Bachelor's Degree in Environment and Sustainability

The Degree in Environment and Sustainability at the Universidad Europea de Madrid does not so much seek to update the Degree in Environmental Sciences as to create a new degree adapted to current needs. This curriculum aims to inculcate students with the most essential knowledge of environmental sciences, but incorporating in its priorities development cooperation and sustainability as key elements, as well as the knowledge of new technologies and the acquisition of skills that have appeared over the last two decades around global sustainable development, to achieve the One Health goal.

During the first years of the degree course, you will acquire more general knowledge and then, guided by your teachers, discover in which area of environmental sciences you would like to specialize.

First-year

• Mathematical and Physical Foundations Applied to Environmental Science
• Inorganic Chemistry Applied to Environmental Science
• Organic Chemistry Applied to Environmental Science
• Biology I
• Biology II
• Geology
• History of Environmental Awareness and One Health
• Environmental Microbiology
• Botany
• Integrative Ecology and Planetary Health

Second year

• Statistics
• Environmental Psychology and Leadership
• Environmental Law and Politics
• Environmental Ethics
• Zoology
• Biogeography
• Species Conservation
• Space Conservation
• Management of Non-Renewable Energy
• Management of Renewable Energy
• Soil Science: Soil and Pollution
• Environmental Epidemiology and Public Health

Third year

• Meteorology and Climatology: Air and Pollution
• Hydrology: Water and Pollution
• Management of Environmental Databases and Applied Statistics
• Geographic Information System
• Physical Pollution: Radiation and Noise
• Environmental Economics, Sustainable Development and Industry 4.0
• Toxicology and Environmental Medicine
• Environmental Risk and Safety
• Food Health and Safety
• Ecosystem Restoration
• Environmental Consulting

Fourth-year

• Recycling
• Remediation and Bioremediation
• Landscape Management and Land Use Planning
• Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
• Development Cooperation
• Green Entrepreneurship
• Education for Sustainable Development
• Basic Concepts of Programming
• Modeling, Artificial Intelligence, and Reducing the Environmental Footprint
• Green Tourism
• Organic Farming
• Environmental Engineering
• Physico-chemical Analysis Techniques
• Internships
• End-of-Degree Project

Basic skills

• CB1. Students have shown their knowledge and understanding of a study area originating from general secondary school education, and are usually at the level where, with the support of more advanced textbooks, they may also demonstrate awareness of the latest developments in their field of study.
• CB2. Students can apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and possess the skills that are usually evident through the forming and defending of opinions and resolving problems within their study area.
• CB3. Students can gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their study area) to form opinions which include reflecting on relevant social, scientific, or ethical matters.
• CB4. Students can communicate information, ideas, problems, and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
• CB5. Students have developed the learning skills necessary to undertake further study in a much more independent manner.

Cross-disciplinary skills

• CT1. Creativity. Creativity for creating new ideas, reaching conclusions, or originally solving problems. It requires knowledge, curiosity, imagination, and evaluation of alternatives. The most essential level of creativity is manifested as discovery and the highest is innovation.
• CT2. Strategic communication. Ability to effectively convey messages (ideas, knowledge, feelings, arguments), both verbally and in writing, in such a way that the interests of the different agents involved in the communication are strategically aligned.
• CT3. Digital skills. Ability that enables effective and safe use of information and communication technologies. It aids the development of critical thinking and is a key skill for searching and analyzing data, research, communication, learning, and inclusive participation in society.
• CT4. Influential leadership. Ability to influence others, to be able to lead or guide them towards concrete objectives in moments of constant change derived from the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments (VUCA) of today’s world. Influential leaders are role models and can achieve high performance and the best results. Their generous, ethical, empathetic behaviour and high level of emotional intelligence allow them to act as role models, achieving high performance and motivation in their teams.
• CT5. Teamwork. The ability that develops social intelligence to cooperate with others in the achievement of a shared objective, participating actively, empathetically, and practising active listening, as well as effective communication and respect towards all members, with maturity and efficiency. In the digital age, that effectiveness translates into the ability to work with others in multi-platform, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and multi-disciplinary environments in a fluid and goal-oriented manner.
• CT6. Critical analysis. Ability to integrate analysis with critical thinking in the evaluation of different ideas or possibilities and their potential for error, based on objective evidence and data leading to effective and valid decision-making. It is about learning to locate, extract, analyze, and interpret reliable information and data to study, examine, and reason, thus being able to conclude quickly and efficiently, as today's world demands.
• CT7. Resilience. The ability of people to adapt to adverse and unexpected situations that lead to stress, whether that be personal or professional, overcoming them and even turning them into opportunities for positive change. This ability results in a profound growth of the person, making them aware of their limitations, leaving their comfort zone, learning from obstacles, developing their emotional intelligence, and learning to persevere in difficult situations.
• CT8. Ethical and social skills. Ability to adequately develop in a profession and to coexist in a plural society and a diverse world. This ability aims to develop responsible global citizens, aware of inequality and sensitive to diversity in a global world. Ethical awareness and social commitment. International, multilingual, flexible, and adaptable in multicultural environments.

