Research Projects
Each year we collect together a comprehensive list of more than 100 research dissertation topics being offered by LEC academics and our research partners. In addition to projects we offer, we also encourage students to develop their own research agenda. Students begin to select and scope their projects from the outset of their masters and each year a healthy number of students publish their work in the peer reviewed literature.
A significant number of students will undertake fieldwork overseas as part of their dissertations. Fieldwork in a foreign country can be challenging but invariably leads to an exciting and valuable experience. Overseas placements are generated in a number of ways; through our industry partners, through our ongoing international research collaborations and through international programmes such as Erasmus.
The following are a few examples of projects undertaken by our students:
- A hydro-ecological study of Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria
- An experimental simulations of volcano-seismic events
- The identification of the contributory factors for the spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates within surface waters
- The protection of Forest Zones in Ghana
- Impact assessment of canal regeneration on a woodland in Cumbria
- Insect diversity and ecology in vulnerable moorland ecosystems
- Characterisation of the release and degradation of decabromodiphenyl ether from indoor environments
- The use of faecal coliforms and protozoa as bioassays to measure biological toxicity of organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid based sheep dips
- Feeding behavioural ecology of breeding wading birds
- The simulation of lava tube propagation
- The effect of clearing woody plants on biodiversity of limestone pavement in the Arnside/Silverdale AONB
- The development of Diffusive Gradients in thin film technology for the measurement of Technetium-99 in seawater
- Investigation of persistent organic pollutant storage compartments in plants
- Environmental impact of nano-particles
- Nature-based tourism in Thailand
- The effect of importing goods from China and elsewhere on the UK's Kyoto commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Feasibility study into the development of a soil sterilisation process at a local waste management facility
Taught Masters Projects
These examples of projects are provided for guidance only as an indication of the type of projects available.
"The taught courses and research based projects were well structured and student support, both academically and socially, was very good"
Sarah Corbishley
MRes Science of the Environment