Dr Chris Laing is the Director of Education and he has overall responsibility for all programmes and modules in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation. You’ll be able to meet with him during Welcome Week, and most of your contact with him will probably be in his regular role as an academic member of staff teaching you on modules. If you encounter any significant difficulties with your studies, Chris will be able to work with you to resolve these.

Dr Kelly Moyes is the Director of Student Experience and she works closely with Chris and students to consider broader aspects of education such as engagement and accessibility, along with supporting student initiatives.

Each of our MSc programmes is led by a Programme Director, whose job is to oversee the running of the programme and to liaise with all of the module leads to ensure that you make good progress. You might need to contact them with any programme-level concerns, and they may also be able to advise you on your module choices.

Our Programme Directors are:

• Dr Kristian Metcalfe - MSc Vertebrate Ecology & Conservation
• Dr Kimberley Hockings - MSc Conservation & Biodiversity 
• Dr Andy Young - MSc Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology
• Dr Julie Hawkins - MSc Marine Environmental Management
• Dr Ilya Maclean - MSc Conservation Science & Policy
• Professor Stineke van Houte - MSc Pathogen Evolution

Each of our MSc programmes is led by a Programme Director, whose job it is to oversee the running of the programme and to liaise with all of the module leads to ensure that you make good progress. You might need to contact them with any programme-level concerns, and they may also be able to advise you on your module choices.

As soon as you arrive, you’ll be allocated your own dedicated academic tutor who’ll be your first point of contact if you have any queries or concerns about your overall progress and wellbeing.

You’ll be invited to attend regular meetings with them throughout the academic year, and it’s important that you go along, even if for a very quick chat to confirm that all is well. You can also contact your tutor at any time by email or by visiting them during their weekly office hours.

The relationship you build up with your tutor is an important one, not least because they will sometimes be the person who writes references for you when you start applying for jobs or other positions such as internships.

This short video outlines some of the benefits of our tutoring system:

Dr Kelly Moyes is the postgraduate senior tutor for Biosciences in Penryn and she makes sure that our academic tutoring system meets your needs. Kelly is also another point of contact if you'd like someone to discuss any concerns you have about your progress or wellbeing.

Your degree is composed of different short courses called ‘modules’. Most of these modules are 15 credits (with the exception of your 90 credit research project) and you complete 180 credits in each year. Each module is led by a named academic member of staff, but some are taught by a team of academics who share the lectures and seminars. You can seek advice from your module leads during their weekly office hours (which will be displayed on the module’s ELE page and the module lead's web profile page).

Ask a question

The Penryn Info Point is your first port of call for the Education Support Services Team, the Welfare Team and the Student Records/Exams Team or anything else related to your academic studies.

• Located in the Peter Lanyon Building (building 10 on the Penryn Campus map)
• Service hours: Monday–Friday 08:45–17:00 during term-time
• If you have any questions, worries or concerns you can get in touch with us at info.penryn@exeter.ac.uk or on 01326 371800.

The Compass is your first port of call for non-academic support and access to Student Services.

• Service hours: 09:00–17:00, Monday–Friday.
• You can contact The Compass on 01326 370460 or studentservices@fxplus.ac.uk, or ask a question via the live chat on the Compass website.

Keep in touch

Ensure that you keep up to date with what is going on in the department by checking your emails regularly and following your year's Facebook page.

You can find a list of all academic staff in Ecology and Conservation here, including office locations and contact details. You can also find out what is going on in the department more generally by following us on Twitter or Facebook.

Your welfare

• Welfare Team Penryn
• SU Welfare and Wellbeing Database

Studying at Penryn

• ELE: College of Life and Environmental Sciences
• ELE: Penryn Hub
• Mitigation Process
• Education support: student hubs
• Student Services
• Studyhub: Student and Library services

The new students website includes everything you need to know about starting University, with a handy checklist of tasks to help you through your first term.

» New students

You can access your timetable via MyTimetable or in the iExeter app. Our How MyTimetable Works guide explains how to understand your timetable, check if your classes are online or on campus, and access online classes.

You can find suggested texts for this course in the module descriptors (see Penryn Campus: Stage 4 modules) and/or on individual module ELE pages. All recommended reading should be available through the university library.

There are many different societies you can join during your time at the Penryn campus. There are a range of different sports and general interest societies, but also many that relate to your degree and enable you to gain valuable skills which will contribute to your university experience.

EcoSoc runs many different ecological-focused activities including moth trapping, mammal trapping, bird walks, bat walks, ID sessions and habitat management.

If you're interested in science communication, Wild Doc Soc is focused on learning how to create fantastic wildlife documentaries.

For all the different societies you can join to get the most out of your time here, look at the Societies page.