Environmental Studies
What is Environmental Studies?
The contemporary world benefits from a growing international economy, rapid communications, and technological advances. But it also suffers security threats, social and political injustice, unpredictable hazards, persistent poverty, and many inequalities.
At the root of many of these contemporary trends lie humanity's changing relationship to the natural environment, and to the natural 'resources' that we need and use. Contemporary political disputes, for example, have much to do with long-held worries over energy supplies, water, land, and food. National wealth may be won or lost on the basis of available mineral or timber resources. Global climatic change, affecting everything from coastal settlements to agricultural production and tourism, increasingly affects us all, and is an ever-present reminder that we live towards the end of the fossil fuel age. Natural hazards, like the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina of 2005, exact a huge toll on human life and property. The life of the world's major cities depends on efficient handling of water supply, wastes, energy, and clean air, while technological advances to address these problems are rarely free of environmental costs.
Policy resonses include everything from vigourous environmental regulation backed by 'Green' states and advocacy groups, to inaction or conflict over worsening human-environment relations.
Environmental Studies at the University of Melbourne focuses on these issues, and more. The key arguments for interdisciplinary study of the above issues is their eclectic nature, and their complexity.
How to study Environmental Studies
Our undergraduate Major in Environmental Studies combines scientific knowledge of natural environments with an understanding of how human societies relate to the natural world, whether this is through exploitation, worship, or fear. Students tend to specialize in their choice of courses, tailoring them to their interests and career aspirations.
Environmental Studies can be taken as an undergraduate major in Arts Bachelor of Arts or a co-major within Science Bachelor of Science and as a minor sequence in many interdisciplinary programs such as Asian Studies, Australian Studies, Development Studies and Australian Indigenous Studies.
Graduates in any discipline can complete a Graduate Certificate or Diploma in Arts (Environmental Studies). Students with the equivalent of a major in environmental studies, may complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (Environmental Studies). Students with the equivalent of an Honours degree, are eligible to apply for the Master of Arts (by research) in Environmental Studies or PhD candidature.
We offer PhD degrees, a Masters by Research, and postgraduate diplomas. Students visiting from other universities or other Environmental Studies programs may enroll to take our courses. (Taught Masters in Environment are administered separately by the Office of Environmental Programs, a cross-university initiative).
By majoring in Environmental Studies you can expect to:
- acquire a basic operating knowledge of environmental systems and processes, and what happens to them under stress
- gain skills in using techniques to measure components of environmental systems, and assess the environmental impact of human activities
- understand how and why conflicts over the use of environments arise, and their importance in contemporary culture
- understand the relationships between development and the environment
- understand the broad social, economic and regulatory frameworks in which environmental problems are resolved.
The University of Melbourne, an international research and teaching institution, is one of the world's top universities, ranking in the top two in Australia and rivalling many of the large research universities in North American and Europe. It benefits from a stunning city-centre location in the 'world's most livable city', one which is also home to a variety of relevant organizations and environmental initiatives. Our program has a long history, and many graduates are now working in environmental positions or have gone on to higher study.
Melbourne graduates benefit from:
- a degree from a highly respected University
- small, dedicated teaching team and a well structured curriculum spanning the humanities, the arts, and the social and natural sciences that allows for work across disciplines and across campus
- a domestic and an international focus
- recommended 'tracks' of optional subjects (courses)
- opportunities for local, national and international fieldtrips and coursework
Please select from below for further information.
Teaching staff in Environmental Studies
Structure of the undergraduate major (Link to official University Handbook) and undergraduate information
Honours (Link to official University Handbook) and honours information