Be the superhero and save the world with M.Sc. in Environmental Science

Introduction to the course 

The Merriam-Webstar defines a superhero (‘hero’ as a gender-neutral term) as a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers, or an exceptionally skilful or successful person. In simpler terms, an adroit, dexterous person who has dedicated her/his life for betterment of humanity or the biosphere as a whole. In real life, an environmental scientist fits the bill. Changing the world for the better, is the objective of an environmentalist working in any of the several interdisciplinary domains like pollution control expert, ecologist, climate change consultant or environmental toxicologist. Saving the world from a man-made environmental catastrophe or an apocalypse is the ‘job-profile’ of an expert in these subjects. Only a holistic education of environment will let you understand the importance of this subject which is even more relevant in today’s world of acute crisis, which will go down in the history of mankind as a catastrophe triggered by disrespect of human towards nature. 

The M.Sc. in Environmental Science programme will be offered by the School of Basic and Applied Sciences (SOBAS), Adamas University. The programme is designed to develop future professionals with profound and inveterate scientific consciousness willing to look for meaningful, impactful and responsible careers. Being a multidisciplinary subject, skill development in the form of capacity building of students in several facets of various scientific disciplines is the primary objective of the course. An ever-increasing consciousness of the human race regarding the environment and the ecosystem services will lead to the demand for experts with scientific dexterity in almost all related domains. The programme is structured in such a sagacious manner that the society as a whole will gain from the contributions of the alumni of this department. 

How is M.Sc. in Environmental Science Course Beneficial? 

• Quantitative reasoning and/or mathematical skills or statistical models to study environmental phenomena. 
• Use geospatial technologies to address environmental problems. 

• Awareness of ecosystems in the context of human-environmental interactions. 
• Competently implement a project, which may include literature review, experimental design, data collection, data analysis, and reporting. 
• Students will understand key concepts in the life and physical sciences and will apply them to environmental issues.  
• Students will be able to locate, evaluate and synthesize information from the scientific literature.  
• Students will analyse data using appropriate statistical methods and will be able to evaluate the use of statistics by others in a variety of contexts.  

• Students will apply knowledge of the sciences within an interdisciplinary context in solving environmental issues such as environmental health, food and agriculture, energy, waste and pollution, climate change, population, resource management, and loss of biodiversity.  
• Students will carry out an applied research project in the natural sciences.  
• Students will be able to communicate science effectively through written work and oral presentations to a variety of audiences.  
• Students will apply the tools commonly used in field research, particularly in the study of plants, animals, and soils and will find their way on the landscape using map, compass and GPS technology, and use spatial analysis software such as GIS, Google Earth, and Google Maps. 

Relevance 

1. Environmental Science is an inter-disciplinary subject and its components along with their interactions through assiduous study of Ecology, Biodiversity, Environmental Chemistry, and Environmental Microbiology
2. Understand the different kinds of pollutions and their sources through study of Climate and Air Pollution Studies, Hazardous Waste & Environmental Toxicology and Soil Pollution and different laws about pollution.
3. Analyse and determine pollution using Environmental Analytical Techniques, Biostatistics and Computational Techniques.
4. Understand different technologies like biotechnology, water and wastewater treatment technology to find the solutions and their applications in abatement of Pollution and other environmental problems.
5. Use of different tools for the management of Environment, Energy resources, solid wastes, Biodiversity conservation like Remote Sensing & Geographical Information Systems and different methodologies.
6. Understand the basic principles of disaster management and industrial safety.
7. Determine the environmental impact due to different developmental projects and find solution to eliminate these impacts.
8. Through Dissertation, student can identify a particular environmental problem, review the literature for finding the gaps, develop research methodology, collect data and carry out data analysis and interpretation. 
9. Students will also acquire the ability to write the research findings in the form of structured thesis and communicate the research results through oral or poster presentations.

What are the learning outcomes?

