Master's in Environmental Conservation, Restoration and Sustainability
Sassari, Italy
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English, Italian
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
15 Oct 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: The Master's Degree in Environmental Conservation, Restoration and Sustainability trains multidisciplinary naturalists across two curricula: Marine (primarily taught in English) and Terrestrial (primarily taught in Italian). It combines lectures, labs, and extensive fieldwork to address conservation, restoration, ecosystem management, biodiversity and sustainability. Most coursework is in year one, with year two devoted to internships and thesis placements at university departments, parks, marine protected areas, or through Erasmus and Ulisse exchanges.
Career Outcomes: Career opportunities include public agencies, NGOs, parks, private consultancies, research and education; roles as conservation scientist, restoration ecologist, environmental consultant, habitat manager; eligibility for professional state exams.
The Master's Degree Course in Environmental Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainability is divided into two curricula: the Marine curriculum, primarily taught in English, and the Terrestrial curriculum, primarily taught in Italian. Both curricula address issues related to the conservation of natural systems on different spatial and temporal scales.
The programme aims to train naturalists who are experts in conservation, restoration, and environmental sustainability, Master's graduates with multidisciplinary skills, able to carry out and coordinate research activities, who are involved in the protection of natural systems and the recovery of degraded ones, designing conservation measures that respect the principles of sustainability. The course is set in a region that is particularly rich in terms of marine and terrestrial biodiversity, habitat conservation, and the availability of natural resources. Still, it is also a context where human activities have led to the exploitation of resources (biotic and abiotic) and environmental degradation that must be mitigated, compensated for, and recovered through restoration actions.
The local area is also involved in major energy sustainability projects (both at sea and on land) that require environmental impact assessments. The local area is heavily affected by the effects of climate change, such as heat waves and desertification.
The course in Environmental Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainability is the only one in the LM-75 class offered in Sardinia.
Teaching activities include lectures, seminars, tutorials, laboratories, and fieldwork. The latter two are among the main features of the course. Lectures and practical exercises mainly take place at the teaching centre in Via Vienna, where classrooms and a computer lab are available, while teaching and research laboratories are located in various university buildings depending on the department to which the lecturer belongs. All classrooms are equipped for modern multimedia teaching, with computers, video projectors, and IT systems that enable distance learning or blended learning.
The training programme is structured to develop specific skills in various fields related to conservation, resource exploitation, and restoration of the terrestrial and marine environment. Most of the lessons take place during the first year, leaving space in the second year for internships and thesis placements. Internships and thesis placements can be carried out not only in the various departments of the University of Sassari, but also in public and private institutions, in particular National and Regional Parks and Marine Protected Areas. International experiences, promoted with a view to providing a more comprehensive education for graduates in Environmental Conservation, Restoration and Sustainability, can be carried out at foreign institutions thanks to the Erasmus and Ulisse programmes, with which specific learning agreements are signed.
The career opportunities for experts in environmental conservation with a master's degree in Environmental Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainability can be found in various fields:
- public government bodies responsible for land management (ministries, ARPA, ISPRA, regional and municipal departments, local technical services);
- non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and foundations for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity;
- natural heritage conservation and management bodies (parks, protected areas, nature reserves);
- private professional firms, companies, and consortia engaged in activities related to the analysis and assessment of natural resources, restoration and rehabilitation works, environmental impact assessment, monitoring of natural and environmental resources, eco-balancing, and environmental certification;
- university departments or other public and private research institutions (natural science museums, bodies of the National Research Council, botanical gardens, aquariums, etc.);
- public and private structures involved in teaching and disseminating scientific culture (schools, museums, non-profit organisations, etc.).
Graduates with a Master's degree in Environmental Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainability are eligible to take the state exam for professional associations of Landscape Architects, Biologists, Geologists, and Agronomists in order to practise as freelancers.
Marine Curriculum (taught in English)
- Sedimentology and Carbon Sink
- CI: Marine Conservation Biology
- Mod I: Global Change Marine Ecology
- Mod II: Conservation Genetics of Marine Fauna
- Marine Geomatics
- Spatial Ecology: GIS and Remote Sensing Applications
- Fish and Fisheries
- Marine Protection Monitoring and Restoration
- Seabed Mapping
- Energy and Environment
- Coastal Plant Diversity and Restoration
- Sustainable Management of Marine Resources
- Data Analysis in R
- Marine Biodiversity of the Atlantic-Mediterranean Region
- GeoAI for Marine Ecology
- Marine Chemistry
- Seagrass Restoration
- Applied Marine Mammal Ecology
Terrestrial Curriculum (taught in Italian)
- Rischio geologico
- Mineralogia Ambientale
- Genetica della Conservazione della fauna
- Monitoraggio e Restauro della Biodiversità vegetale
- Conservazione e Gestione della Fauna
- Ecology and Sustainable Management of Water Resources
- CI: Applicazioni GIS per l’ambiente
- Mod I: Ripristino del Suolo con applicazioni GIS
- Mod II: GIS e Telerilevamento per l’Analisi del Paesaggio Vegetale
- Ecologia e Gestione Sostenibile delle Risorse Idriche
- Modellistica Ambientale
- Inglese
- Elementi tossici del Suolo e Tecniche di Recupero
- Fondamenti di R per Analisi di Dati
- Laboratorio di petrografia 2
- Laboratorio di Geoinformatica
The ECRS course does not assign scholarships. At UNISS, student scholarships are assigned by a regional agency named ERSU. A yearly call is published by ERSU in July (deadline in mid-September), but the participation requires some bureaucratic duties that need your presence in Italy (e.g., ISEE), as scholarships are based mostly on family income, which can be hard to certify for International students.
UNISS also grants student scholarships for foreign citizens by INCLUSIVE call published in June (deadline in July). The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) offers grants in favour of foreign citizens to enrol in Italian master's degrees every academic year, usually published in April (deadline mid-May)