenor if we don’t have the necessary detailed information

Feedback has been a major L&T theme recently, where we aimed to raise the profile of provision of feedback amongst staff and encourage students to engage with feedback accordingly.

In order to get the most from feedback, bear in mind the following:

Anticipate and actively look for all forms of feedback

Engage fully with all feedback that you receive

Engage with all coursework and feedback, whether assessed for marks or not.

Ask for help if do not understand the feedback you receive, and ask for more feedback if you feel you aren’t getting enough

Feedback is your main route to improvement, so

don’t miss out!!

Student portfolios

You must return you completed assessment portfolios to the School on:

Environmental Sci: 18/05/2012 10.00 to 11.00 Vis Lab

Met and Climate Sci: 18/05/2012 10.00 to 11.00 Vis Lab

Environmental Conservation: 15/05/2012, between 12.00 & 1.00 and 14.00 to 15.00 at the Student Support Office

Earth System Science: 18/05/2012 10.00 to 11.00 Vis Lab

Student portfolios

Please retrieve any marked coursework from pigeonholes.

Coursework not returned to you before this will be kept by SSO until reviewed by the External Examiners and returned later.

It is your responsibility to submit your completed portfolio to the School. Submission of completed portfolios is compulsory!

Field trip dates

SOEE 3291/5690M – Atmospheric Science Field Skills

Friday 7th to Friday 14th September 2012, Isle of Arran.

- Students who are taking this module as an optional module will have to pay ~ £200 towards the cost of the fieldtrip.

Compulsory for Met and Climate Sci students. Optional module for Env Sci and ESS.

Flagship teaching with a research approach

(can ease timetable and assessment pressure at Level 3)

Field trip dates

SOEE 3690 – Advanced Fieldwork: Principles of Ecology

Friday 7th September to Thursday 13th September 2012, Slapton Sands.

Optional module for Env Sci, Biogeo, Conservation and ESS.

Cost for optional module TBC - includes food and accommodation.

Again can ease timetable and assessment pressure at L3

Leeds for Life https://leedsforlife.leeds.ac.uk/

Use Leeds for Life to:

- arrange and support your personal tutorials

- Find out what skills employers are looking for

- Find opportunities within and outside your course to develop and add to your skills, making yourself more employable.

- seek opportunities for funding to undertake travel and to pursue interesting project ideas (apply to the Leeds for Life Foundation).

- help your personal tutor to write job references for you (it will record your transcript and details of meetings during your time at Leeds and for five years after you graduate).

- Update skills and achievements on the living CV section on ‘Leeds for Life’.

Careers + employability

Make sure you have used feedback on your CV from careers modules, the careers centre and your personal tutor so that it is as good as possible.

Make best use of the summer vacation to further improve your CV.

Remember that as soon as you start year 3, you should be pro-active in applying for jobs. Many of the larger companies visit the University in the first few weeks of term.

Try to make an appointment with a careers advisor at the careers centre before you make applications.

Don’t forget about MSc or PhD opportunities.

Applying for jobs

As soon as you start your final year you should be proactive in applying for jobs – don’t miss the deadline for your dream job.

Start doing your research now.

Many large companies visit the University early next term.

Make an appointment with the Careers Centre before making applications.

Look out for careers events.

Further study

If you are thinking about further study (MSc / PhD) then find out what is available, both in Leeds and elsewhere.

Ask your tutor / programme manager / lecturers for advice (good topic to discuss in personal tutorial meetings!)

Do your research.

Deadlines usually after Christmas, but you can often apply earlier.

Look out for events in the school / faculty.

Feedback

Undergraduate module feedback surveys available from 4th May.

Tell us what worked and what didn’t.

For general programme feedback complete the programme survey at: haveyoursay.leeds.ac.uk

100 free printer credits or a £1 charity donation are on offer.

• Eco Fair http://www.eco-fair.co.uk/  1st May, Leeds United

• Yorkshire Graduate Recruitment Fair, Thursday 31st May, The Edge

Dates for diary

Finally ………….

Best Wishes for your Exams!

Term starts on Wednesday 19 September 2012 for returning students and important meetings will be held

during this week.

Please make yourselves available from this date.

Any Questions?