Sustainability

Students in the BSc Sustainability are eligible for undergraduate awards on the basis of their examination results in Stage 1. These scholarships, worth €500, are awarded to the top student in each of the three specialisations of the BSc Sustainability degree, provided the student obtains a GPA of more than 3.68 in their stage.

Students who obtain the award for each specialisation must continue to take the specialisation to degree level. Awards are tenable only in UCD and are intended for the session immediately following their award. The holder of the scholarship who leaves the university before the end of the session may be required to repay the amount received in respect of that session.

Additional Awards

The Fingal Farmers Group have sponsored four prizes of 500 Euro each for BSc Sustainability Stage 1 and Stage 3 students, based on submissions to a short essay competition. The initiative was begun in order to create a dialogue between students on the BSc Sustainability degree and the agricultural/rural community in Dublin. The funds are intended to assist students with the costs involved during Stage 1 and Stage 3 of their studies.

In March of each year, the Programme Co-Directors hold an Academic Advisory session for Stage 1 students to give an insight into each of the three specialisations offered in the BSc Sustainability programme (Environmental Sciences; Social Sciences, Policy and Law; Business and Economics). This is to aid students in selecting their specialisation in September of Stage 2. Further details of Stage 2 modules will be discussed during the session, as well as an overview of Stages 3 and 4.

After a common Stage 1, students will choose their preferred degree subject for Stage 2 during the registration period in September of Stage 2. An academic advisory session will be held in the Spring trimester of Stage 1 to give an insight into what will be studied in each of the three degree subjects. In April, an online form will be circulated by the Programme Manager so that each student can indicate their preference for their subject.

It is possible to change a degree subject within the first two weeks of the Autumn trimester of Stage 2 (for example, to change from Sustainability with Environmental Sciences to Sustainability with Social Sciences, Policy and Law). After this time, it may be possible to change the degree subject, but this would be approached on a case-by-case basis by Programme Co-Directors. It is important to note that it may add additional time or costs to a degree to change the degree subject if a student has to take additional modules to fulfill the Sustainability course requirements of the particular degree subject. The Programme Manager should be contacted in the first instance in all cases ((opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie).

(opens in a new window)Class representatives work alongside the six full-time Sabbatical Officers and nine part-time College Officers in the Student Union on behalf of the students in their cohort. There is one class representative per Stage in the BSc Sustainability.

Class representatives are elected at the beginning of each academic year by their peers to represent their cohort. They are trained to ensure that the student voice is at the heart of life in UCD, both inside and outside the classroom. They also sit on UCDSU Union Council (which meets every 2 weeks during term) to represent the views of their classmates and help to steer Union policy.

The Sustainability team seeks to support students to progress through their degree programme and achieve their potential.

We recognise that there are many factors which may affect a student’s academic progress.  The Science Governing Board is responsible for monitoring the overall performance of students registered to the BSc Sustainability.

The Governing Board is also responsible for determining standards for acceptable and unacceptable performance and progression for their programmes.

For undergraduate programmes, students who return failing grades amounting to 15 credits or more in a trimester will be identified under the Continuation and Readmission Policy.  Students whose rate of progression and performance over two academic years is deemed unacceptable may be recommended for discontinuation by the Governing Board.

Further information on Continuation

Students will have their degree GPA calculated on the basis of their performance in the final and penultimate stages of the course. As the BSc Sustainability is a four-year course, this means that your final degree GPA will be calculated on Stages 3 and 4. The award will be based 50% on your final stage and 50% on your penultimate stage.

For students who are going on exchange, your final degree GPA will be calculated on 90 credits, based on Autumn of Stage 3 and Stage 4. These credits will have equal weighting in determining your final degree GPA.

More information is available about calculating your final award GPA on the UCD Current Students website.

Extenuating circumstances are serious, unforeseen circumstances beyond your control which prevent you from meeting the requirements of your programme. If you are unable to complete assignments or attend required classes/exams due to unforeseen circumstances, you can apply for extenuating circumstances.

If you experience serious unforeseen circumstances which have caused you to

• miss a substantial period of attendance (more than 10 working days)
• have significantly affected your ability to study or complete assessments (continuous assessment and/or examinations)

or

• have adversely affected your performance in any assessments you have undertaken,

your circumstances will be considered and may, for example, provide the opportunity to complete the impacted modules without academic or financial penalty, at a later date.

