Programme Structure

When you enroll in the MSc programme in Environmental Science you can choose between three different specialisations: Chemistry, Toxicology and Health, Soil and Water or Soil, Water and Biodiversity. You can read more about the specialisations at the bottom of this page.

Teaching at the programme is in the form of lectures, seminars, practical and theoretical exercises, and there will be a good deal of project work. You will be working both independently and in project groups.

Do a Project in Practice or Study Abroad

As part of your programme you may choose to do a project in practice or to study abroad for one or two semesters or for a shorter period.

Master's Thesis

The compulsory courses provide you with a broad foundation on which to base the elective courses. The elective study activities along with the knowledge obtained from the compulsory courses equip you for writing the final thesis.

You can, for example, work with thesis subjects such as:

  • Hormone-disrupting substances.
  • The effect of air pollution on health.
  • Degradation of oil and pesticides in soil.
  • Toxicity of heavy metals to humans and organisms in the soil.
  • Risk assessment of harmful substances.
  • You may also investigate what the implications are when several substances are present at the same time; the so-called cocktail effect.

See also these examples of MSc theses, showing the diversity of topics you can work with at Environmental Science.

Specialisations

 

This specialisation gives you insight in how environmentally harmful chemicals move and are degraded in the environment. You will learn what is toxic to humans and to the environment, and most importantly you will become an expert in what we can do to find solutions to the challenges of toxic chemicals.

The ChemTox-specialisation is composed of the following subject areas:

  • Atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic environmental chemistry
  • Ecotoxicology
  • Human toxicology
  • Epidemiology
  • Risk assessment

Together, the subject areas provide the knowledge required to link the presence of substances in the environment with the possible hazardous and environmentally harmful effects.

The ChemTox-specialisation can be structured in four different ways, depending on whether you write a thesis worth 30 or 45 ECTS and whether you start in September or February.

Programme Overview, Thesis 30 ECTS, Study Start September

Compulsory courses: 45 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 15 ECTS
Master's thesis: 30 ECTS

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4
Year 1 Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Air Pollution and Health Environmental Epidemiology Environmental and Human Health Risk Assessment of Chemicals
Soil and Water Pollution, Concepts and Theory Soil and Water Pollution, Experimental Assessment Restricted elective course Restricted elective course
Year 2 Elective course Elective course Thesis
Restricted elective course Restricted elective course

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS.

Programme Overview, Thesis 45 ECTS, Study Start September

Compulsory courses: 45 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 15 ECTS
Elective courses: 15 ECTS
Master's thesis: 45 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS.

Programme Overview, Thesis 30 ECTS, Study Start February

Study start in February is only for students with a reserved access to the programme. Read about reserved access here >>

Compulsory courses: 45 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 15 ECTS
Master's thesis: 30 ECTS

Block 3
Block 4
Block 1
Block 2
Year 1 Environmental Epidemiology Environmental and Human Health Risk Assessment of Chemicals Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Air Pollution and Health
Restricted elective course Restricted elective course Soil and Water Pollution, Concepts and Theory Soil and Water Pollution, Experimental Assessment
Year 2 Elective course Elective course Thesis
Restricted elective course Restricted elective course

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS.

Programme Overview, Thesis 45 ECTS, Study Start February

Study start in February is only for students with a reserved access to the programme. Read about reserved access here >>

Compulsory courses: 45 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 15 ECTS
Elective courses: 15 ECTS
Master's thesis: 45 ECTS

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS.

Restricted Elective Courses

Choose your restricted elective courses from the list below. Click on each course for a detailed description. 

 

 

 

The Soil and Water specialisation prepares you to work with sustainable solutions for the protection of ecosystems, soil and water from environmental impacts caused by human activity.

You'll get a deep understanding of the geochemical and biological processes in soils that affect surface and groundwater resources. Through the restricted elective and elective courses you can focus on biogeochemistry processes, analytical methods to study soil and water, as well as ecology and landscape elements.

Upon graduation you'll have the competences to:

  • conduct environmental monitoring, using appropriate methods and techniques.
  • handle statistical analysis and presentation of environmental data.
  • propose sustainable uses of land, based on research results – with special focus on agricultural, horticultural and forest systems.

The specialisation can be structured in two ways depending on whether you start your studies in September or February:

Programme Overview, Study Start in September

Compulsory courses: 15 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 45 ECTS

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4
Year 1 Soil and Water Pollution, Concepts and Theory Restricted elective course Land Use and Environmental Modelling Restricted elective course
Elective course Restricted elective course Restricted elective course Elective course
Year 2 Elective course Thesis
Elective course

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS.

Programme Overview, Study Start in February

Study start in February is only for students with a reserved access to the programme. Read about reserved access here >>

Compulsory courses: 15 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 30 ECTS
Elective courses: 30 ECTS
Master's thesis: 45 ECTS

Block 3
Block 4
Block 1
Block 2
Year 1 Land Use and Environmental Modelling Elective course Soil and Water Pollution, Concepts and Theory Elective course
Restricted elective course Restricted elective course Restricted elective course Restricted elective course
Year 2 Elective course Thesis
Elective course

One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS.

Restricted Elective Courses

Choose your restricted elective courses from the list below. Click on each course for a detailed description. 

 

 

In the EnvEuro specialisation you will study one year here at University of Copenhagen (home university) and one year at one of the three European partner universities (host university). You decide yourself if you want to start by studying the first year of the specialisation here or abroad.

The specialisation focuses on human use of and impact on natural resources. In particular, you will be looking at water resources because the amount and quality of the water may provide general information about the degree of pollution and the amount of discharge from agriculture, industry and households in a given area.

In the second and third semesters, you will specialise in a specific subject area that you choose out of three possible subject areas:

  • Environmental Impact
  • Soil Resources and Land Use
  • Water Resources

You may combine two subject areas so that in the second semester you specialise in one direction and in the third semester you specialise in another direction. Your choice of subject area determines the universities you will be studying at.

Read about the structure of the specialisation, courses, subject areas and much more at www.enveuro.eu >>


Specific language requirements at the host university for the second year

  • BOKU as your host university

When you enroll in the MSc programme in Environmental Science with specialisation in Soil, Water and Biodiversity (EnvEuro) with Copenhagen University as your home university and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) as your host university you must document that you have passed one of the accepted tests.

  • University of Hohenheim as your host university

When you enroll in the MSc programme in Environmental Science with specialisation in Soil, Water and Biodiversity (EnvEuro) with Copenhagen University as your home university and University of Hohenheim as your host university you must document that you have passed one of the accepted tests.

  • SLU as your host university

When you enroll in the MSc programme in Environmental Science with specialisation in Soil, Water and Biodiversity (EnvEuro) with Copenhagen University as your home university and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) as your host university the English language requirements documented for enrollment at Copenhagen University apply.