M.Sc Environmental Studies

Consequent upon the increasing urbanisation, industrialisation and development of new technologies at various sectors of the economy in most countries of the world, there has been worldwide concern about the concomitant exploitation and depletion of natural resources, the quality of the environment and many other ecological problems.

Nigeria and many other African countries are increasingly aware of prevailing environmental concerns and it has become crucial to incorporate environmental control and management as a vital component of development in these countries to ensure rational exploitation, ecosystems balance and environmental quality.

Achieving this requires sound scientific understanding and specialized training on Environmental Standards that rest on applied ecological principles. This BMAS is designed to lead to the award of the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Standards. It is expected that it can adequately prepare all graduates of the Programme to acquire the requisite skills and expertise that can prepare them towards contemporary and future environmental challenges.

Philosophy

The fundamental philosophy underlying the M.Sc. Environmental Standards programme is the provision of sound, specialised, effective and practical-oriented advanced training in environmental issues, standards and management. The Programme is expected to provide its graduates with the required competencies to address the identified developmental challenges in environmental standards. In addition, it will provide the candidates with an advantage of access to career paths through unique opportunities in environmental standards, hence, addressing the gap in the needs for services from well-trained mid level professionals in Environmental Standards. It is expected that this will result in promoting the implementation of environmental policies across Africa and other developing nations across the world.

Aims and Objectives

The programme is designed to:

• Increase the students understanding of the multi-disciplinary nature of Environmental Standards.
• Provide sound specialised and effective practical oriented training of course work, fieldwork and research in environmental standards, management and control.
• Provide high-level skilled manpower with both academic and professional competence for tackling key environmental concerns in all their ramifications.
• Produce skilled manpower, trained specifically for environmental surveillance and monitoring for standards and management.
• To improve the national economic growth and development by promoting manpower development in Environmental Standards.
• Foster interdisciplinary teamwork focused on developing and validating solutions to environmental challenges and management.
• Provide the broad knowledge necessary to engage in 21st century environmental challenges especially as they are noted across Africa while gaining the depth required offering expertise management strategies.
• Expose students to diverse perspectives and approaches to problem-solving on environmental concerns.

Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission into the programme will be as follows:

• Candidates must meet the basic matriculation requirement of individual universities including 5 O’ Level Credits including Mathematics and English Language and any other three relevant science subjects.
• Candidates must have at least Second class Lower Division Bachelors degree in Environmental Standards, Environmental Sciences or Management, Natural or Applied Sciences, Medical Science, Agriculture, Engineering and Education Science.
• Candidates with third class honours degree in any of the relevant fields stated in (ii) above and with 5 years’ post-graduation experience.
• Candidates with PGD at Credit Level pass (i.e. 3.5 of 5.0 Cumulative Grade Points Average) or 60% on weighted percentage may be considered.
• Candidates with third class honours degree or HND and who have also acquired an academic Postgraduate Diploma.

Duration Of The Programme

The duration of the programme will vary depending on whether it is part-time or full-time as follows:

• The Full-Time M.Sc. Programme shall run for a minimum of four Semesters;
• The Part-Time M.Sc. Programme shall run for a minimum of six Semesters; and
• Students will spend no more than 1½ times the stipulated minimum time for completion of the programme.

Requirements For Graduation

To be awarded the M.Sc. Environmental Standards degree in any of the specializations, students will be required to earn a minimum of 30 credit units of both course work and dissertation. This shall consist of core courses (10 Credit units) and specializations (14 credit units) to be offered in two semesters. In addition, and during the second year, students must register for, and earn, 6 credit units of dissertation in their areas of specialization.