Faculty of Science

 Environmental science

Table of Contents

Subject Lists
    Subject descriptions

Environmental science is the discipline of detecting and solving environmental problems. Human impacts on the natural world span geology, chemistry, and the mathematical and natural sciences. The program in environmental science is oriented towards teaching analytical and problem-solving skills that take advantage of a students' major science discipline. The subjects that lead to a co-major, or major, in environmental science provide the necessary training to make the graduate effective at finding solutions to a variety of environmental problems. This will provide graduates with the opportunity to make valuable contributions to industry, regulatory authorities and education.

Students enrolled in a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts and Sciences or a BSc combined course with Law, Commerce or Arts can follow a course of study which results in the award of a Bachelor of Science with a co-major in environmental science. Students enrolled in a BSc combined course with Engineering, Geomatics or Forestry can follow a course of study which results in the award of a BSc with a major in environmental science. Students complete core environmental science subjects and a specialisation in a selected scientific discipline such as animal behaviour, chemistry, conservation and wildlife, Earth sciences, ecology, genetics, geography, marine biology, mathematics and statistics, microbiology, pharmacology, and plant sciences. Students may also complete some management, economics, politics and law subjects. This course of study in environmental science provides training in scientific skills and disciplines that may be used to identify and solve environmental problems. It teaches students how to make efficient use of scarce resources available for management and conservation of the environment. In particular, the skills developed by studying environmental science will enable graduates to:

• evaluate physical, chemical and ecological components of the environment;

• identify environmental problems;

• construct models of ecological processes;

• undertake risk analyses;

• assess environmental impacts;

• design experiments and monitoring programs;

• undertake quantitative analysis of environmental data; and

• provide solutions for environmental problems.

 1. Career opportunities

Studying environmental science provides an opportunity for laboratory, outdoor and indoor careers dealing with environmental issues. Graduates work in areas such as:

• consulting in environmental impact assessment;

• the mining, agriculture, land development and forestry sectors;

• science and management of soil, water and air pollution;

• environmental education;

• parks and wildlife research and management;

• natural resource development and management.

Potential employers include local, state and federal government, environmental and regulatory agencies, environmental groups, and resource and development departments at the state and federal level, environmental, natural resource and engineering consulting companies and a number of major chemical and mining companies.

 2. Suggested subjects

To complete an environmental science co-major or major (the latter is only available to students in BSc combined courses with Engineering, Geomatics and Forest Science), students should complete the appropriate subject sequence outlined on ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (co-major) or ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (major). Some alternatives to these subjects will be accepted. These are listed in Alternatives for the environmental science co-major or major.

It is suggested that students also complete social and applied science subjects to the value of at least 25 points. Examples are given in Social and applied science subjects for the environmental science co-major or major

 Table 25: Alternatives for the environmental science co-major or major

Subjects Sem Acceptable alternatives 100 level subjects   610-141 Chemistry   1   610-161   610-142 Chemistry   2   610-162   620-160 Experimental Design & Data Analysis   1 or 2   620-131. Some other statistics subjects may be suitable prerequisites for 620-270.   625-101 Earth Sciences - The Global Environment   1   121-012   200 level subjects   600-201 Physical Environment   1   212-201, 121-018   610-280 Environmental Chemistry   2   Any 200 level chemistry subject, or 521-211 and 521-212   300 level subjects   451-312 GIS & Remote Sensing for Enviro Science   2   121-024

 Table 26: Social and applied science subjects for the environmental science co-major or major

121-021 Environmental Politics and Management   121-022 Urban Environments   121-028 Sustainable Development   121-034 Environmental Field Class   121-039 Environmental Management Systems   136-040 Science, Technology and Society   136-031 Science, Philosophy and History   136-033 Science, Reason and Reality   316-101 Introductory Macroeconomics1   316-208 Economics of the Environment1   615-155 Principles of Management1   733-213 Legal Studies:Environmental Law1

 3. Honours

There is no special honours program in environmental science. Students are encouraged to pursue an environmental science honours project as part of the normal honours program in a Science Department. For further information, contact the environmental science coordinator.

Subject descriptions

600-201 Physical Environment
600-203 Environmental Measurement
600-301 Problem Solving in Environmental Science
600-303 Environmental Risk Assessment
640-261 Energy and Environment

Status:                   Official 2001
Last Modified:            Wednesday May 23 22:26
SGML to HTML Conversion:  Information Technology Services
Authorised by:            Academic Registrar
Email Enquiries:          Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au