The Bachelor of Environment is offered by the School of the Environment within the Faculty of Science and Engineering and requires three years of full-time study (or the equivalent part-time). Students may elect to complete a general Bachelor of Environment (BEnv) or one of two streams; the Bachelor of Environment (Environmental Science) or the Bachelor of Environment (Environmental Management). The name of the stream will appear on the transcript and parchment.

Admission requirements

The minimum requirements for consideration for entry to all undergraduate courses are specified in detail in the University Entry Requirements.

There are no formal prerequisites for the Bachelor of Environment.

Course aims

The course has been designed to produce graduates who, as environmental professionals, possess generalist skills that may be applied to careers in diverse areas relevant to the environment, but may also become specialists in a major discipline. They will possess well developed skills to work with a wide range of stakeholders including government agencies, business interests, developers and construction organisations, news and entertainment media and with communities. They will be able to liaise with other groups of specialists including scientists, managers, geographers, and health professionals to arrive at solutions to existing and emerging environmental issues.

It aims:

  • to promote a project and problem-oriented and trans-disciplinary approach to the application of science and/or management principles to environmental issues;
  • to produce environmental professionals with a general understanding of the disciplines engaged in the study of the environment;
  • to produce graduates who are specialists in a major area of environmental concern and who are experienced in working in teams which draw on and communicate a variety of expertise:
  • to develop the role of basic science in the identification, assessment, monitoring and treatment of environmental problems;
  • to promote an understanding of the public policy contexts and social organisations within which environmental issues arise and are dealt with;
  • to develop an awareness in graduates of the global nature of environmental issues and the international policy and management contexts in which they are understood;
  • to promote a cultural awareness of environmental matters relating to Indigenous Australians, especially in areas of social and developmental policy, health, housing, Country and cultural identity;
  • to offer authentic work integrated learning experiences that are relevant to modern community, economy, culture and industry.

Learning outcomes

On completion of their degree, students will have developed comprehensive and well-founded subject knowledge in their discipline and a range of transferable professional skills.

Subject knowledge

Graduates of the course are expected to be able to:

  • demonstrate general skills in the identification and critical analysis of environmental issues;
  • demonstrate specialist skills in a major area of environmental concern;
  • co-ordinate and conduct environmental projects using problem-based and trans-disciplinary approaches;
  • employ appropriate methods to identify, assess, monitor and treat environmental problems;
  • comprehend the public policy contexts and social organisations within which environmental issues arise and are dealt with;
  • recognise and integrate international and global environmental issues and developments with an Australian national, regional and local application;
  • analyse disparities in environments and opportunities in Western and Indigenous cultures;
  • demonstrate their ability to work effectively within teams, and within organisations.

Transferable professional skills

Graduates of the course are expected to be able to:

  • employ appropriate methodologies such as experimental design, and the critical analysis of data;
  • communicate and present information clearly and fluently in both written and spoken forms;
  • interact effectively as part of a team in order to work towards a common outcome;
  • work and learn independently;
  • reason critically and logically and make independent judgements;
  • engage effectively with information and communication technologies;
  • demonstrate research skills appropriate for further study and employment;
  • appreciate the need for continuing professional development.

Program of Study

To qualify for the Bachelor of the Environment, Bachelor of the Environment (Environmental Science) or Bachelor of the Environment (Environmental Management) a student must complete 108 units, with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, according to the program of study detailed below.

No more than 45 units of First Year level topics may be included in the 108 units for the degree.

Elective topics to complete 108 units may be selected from within the University or, with approval of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, from outside the University, provided any course and prerequisite requirements are met.

Not all topics are necessarily available in a given year.

Students undertake one of three streams in the Bachelor of the Environment degree:

  • Bachelor of Environment
  • Bachelor of Environment (Environmental Science)
  • Bachelor of Environment (Environmental Management)

Students may elect to complete topics relevant to an individual stream (environmental science or environmental management) and have this noted on their degree parchment. Only one of these stream designations may be noted on the degree parchment. Students wishing to graduate with a more general Bachelor of the Environment degree need not nominate a stream. Students may choose to transfer between streams providing they complete the program of study requirements for their chosen stream:

Core - Year 1 topics (All streams):

9 units comprising:

ENVS1001 Introduction to Environmental Investigations (4.5 units)
GEOG1003 Introduction to GIS (4.5 units)

Option - Year 1 topics (All streams)

13.5 units selected from

BUSN1013 Economics for Business (4.5 units)
EASC1101 Earth and Environmental Sciences (4.5 units)*
EASC1102 Marine Sciences (4.5 units)*
GEOG1002 Cities, Societies and Environment (4.5 units) **
GEOG1001 Water Resources and Society (4.5 units)**

* Students undertaking the Environmental Science stream must take these topics

** Students undertaking the Environmental Management stream must take these topics

Note: students who wish to change their stream, or defer choosing a stream till Year 2, may satisfy core requirements by choosing the required topics as options below.

