Environmental Science

Major/Minor/Specialisation !R01-AA-MAJ+1013 (2015)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2015.

Year and Campus: 2015

Coordinator

Professor Mick Keough

Department of Zoology

Contact

Email: mjkeough@unimelb.edu.au

Overview:

An Environmental Science major will provide the springboard for students in entering careers or research in the following areas: environmental consulting, natural resource management, environmental and chemistry. Graduates will be prepared for these pathways by developing skills in risk assessment and environmental monitoring, which are crucial to being prepared to make contributions in laboratories, or in consulting roles and in environmental management. This major will integrate knowledge from a range of disciplines from Biology through Earth Science to Chemistry, by enabling students to complete a sequence of specialist subjects in each, as well as integrated subjects in which the students develop an understanding of the application of scientific principles to solving current environmental problems. Students will gain experience preparing them for the workplace by participating in group based reviews of environmental management plans and by conducting multidisciplinary practical assessments of environmental issues.

Learning Outcomes:

Environmental Science Major graduates should demonstrate:

  • capacity to apply current statistical tools used in risk assessment and environmental monitoring;
  • deep skills in one relevant scientific discipline, alongside two core multidisciplinary subjects enabling an understanding of how scientific principles can be applied to current environmental problems;
  • recognition that major decisions about human environments are not based on scientific criteria alone, and an understanding of the interface of scientific knowledge with different ways of knowing;
  • an understanding that environmental science is inherently multidisciplinary, and an appreciation of the need for different scientific disciplines and cultures to work together;
  • commitment to using science to help deal with the world’s environmental challenges.
Structure & Available Subjects:

Completion of 50 points of study at Level 3.

Subject Options:

Both of

Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:

Plus two of

Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:
Semester 2
12.50
Notes:

This major is available to new generation Bachelor of Science students (B-SCI). It is also available to Bachelor of Science students (except BA/BSc and BASc students) who commenced prior to 2008. The published structure of this major includes subjects available in the current year. Pre-2008 Bachelor of Science students who completed one or more Level 3 science subjects towards this major prior to 2010 should contact the Science Student Centre for advice on appropriate subjects to complete this major.

Pre-2008 Bachelor of Science students may only complete this major in conjunction with another science major that cannot be biotechnology or history and philosophy of science. To be awarded two science majors (i.e. the environmental science major and a second science major), pre-2008 Bachelor of Science students must complete a minimum of 87.5 points of science study at Level 3. Up to the equivalent of one 12.5 point science subject at Level 3 can be counted towards both majors where applicable.

Related Course(s): Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science

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