 Typically, such unforeseen circumstances could include

• Involvement in an accident
• Victim of crime
• An acute illness or serious ongoing medical condition
• Ongoing life-threatening illness of a close family member or partner
• Bereavement of a close family member or partner
• Acute or ongoing serious personal/emotional circumstances
• Domestic upheaval at the time of the assessment (e.g. fire, burglary, eviction)

Whatever the circumstances affecting you, you should seek advice from a member of academic staff, the Student Advisers (Dani Foy and Áine Murphy), a Sustainability Team staff member or the Students’ Union support staff. 

Further information on Extenuating Circumstances.

In Stage 3, students will undertake a compulsory international week-long field trip to Copenhagen to explore innovative approaches to sustainability and gain hands-on experience with sustainability challenges, as well as solutions. The field trip takes place during the week before the Autumn trimester of Stage 3 begins in September. Students have found this week to be the pinnacle of their learning experience to date, as it brings the interdisciplinary degree to life.

Students will be expected to contribute financially to the field trip (approximately 300 euro, to be confirmed each year). Each student will be expected to pay for their own flights and transportation to Copenhagen, as well as to bring their own spending money. It is important to note this and to budget accordingly for Stage 3.

Early in the Spring trimester, focus groups are held with students from each Stage of the Sustainability course. The Sustainability Course Co-Directors strive to engage students as partners in their learning experience. The feedback directly feeds into discussions relating to the course structures and the direction that the degree will take in the future. The input of students is crucial in ensuring that the course evolves and develops to meet the expectations of its students.

Students will have the opportunity to undertake an internship in the summer of Stage 3 before Stage 4 begins. Internships should be between 6 and 12 weeks in duration and should be full-time. It is possible to self-source an internship, but these must be approved by relevant Internship Managers. The credits allocated to internships will depend on the degree subject of the student.

Students who need to take a period of leave from their programme for personal or other reasons can apply for a Leave of Absence. You should speak with one of the Student Advisers or the Sustainability Programme Team before you submit an application requesting this leave. The application can be submitted via SISweb/Programme Services/My Leave of Absence. Further information on completing the application form is available from the Current Student website.

Please note that students who are in the first term of their programme (Stage 1 students or external transfer students in the first term of their UCD programme) are not eligible for a Leave of Absence. Students who find that personal circumstances are impacting their studies should contact the Sustainability Programme Team for further advice on their options ((opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie).

Retrospective Leave of Absence Requests

Applications submitted for a Leave of Absence after Week 8 of the teaching term are considered retrospective and supporting documentation is required to support these requests. Students must speak with a Student Adviser, the Sustainability Programme Team or seek academic advice before they submit a retrospective application. A retrospective application cannot be submitted via SISweb and you will need to contact the Sustainability Programme Team ((opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie) to access the Retrospective Leave of Absence Application form.

The Sustainability Programme Team will assist you with registration and programme queries as they arise. If you wish to contact a member of staff about your registration, please contact them at (opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie or via our (opens in a new window)contact form.

During the online registration period in September and January, students can make amendments to their module registration in SISweb.

The BSc Sustainability Registration Issues Form should be used when online registration closes. Please note that a request to add modules to your record after the online registration window closes will require written permission from the Module Coordinator via email, which should be forwarded to us at (opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie.

(opens in a new window)Registration Issues Form

Changing Lab/Tutorial Times

Please contact the relevant School Office if you wish to change a lab or tutorial time that has been allocated to you. For example, if you need to change a chemistry lab, you should contact the team in the School of Chemistry.

Repeat Module Time Conflict Override Form

If a repeat module clashes with a core module from the next stage of your degree programme, you will need to request written permission from the Module Coordinator of your repeat module to override this schedule conflict.

Please forward the written permission to (opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie and change the subject line in the email to 'Permission'. 

BSc Sustainability students can apply to study during the Spring of Stage 3 at one of our partner universities.

The partner universities will be confirmed with each cohort in the Autumn of Stage 2 as part of the application process. Currently, there are partners in Europe, Australia and Asia. These are Academic Institutions where UCD has an Erasmus or exchange agreement and has been deemed a good academic fit. This provides students with an invaluable opportunity to study in a variety of cultural contexts.

