Aims of the course

The Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS) course is an interdisciplinary course, which is unique in that it contains various sciences, coupled with a societal viewpoint, all intertwined to help students understand the environment and its sustainability.

Students’ attention will be constantly drawn to their own relationship with their environment and the significance of choices and decisions that they make in their own lives. It is intended that students develop a sound understanding of the interrelationships between environmental systems and societies, rather than a purely journalistic appreciation of environmental issues. Students will also gain an appreciation of the global diversity of environments and ecosystems, cultural and historical differences in attitudes to the environment, and differing perspectives on sustainability.

In order to be successful students need to be willing to develop thinking skills, social skills, communication skills, self-management and independent research skills.

Course outline

The ESS course consists of eight compulsory units. All units focus on exploring and developing understanding of five key concepts: sustainability, equilibrium, strategy, biodiversity and environmental value systems.

• • Topic 1: Foundations of Environmental Systems and Societies - environmental value systems; systems and models; energy and equilibria; sustainability; humans and pollution.​

  • Topic 2: Ecosystems and Ecology - species and populations; communities and ecosystems; flows of energy and matter; biomes, zonation and succession; investigating ecosystems.

  • Topic 3: Biodiversity and Conservation - an introduction to biodiversity; origins of biodiversity; threats to biodiversity; conservation of biodiversity.​

  • Topic 4: Water and Aquatic Food Production Systems and Societies - introduction to water systems; access to fresh water; aquatic food production systems; water pollution.

  • Topic 5: Soil Systems and Terrestrial Food Production Systems and Societies - introduction to soil systems; terrestrial food production systems and food choices; soil degradation and conservation.

  • Topic 6: Atmospheric Systems and Societies - introduction to the atmosphere; stratospheric ozone; photochemical smog; acid deposition.

  • Topic 7: Climate Change and Energy Production - energy choices and security; climate change- causes and impacts; climate change- mitigation and adaption.

  • Topic 8: Human Systems and Resource Use - human population dynamics; resource use in society; solid domestic waste; human population carrying capacity.

Assessment outline

• Paper 1 (weighting 25%) - This one hour exam is a case study based paper. Students will be provided with a range of data in a variety of forms relating to a specific, previously unseen case study. Questions are based on the analysis and evaluation of the data in the case study.

• Paper 2 (weighting 50%) - This two hour exam is comprised of a combination of short-answer, data-based, and essay questions. Section A (25 marks) is made up of short-answer and databased questions. Section B (40 marks) requires students to answer two structured essay questions from a choice of four.

• Internal Assessment (weighting 25%) - Written report of a research question designed, researched, analysed and reflected on by the student.

Careers links

The main topics, in this standard level subject, are studied on both a local and global scale and prepare students for further study in areas such as Environmental Sciences/Management, Biogeography, International relations, Environmental Law, Environmental Engineering and Agriculture.

However, given the multidisciplinary approach of this (biological, geographical, political, economic and social) course, studying ESS will give students a wide range of transferable skills that will support any career pathway. In addition, sustainability is a huge growth area in both universities and the employment sphere. Companies are increasingly looking for employees who can show awareness of environmental issues.