Ecology and Conservation - BSc (Hons)

University of Plymouth

As an international Environmental Management student, my time at Plymouth has been defined by two things: academic freedom and incredible support. When I faced significant personal loss and financial struggles that impacted my attendance, the faculty didn't write me off they gave me the flexibility to recover and succeed. The course itself is far more than just exams. I was able to lead complex, consultancy-style projects (like my work on Singapore Heat Stress policies) that felt like real professional work, not just coursework. The resources in the Marine Building and library are top-tier for anyone willing to push themselves. Plymouth offers a rare balance: it challenges you intellectually to reach distinction levels, but supports you personally when life gets hard. Highly recommended for students who want resilience alongside their degree.

One of the best things is the location of the University: being right by the sea and also near places like Dartmoor means it is easy to get yourself outside, into nature and active. This for me has been really good in helping me improve my lifestyle and mental health. My experience with my course has been amazing - the lecturers are very engaging and always willing to help or have a chat, and the amount of fieldwork/lab time we get is very good, which is also always another opportunity to talk to lecturers. I feel like the way the course is done can make it feel very tailored to what you personally want which is brilliant. I've also found as a general rule, everyone around the University and city are very friendly and welcoming, I felt very at home quickly after moving here. One of the worst things I've experienced at University is probably student housing. The University owned halls in first year were amazing: good facilities and I had an injury early on which they were good with. However moving into housing in second and third year, even though the process was easy, finding a good house that was in good condition is very difficult, and then communicating with student housing agencies sometimes when you need something fixed etc. can be challenging.

the library is awesome and provides an excellent place to study, the night life is great and very fun with the SU hosting a large variety of events. Support is there but you have to go out your way but that’s fine. My course is really fun i enjoy the experience and would reccomend it to anyone

The university are working on making the campus look nicer and have more greenery which is nice and I feel extremely safe walking around campus both during the day and at night. The facilities could be improved by having more of the widescreen computers around the university to help with studying.

best: supportive professors, presentations are very well laid out, lab plus is the best, location is convenient and student life is fun! lots of clubs and societies could improve: 2nd year accommodation help. there could be some sort of club/society where first years can go to get more info on choosing 2nd year accom