1. To sensitize students towards environmental issues, and impacts of various anthropogenic activities on global climate and related mitigation strategies. 
2. To provide practical training on modern instrumentation and analytical techniques for environmental analyses. 
3. To enable the students for practical application of their knowledge and prepare them for successful and meaningful careers in research and academics, industries, environmental consultancies and NGOs. 
4. To encourage innovation that is exposure driven, since the dynamics of environmental science ranges from nature study in a locality to climatic and global meteorological issues. 
5. This course will enable the students to get exposed to the real-world situations through nature trails and studies, excursions, industry visits, sophisticated research laboratory visits, rural outreach, socio-economic surveys and many more. 

Academic and scholarly activity 

The primary objective of the inception of this new course is to initiate a course with a broader perspective having an academic as well as professional outlook. Didactic pedagogy will be implemented to suit the individual needs of all students. Skill development in the form of capacity building of the students vis a vis problem solving, critical thinking, communication, and entrepreneurial abilities will be put into effect. Various elements of the course structure will be aligned in such a manner to accommodate customized educational plans. Flexibility and continuous mentoring will be provided focusing on development of knowledge, skills, personalities, and most importantly outlook that will enable them to achieve the intended outcomes of the course. 

Faculty members will ideally get involved in high quality research activities, through which the students will have a paradigm shift in their approach towards the various disciplines. This will result in widening of their peripheral vision which is a pre-requisite for such a dynamic and socially relevant subject. Since successful in hand training promotes a successful career, arduous effort in setting up laboratory facilities is necessary. Establishing a state of the art laboratory which will support multidisciplinary research and analytical infrastructure will be one of the major focal points. In due course of time, if the laboratory gets required accreditation (NABL), it can act as an avenue for revenue earning through analysis and consultancy. The students in the process, will have access to several real-life environmental problem-solving exercises. 

Since all learners cannot learn in the same way and in the same pace, appropriate opportunities will be provided, in as much personalised manner as possible. 

Outcomes including knowledge, skills and attitudes will be evaluated through examinations, tutorials, assignments, Project work, Labs, Presentations, continuous and comprehensive assessments.  

Compulsory credit points is associated with the summer training included in the curriculum. Students will visit industries dealing with pollution abatement or where environmental management is a critical issue. Students may also visit institutes or laboratories of national and international repute. In either of the cases, the trainee students will experience first-hand knowledge which will enhance their employability. 

Career opportunities 

R&D/Industry based domains 

• Pollution analyst 
• Environmental remediation 
• Green chemist 
• Agricultural Science 
• Bioinformatics 
• Climatologist/Meteorologist 
• Ecologist/Conservation biologist 
• Environmental geoscientist/GIS specialist 
• Hydrologist 
• Marine Biologist/Oceanographer 
• Microbiologist 
• Molecular Biologist 
• Toxicologist 

Job opportunities in other sectors 

• Environmental Impact Assessment 
• Air/Water Quality 
• Waste Management/Contaminant cleanup 
• Chemical safety 
• Water resources 
• Public health and hygiene 
• Mineral resources 
• Forest resources 
• Ecologists in Govt. agencies 
• National Green Tribunal 
• Public health agencies 
• State and Indian Forest Services 
• Environmental Journalism 

Career guidance will also be provided on behalf of the department as a continuous and keystone support system for the students. After successful completion of their PG course the students will find themselves ready to get employed in disciplines of their choice and interest.  

Through a competitive learning atmosphere, students will be provided with special academic modules for NET and GATE examinations. Another important highlight of this course will be in the domain of other professional and competitive examinations. Syllabus has been planned so as to prepare the students for higher education which includes research and academics, as well as orient them for Civil service and other competitive and professional examinations. 

A subject not bound by any state or country or continent. The earth needs young bright enthusiastic students like you. The magnitude of the anthropogenic damage that needs to be undone, and the importance of conservation and preservation of natural assets are so important, for our bare survival, requirement of environmentalists will never wane away. Students from Adamas University with have received academic exposure to institutes and universities of global and national repute in various disciplines. Adamas University is among the very few Universities offering the courses on Environmental Science, where each of the disciplines of this transdisciplinary course will be addressed by the experts. This intense nurturing will be unique, so that pursuing career opportunities abroad shall be facilitated.  

For further details and enquiry, you can visit the official website of, Adamas University (https://science.adamasuniversity.ac.in/environmental-science)