Environmental Humanities
Explore our relationships with nature, why stories about our wild world matter and how we can build hope in the face of environmental crisis.
| Programme dates | Please note that this programme is not running in summer 2024. Please use the button above to register an interest in our 2025 summer programme. 2025 dates to be confirmed |
| Programme fee | To be confirmed What's included We offer a 10% discount for early-bird applicants who apply by early March 2025 (date to be confirmed) and to students from International Partner Universities and Study Abroad student mobility partners. |
| Credits | Upon successful completion of the programme students will receive 10 academic credits, suggested as equivalent to 5 ECTS or 3 US semester credits. |
| Early-bird application ends | Early March 2025 - date to be confirmed |
| Closing date for all applications |
To be confirmed Places are limited and offers for programme places are made on a first-come, first-served basis. |
Who it's for
We welcome applications from international students of any academic discipline who want to understand the stories we tell about the natural world.
This programme is for those who want to be empowered to use humanities approaches to find new ways of communicating the realities of world we’ve damaged and build a sense of hope.
Bristol is an ideal case study for this programme: it has parklands, nature reserves, underground rivers, a towering gorge and thriving night-time ecologies.
What you will learn
You'll be working with world-leading environmental humanities scholars and community partners through interactive classroom sessions and out and about in Bristol.
In our sessions, you'll:
- look at the different ways people, communities and societies understand and engage with nature;
- consider how we can confront the realities of environmental change and develop new relationships with the wider natural world;
- explore how we can tell stories about our planet that build a sense of hope and desire for action.
You'll do this by evaluating and learning to apply a range of humanities approaches and methodologies – from history and literature to film and poetry.
Academic programme
This three-week programme is hosted by the thriving research community at our Centre for Environmental Humanities. Students will work with world-leading environmental humanities scholars, community partners, and each other to explore important ways of thinking about and engaging with nature within and beyond the context of the city.
Drawing on ideas at the heart of the environmental humanities, they will consider the importance of places and times, materials and objects, stories and narratives as they build an understanding of people’s relationships with the rest of the natural world.
Students’ studies will focus on the interface of city and nature, taking in subjects which may range from geology, wildlife, extinctions, nature on display, eco-literature, and film. In the process, they will engage both with foundational environmental humanities methodologies and conceptual approaches to the study of human-nature relationships, and with more specific case studies firmly rooted in the histories, cultures, and communities of Bristol.
By the end of their studies, students will have gained a sense of nature’s place in the city of Bristol, the environmental challenges facing our planet, and the ways in which the environmental humanities can help us understand and develop new relationships between people and the wider natural world.
You can read the course description, aims, intended learning outcomes, and teaching and assessment information in our Unit Catalogue.
Programme timetable
Find out more about your summer experience by viewing our Environmental Humanities Programme Outline 2023 (PDF, 169kB). Note that this programme outline is from 2023; the 2024 provision may vary.
If you need to view the programme outline in another format, email bristol-summer@bristol.ac.uk.
More information
Learn more about our Centre for Environmental Humanities where you will be based, and our MA in Environmental Humanities.
Entry requirements
You must meet all of these requirements to be eligible for this summer school:
| Study level | Currently studying at undergraduate level |
| Subject requirements | We welcome applications from undergraduates studying any subject, but the summer school is particularly suited to Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences (including Geography) majors. |
| Academic requirements | GPA equivalent to 60–63% on the UK scale, C on the ECTS scale, or 3.0 on a 4.0 GPA scale |
| English language requirements |
If English is not your first language, you need to meet our English language Profile C. You can view the tests and levels we accept by visiting our Profile C language requirements page and selecting the 'English Language Proficiency Tests' tab. For this programme, we also accept CET-4 scores of at least 550 and CET-6 scores of at least 520. |
| Age | 18 or over |
Why choose a Bristol Summer?
Study at a top-10 UK university and explore one of the UK’s most exciting cities. Programme fee includes accommodation and social programme.
Contact us
You can email or phone us if you have any questions about the course or your eligibility.
- Email: bristol-summer@bristol.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)117 455 3950