General skills

• CG1. Solve an environmental problem in a multidisciplinary way.
• GG2. Understand and analyze the temporal and spatial dimensions of environmental processes.
• GC3. Integrate the experimental evidence found in field and/or laboratory studies with theoretical knowledge.
• CG4. Interpret data qualitatively and/or quantitatively.
• CG5. Integrate scientific advances in the environment into everyday life.
• CG6. Classify environmental risks.
• CG7. Understand the interaction between environment and health.
• GC8. Manage information, communicate, and educate on environmental issues.

Specific skills

• CE1: Analyse and use mathematical, statistical, and physics-based tools to solve environmental issues.
• CE2: Correctly use and interpret chemistry terms, chemical nomenclature, chemical reactions, and the main characteristics of each.
• CE3: Describe the processes that determine the functioning of living things at each organizational level, analyzing the relationships between the elements that make up an ecosystem and its geographical location.
• CE4: Identify, represent, and reconstruct tectonic structures and the processes that generate them, linking types of rock and structures to geodynamic environments and interpreting geographic information systems.
• CE5: Establish links between human behaviour and the environmental and social conditions that humans live in, reviewing the historical evolution and law on environmental matters.
• CE6: Describe and analyze the morphology, taxonomy, and systematics of animal and plant kingdoms, classifying microorganisms and their practical application in healthcare and for environmental purposes.
• CE7: Plan, manage, conserve, economically value, and restore natural resources.
• CE8: Set out and interpret the principles of sustainable development and how they are incorporated into the socioeconomic environment, as well as their relationship with quality systems and environmental management.
• CE9: Use programming language to carry out statistical data analysis related to the environment.
• CE10: Assess the environmental impact of projects, plans, and programs to put together and carry out studies on environmental impact.
• CE11: Design and carry out development and restoration plans for the natural and rural environment, applying and analyzing the basic principles of land use planning and management.
• CE12: Design and propose integrated measures for health, hygiene, and occupational risk prevention.
• CE13: Design waste management plans, from collection and sorting to treatment.
• CE14: Advice on natural resources, their management, and conservation, in the formulation of development policies, regulations, plans, and programs.
• CE15: Efficiently manage the treatment and sanitation of water resources in line with the environment.
• CE16: Put together and test techniques of pollution prevention and control.
• CE17: Design energy use plans in a way that is compatible with environmental conservation and social well-being.
• CE18: Design and execute programs for educating and raising awareness about the environment, as well as marketing projects that promote green businesses and development cooperation measures.
• CE19: Identify and describe the main toxic elements found in the environment that impact health and choose the right treatment for each one from the various types of treatments.
• CE20: Write, present, and defend an original final degree project, as a result of combining the knowledge, abilities, and skills acquired during the degree.

There is currently a growing social concern about environmental issues, as a result of the evident and drastic global change (climate change, loss of biodiversity, introduction of exotic species, fragmentation of habitats, etc.). Citizens are also increasingly aware that the environment, individuals, and diseases are part of a self-reinforcing triangle. It is therefore important to integrate environmental knowledge with human health, as both concepts interact (which is integrated in the concept of "Planetary Health").

As a result, society increasingly requires workers who specialize in solving environmental problems, and who also know how to meet current needs from a multifactorial and cross-cutting perspective. In the future, there will be a need for professional profiles with not only environmental knowledge and skills but also those who manage aspects directly related to biotechnology, Industry 4.0, green entrepreneurship, cooperation for sustainable development, or global territorial management.

These graduates will be able to work in areas such as:

• International and development cooperation.

• Institutional advice on sustainable development.

• Sustainable land management, environmental quality management systems, circular economy.

• Environmental consulting and impact assessment.

• Research and development (both in private enterprise and for governmental institutions or NGOs).

• Waste management and recycling.

• Advice on the Industry 4.0 model.

• Training and environmental education.

• Entrepreneurship in areas such as green tourism, organic farming, or fair trade.