One week to deadline: 2024 WildCRU PG Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice
Claudio Sillero
The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford, is calling for applications for the 2024 class of its a Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice.
In association with Panthera, and Oxford’s Departments of Biology and Continuing Education, WildCRU’s Diploma provides training in applied conservation skills to promising conservationists from less-developed parts of the world (the Global South), where such training may be difficult to obtain. Thanks to the small size of our class (typically 8 students) we teach interactively and can respond to specific interests and needs. While we have been able to fully or partially sponsor most of our students each year, we also encourage expressions of interest from self-funded candidates worldwide. This course is particularly well suited for applicants involved in terrestrial vertebrate conservation, especially those working with carnivores.
We have trained 120 people to date and have helped them advance their careers. Many have gone on to run conservation projects, work for government, intergovernmental organizations, local and international NGOs, or advanced their scientific careers through enrolling in MSc and PhD degrees. Candidates are required to have a minimum of a BSc-equivalent qualification in a biology/natural resources-related field, or in exceptional cases a demonstrated equivalent experience in the field of wildlife conservation practice. An additional requirement is considerable (at least 2-3 years) hands-on field work experience in conservation issues in the developing world.
The Diploma is aimed at early career conservationists, those already enrolled for a doctorate degree would not be considered as a priority candidate. As the course is taught in English, an adequate level of spoken and written English is necessary. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any question about the diploma. You can learn more about the curriculum and application process here. The deadline for applications for the 2023 course is 23rd June 2023 at 12 noon, UK time.
Potential applicants should note the following considerations:
· Duration: 7-month full time residential component (March-Sept. 2024), preceded by a one-month (Feb 2024) distance-learning module.
· Students are enrolled as regular graduate students of the University of Oxford.
· Strong professional and academic references are essential.
· Priority given to applicants working in terrestrial vertebrate conservation, with an especial interest on the Carnivora and/or in areas important for the conservation of these species.
· Applicants need to have good English skills, sufficient for graduate level studies at Oxford (see IELTS/TOEFL score requirements here). English language evidence waivers can be issued to candidates who have studied for at least 9 months at University level in English (and have evidence to prove that).
· Finally, although we are willing to show some flexibility in English language requirements for some of the stronger applicants, the UK Boarder Agency requires a minimum of IELTS 5.5 for every student entering the UK (if they do not have a waiver). Importantly, applications without evidence of English language scores will be considered complete, but any offer would be conditional on the candidate meeting the language requirement.
The application procedure is highly competitive (many applicants for few spots), and to assess if somebody has a fair chance in the application procedure we strongly encourage potential candidates to share their CVs with us first, by emailing wildcru...@biology.ox.ac.uk so we can assess their suitability for the course and indicate if an application would have a fair chance of success.