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Fourth Year Honours
Geography is an area of study which should be of interest to anyone who is concerned with the relationship between society and the environment. It is a discipline which combines both the physical and social sciences and by doing so provides students with the skills and conceptual frameworks needed to understand the complex processes which shape the world around us. It deals with a wide range of problems, scales and places. It covers a range of approaches to society and environment including natural systems, political economy, and cultural politics. Geography is a discipline which seeks to contribute to creating just societies and sustainable environments.
Geography is for people who are interested in exploring some of the following questions: Have we mismanaged the Australian landscape? Why is stream flow more variable in Australia than elsewhere? Why is biodiversity higher in some places than in others, and why is conservation of biodiversity important to us? Are famines made by drought or by people? Are we responsible for the have-nots of the world? Who has the power to make the urban landscape and why? How are women and migrants exploited in urban social spaces? What is cultural heritage and whose interests does it serve? Can Aboriginal land rights be resolved? Can developmental and environmental concerns co-exist?
In addition to the major in Geography, the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies offers a major in Environmental Studies and a Specialist Program in Environmental Studies. For further information see the entries in this Handbook titled Environmental Studies and Environmental Studies: Specialist Program. The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies also offers pathways for students who wish to gain privileged entry into either a Master of Urban Planning or Master of Landscape Architecture: see the entry in this Handbook under Planning and Design.
The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies provides students with information and skills relevant to thinking about the relationship between society and the environment. Few would doubt the contemporary relevance of this issue. Environmental considerations are an important and necessary component of doing business for almost all sectors of industry and government. This means that students who are skilled in this area are well equipped to enter the workforce.
Many students entering the workforce find little direct use for the particular knowledge they have acquired while doing their university degree. This is not the case for Geography students. The knowledge and skills that students learn when studying Geography are much sought after by employers of many kinds. About half of our graduates find their way into jobs which use the specific skills they learnt in Geography.
The skills this department provides which are so attractive to prospective employers include:
Previous students from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies have found themselves in many different careers, in the following employment sectors:
Applicants wishing to major in geography as part of a Bachelor of Arts must meet the admissions requirements of the Faculty of Arts.
The normal prerequisite for a second or third year Geography subject is 25 points of Geography at first year level.
In order to satisfy the requirements for a major in Geography, a student must complete a minimum of five 16.7 point 2nd or 3rd year subjects (83.3 points). Students may also wish to complete a double major in Geography by completing ten subjects from this list.
The major in Geography provides wide scope for students to choose subjects in which they are interested. Because there is so much flexibility in choosing subjects to suit individual interests, students should think ahead when planning the course of their choice and be especially careful to check subject prerequisites. Students should also check details of quotas for certain subjects, and be familiar with requirements for Honours (see below) if they are considering progressing to the Honours year.
Academic staff of the department are available throughout the year for course advice on planning Geography majors to suit individual students. To make a course advice appointment contact the Department Office (Tel 9344 6339). Students may also arrange a course advice appointment with their lecturer.
Below are some suggested combinations of subjects (these are examples; they are not prescriptive):
| Example courses | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. For students wishing to specialise in physical geography | Semester | |
| At least four of: | ||
| 121-212 Geomorphology | 2 | |
| 121-270 Biodiversity | 1 | |
| 121-220 Water Resources | 2 | |
| 121-358 Australian Quaternary Environments | 2 | |
| 121-340 Principles of Ecological Biogeography | 2 | |
| 121-341 Techniques in Ecological Biogeography | 2 | |
| 121-349 Principles of Environmental Hydrology | 1 | |
| 121-350 Techniques in Environmental Hydrology | 1 | |
| 2. For students wishing to specialise in human geography | ||
| At least four of: | ||
| 121-204 Development and the Third World | 2 | |
| 121-207 Landscapes of Power: New Cultural Geographies | 1 | |
| 121-208 Society and Environments | 2 | |
| 121-214 Urban Geography: the Post-Modern City | 1 | |
| 121-218 Australia and the Pacific Rim in a Global Economy | 1 | |
| 121-235 The Emergence of East Asia | n/a | |
| 121-277 The Mobile World: Geographies of Migration and Tourism | n/a | |
| 121-303 Sustainable Development | 2 | |
The prerequisite for entry to Honours in Geography is the completion of all the requirements of the Bachelor of Arts degree, completion of a major in Geography including the prerequisite subject 121-342 Research Design in Geography and Environmental Studies, or an approved equivalent subject from another department, and achieved a minimum average grade of at least H2B over the subjects of the major in Geography.
Students undertaking Pure Honours students in Geography complete:
Part-time Honours students will complete Literature Review 121-408, Philosophy and Scope of Geography 121-409 and one of the Advanced Coursework subjects in the first year; and Geography Honours Thesis 121-400 in the second year of their part-time Honours course.
Students undertaking Combined Honours in Geography complete either:
(completing the thesis in Geography)
or:
(completing a thesis from the combining department):
For Further Information please contact:
The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies121-101 Famine in the Modern World
121-103 Australia in Asia
121-171 Environmental Change
121-172 Global Ecology and Biogeography
121-174 Ecology for Engineers
121-204 Development and the Third World
121-207 Landscapes of Power: New Cultural Geographies
121-208 Society and Environments
121-212 Geomorphology
121-214 Urban Geography: the Post-Modern City
121-218 Australia and the Pacific Rim in a Global Economy
121-219 Environmental Politics and Management
121-220 Water Resources
121-221 Urban Environments
121-235 The Emergence of East Asia
121-238 China: The Awakening Giant
121-254 GIS and Remote Sensing in Geography
121-256 Maritime and Seabed Resources
121-270 Biodiversity
121-277 The Mobile World: Geographies of Migration and Tourism
121-303 Sustainable Development
121-305 Environmental Hydrology B
121-306 Ecological Biogeography A
121-339 Ecological Biogeography B
121-340 Principles of Ecological Biogeography
121-341 Techniques in Ecological Biogeography
121-342 Research Design in Geography and Environmental Studies
121-349 Principles of Environmental Hydrology
121-350 Techniques in Environmental Hydrology
121-358 Australian Quaternary Environments
121-360 Environmental Hydrology A
121-364 Field Class in Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development
121-378 Research Project in Geography and Environmental Studies (Advanced)
950-300 Environmental Management Systems
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