Overview

• Graduate prepared to pursue a rewarding career in environmental sustainability.
• No.1 in SA for quality education1, graduate skills2 and teaching quality3 in Environmental Science.
• Broad program to develop multidisciplinary graduates who can help address critical global challenges such as climate change and the biodiversity crisis.
• Develop your awareness of Aboriginal Australian approaches to Environmental Management and the cultural value of landscapes.
• Learn about biology, ecology, earth and soil science, conservation, environmental chemistry, and human dimensions research.
• Gain practical experience through field trips and real-world projects.
• Master the knowledge and technologies behind digital/web-based mapping.
• Develop skills in science communication and community engagement.
• Learn first-hand from our leading researchers and industry experts.
• Learn using virtual and augmented reality experiences created by Project LIVE (Learning through Immersive Virtual Environments).
• SA's no. 1 university for research in Environmental Sciences4.

Snapshot

If you have genuine concern for the environment and a commitment to sustainability, a degree in Environmental Science is the first step toward launching your career.

In this degree you will address today’s scientific issues and explore how humans interact with the environment, how we can manage it sustainably, and how we can better influence positive attitudes to bring about a better future for all.

With a focus on hands-on field work in the natural environment, you will develop a solid foundation across environmental science including biology, ecology, earth and soil science, conservation, environmental chemistry, and human dimensions research. Field work ranges from exploring the campus and sites around Adelaide, to Kangaroo Island, the Coorong, the Flinders Ranges or even Fiji.

On-campus teaching for this program is based at the Mawson Lakes campus. Only 20 minutes from the city centre with easy parking. The Mawson Lakes campus is also accessible by bus and train with the Mawson Lakes train station only a short walk.

What you'll learn

Your learning will cover biology, ecology, geography, earth and soil science, water and coasts, pollution monitoring, conservation, ecotourism and sustainability. To develop strong skills in an area that interests you, you can select from a range of environmental electives in second and third year to tailor your degree, whilst still maintaining a broad, comprehensive training in environmental sciences.

Across our courses we provide you with cutting-edge techniques and technology to help you learn how to monitor and manage environments, along with tools to process and evaluate this data to critically assess its meaning. For example, through Project LIVE (Learning through Integrated Virtual Environments) you might examine aerial imagery of erosion patterns along the South Australian coastline and ancient landforms in central Australia, or infra-red surveys of vegetation health in Barossa Valley vineyards or perhaps satellite monitoring of ice sheet stability in Antarctica. This imagery will give you hands on experience in data creation and manipulation and help you become familiar with the latest digital imaging, mapping and virtual reality techniques. In other courses you’ll learn how to plan for and monitor mine site contamination or pollution in waterways, or survey plant and animal biodiversity on land or in the sea, as well as many other environmental monitoring scenarios. You’ll learn how to statistically analyse, map and communicate your findings, and to engage and work with communities to bring about necessary change.