To apply for exchange, students require a GPA of 3.0 or above and successfully have completed 60 credits in Stage 1 and 50 credits in Stage 2 prior to going on exchange. Ideally, students would have completed 60 credits in Stage 2 before going on exchange, as remediation is difficult or may not be possible to arrange when students are on exchange.

General information on Exchanges can be found on the UCD Global website, but all applications are dealt with by UCD Global.

The only transfer possible into Sustainability is an internal transfer at the start of Autumn Trimester Stage 1 for students currently enrolled in UCD and there is a very small possibility of a place becoming available. Further information is available on the UCD Registry website.

No other transfer places are currently available for Sustainability.

There is a very limited number of transfer places available for Sustainability students to transfer to Science in Stage 2. However, there are specific modules that students intending to transfer must take before they will be eligible to apply to transfer into Science. If you are interested in this, you should speak to the Sustainability Programme Team as soon as possible ((opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie or (opens in a new window)our contact form).

There are no transfer places available for Sustainability students to transfer into business degrees at UCD, such as the Bachelor of Commerce (BComm), or Commerce International.

Further details on transfers is available on the UCD Registry website.

There are a range of support services available for Sustainability students from the Sustainability Office Team, Peer Mentors, Student Advisers and Chaplaincy. 

Sustainability Office Team

As you embark on this phase of your academic life in UCD, we hope this year will offer you many opportunities and challenges and the chance to forge new and lasting friendships that will offer you both support and fun. We hope this experience will allow you to achieve all your goals and with our help you will be encouraged to strive to fulfil your potential.

Our aim is that all communication between us will flow clearly and effectively. We work closely with the Student Advisers and central administration allowing us to provide you with all the support, knowledge, experience and pastoral care required throughout your studies in UCD.

The Sustainability Office Team are your first point of contact for information and we encourage you to contact us for information, support and advice on any issue ((opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie or (opens in a new window)our contact form). We can also put you in touch with a Programme Co-Director if you need academic advice.

Peer Mentors

The Peer Mentor Programme is an initiative that was started by UCD Science in 2006 and is now a programme across the University in all undergraduate programme areas. 

All incoming Stage 1 students will be linked with a Stage 2 or Stage 3 Science Student (a ‘Peer Mentor’) who was in your position only a year or two ago.  They are available to help welcome you into UCD, help you get to know the ropes, answer your questions and offer good advice on things such as where to go, how to fit it all in and how and when to join clubs and societies.

You will meet your mentor during Orientation and exchange contact details so that you can contact them during the year.  Your mentor can also then contact you to let you know of group meetings.  It is also a good idea to keep in touch with your Peer Mentor and to attend mentoring meetings as a way of meeting other Stage 1 students and entering into the spirit of college life.

For more information, visit the Peer Mentoring website.

Student Adviser

Dani Foy and Áine Murphy are the Student Advisers for Sustainability students. They are available to meet with students in relation to personal, social or practical issues, from simple requests for information to more serious matters. You can arrange an appointment by emailing them on (opens in a new window)dani.foy@ucd.ie and (opens in a new window)aine.murphy@ucd.ie.

Chaplaincy 

The Chaplaincy offers friendship, support, assistance and encouragement. An open-door policy exists to enable students feel welcome and to seek assistance, especially in times of distress, illness and bereavement. There is particular attention given to students’ special needs at the beginning and end of the academic year.

Students who decide to withdraw from their course of study should speak with a Student Adviser or the Sustainability Programme Team ((opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie or (opens in a new window)our contact form) before they finalise their decision. During the first Teaching Term of the academic year (Autumn) a student can withdraw up until the end of Week 8 and this will not incur fees. Applications submitted after this date will have fee implications. Students can withdraw up until the 31^st January to ensure that further fees are not incurred for the Spring trimester.

The application can be submitted via SISweb/Programme Services/My Leave of Absence/Withdrawal Requests. 

Information on fee deadlines and how to withdraw from your programme is available from the Current Student website.

Retrospective Withdrawal Requests

Students who submit an application to withdraw from their course after Week 8 of the Autumn Teaching term will be liable for fees. If you were unable to meet the deadline due to medical circumstances, you may submit a retrospective withdrawal request which will require supporting documentation (e.g. medical cert, letter from UCD Support Services). A retrospective withdrawal request cannot be submitted via SISweb and you will need to contact the Sustainability Programme Team ((opens in a new window)sustainability@ucd.ie) to access the (opens in a new window)Retrospective Withdrawal Application form.

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