Since the inception of the postgraduate programme in 2001 in ‘pure’ Soil Science, the department has found it increasingly difficult to attract students, which perhaps could be partly due to the low demand for ‘pure’ Soil Scientist in the job market. This problem, coupled with the threat to the health and well-being of people and global systems posed by environmental degradation and climate change, prompted the department to review its postgraduate programme. The review indicated the need to design a programme which will train graduates to tackle problems of environmental degradation in a sound way.