Ecology and Conservation (Hons) University of Kent

Overview

#1 in the UK for "Teaching staff explained things well" (NSS 2026).

Delivered by the internationally-renowned Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), our undergraduate course is the longest running conservation course in the UK.

Our programme integrates the natural and social sciences to give you a deep and interdisciplinary understanding of conservation. Explore the interaction between people and nature, in subject areas like climate change, environmental sustainability, and conservation policy, alongside natural science areas of focus, including rewilding, biogeography, conservation genetics and wildlife management. You’ll be taught by award-winning DICE staff, giving you the knowledge, skills and global networks to make a positive impact around the world.

Our course sees students study habitats local to us and around the world. This includes the bison rewilding project in Blean, Kent, and habitats on our own campus - from ancient woodlands to grasslands and a network of ponds, home to one of the longest amphibian monitoring projects in the world. It also includes a residential field trip to Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory, and the option to take part in additional trips to Durrell Zoo in Jersey, and Costa Rica.

Graduate with skills in wildlife and habitat surveying, data analysis, survey design, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and ecological project management - having planned your own dissertation research project in the final year. Our alumni work in a range of sectors, from leading international conservation initiatives in the field, to policy development for environmental agencies, the zoo conservation sector, research, and more.