Plus 9 units from the list below:

Please note option choice is subject to meeting pre-requisites and option choice at first year may influence availability of upper year topics

AMST1002 America and the World (4.5 units)
INTR1006 International Relations (4.5 units)
BUSN1013 Economics for Business (4.5 units)
EASC1101 Earth and Environmental Sciences (4.5 units)
EASC1102 Marine Sciences (4.5 units)
GEOG1002 Cities, Society and Environment (4.5 units)
GEOG1001 Water Resources and Society (4.5 units)
SOCI1001 Issues in Sociology (4.5 units)

One of ^
ASST1001 Discovering Asia (4.5 units)
ASST1002 Modern Asia: Economy, Society and Politics (4.5 units)

One of^
AUST1001 Australian studies (4.5 units)
HIST1203 Brief History of Australia (4.5 units)

One of ^
BIOL1112 Biology and Society (4.5 units)
BIOL1102 Molecular Basis of Life (4.5 units)
BIOL1101 Evolution of Biological Diversity (4.5 units)

One of ^
CHEM1101 Chemical Structure and Bonding (4.5 units)
CHEM1102 Modern Chemistry (4.5 units)
CHEM1201 General Chemistry (4.5 units)
CHEM1202 Chemistry for Life Sciences (4.5 units)

One of^
MATH1121 Mathematics 1A
MATH1701 Mathematics Fundamentals A (4.5 units)

One of^
PHYS1101 Fundamental Physics (4.5 units)
PHYS1102 Fundamental Physics II (4.5 units)
PHYS1701 Physics for the Modern World (4.5 units)
PHYS1702 Physics for the Health Sciences (4.5 units)

Available through Charles Darwin University (Cross Institutional Enrolment)
LWA112 Environment and Planning Law

Plus 4.5 units of electives

Core - Year 2 topics (All streams)

9 units comprising:

ENVS2751 Skills for Environmental Professionals (4.5 units)
EASC2702 Global Climate Change (4.5 units)

Option - Year 2 topics (All streams)

9 units selected from:

DVST2701 Sustainable Development (4.5 units)**
ENVS2761 Hydrology (4.5 units)*
ENVS2731 Coastal processes (4.5 units)*
ENVS2712 Environmental Change and Human Health (4.5 units)**

* Students undertaking the Environmental Science stream must take these topics

** Students undertaking the Environmental Management stream must take these topics

Plus 9 units from the list below

BIOL2711 Ecology (4.5 units)
BUSN2024 Sustainable Resource Management (4.5 units)
DVST2701 Sustainable Development (4.5 units)
EASC2701 Coasts and Oceans (4.5 units)
ENVS2712 Environmental Change and Human Health (4.5 units)
ENVS2731 Coastal Processes (4.5 units)
ENVS2741 Microbiology of our Environment (4.5 units)
ENVS2742 Environment, Economy and Culture (4.5 units)
ENVS2752 Geological Processes (4.5 units)
ENVS2761 Hydrology (4.5 units)
GEOG2701 Introduction to Remote Sensing (4.5 units)
GEOG2702 Image Analysis in Remote Sensing (4.5 units)
GEOG2711 Australian Environmental Change (4.5 units)
GEOG2712 Asian Regional Development (4.5 units)
HIST2015 Maps and Dreams: Indigenous-Settler Relations in Australian History (4.5 units)
INTR2009 Energy and Security: Black Gold, Yellowcake and Old King Coal (4.5 units)
INTR2012 Food Security (4.5 units)
PHIL2604 Environmental Philosophy (4.5 units)
POLI2012 Environmental Politics (4.5 units)
PPHR2721 Demography (4.5 units)
SOCI2007 Sociology of Nature and the Environment (4.5 units)
SOCI2019 The Challenge of Globalisation (4.5 units)
SOCI2023 Animals, Nature and Society (4.5 units)

One of^
STAT2700 Applied Statistics Laboratory (4.5 units) or
BIOL2701 Experimental Design and Statistics for Biology (4.5 units)

Available through Charles Darwin University (Cross Institutional Enrolment)
CIK210 Indigenous Knowledges: Representing and Recording Country
CIK230 Indigenous Engagements: Land and Water
CIK240 Indigenous Culture and the Environment
ENV206 Environmental Physiology
ENV207 Fire Ecology and Management in Northern Australia

Plus 9 units of electives

Option - Year 3 topics (All streams)

Select 18 units from:

ASST3011 Environment and Development in Asia (4.5 units)
ENVS3742 Emerging Issues in Australian Environmental Management (4.5 units)
ENVS3750 Field Studies in Environmental Disciplines (4.5 units)
ENVS3751 Extended Field Studies in Environmental Disciplines (4.5 units)
ENVS3760 Environmental Agency Placement (4.5 units)
ENVS3761 Extended Environmental Agency Placement (4.5 units)
ENVS3770 Environmental Research Project (4.5 units)
ENVS3771 Extended Environmental Research Project (4.5 units)

Plus 9 units from the list below

AUST2612 Reconciliation and Indigenous Knowledges (4.5 units)
BIOL3701 Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology (4.5 units)
BIOL3712 Integrative Physiology of Animals and Plants (4.5 units)
EASC3741 Groundwater (4.5 units)
EASC3742 Earth Fluid Modelling (4.5 units)
EASC3751 Hydrochemistry (4.5 units)
ENVS3700 Directed Studies in the Environment (4.5 units)
ENVS3711 Coastal Studies (4.5 units)
ENVS3731 Ecohydrology (4.5 units)
ENVS3732 Environmental Impact Assessment (4.5 units)
ENVS3741 Public Health and Environmental Toxicology (4.5 units)
ENVS3752 Geology of Australia (4.5 units)
ENVS3781 Population and Environment (4.5 units)
ENVS3791 Coastal Environments (4.5 units)
GEOG3701 Spatial Information Management (4.5 units)
GEOG2722 Society and Space (4.5 units)
HIST3008 Australian Environmental Histories (4.5 units)
PPHR2721 Demography (4.5 units)
SOAD3006 Practice Research (4.5 units)

Available through Charles Darwin University (Cross Institutional Enrolment)
ENV302 Organisms and Environmental Change
ENV304 Field Studies in Tropical and Desert Landscapes
ENV302 Tropical Invaders and Biosecurity
CIK341 Global Perspectives on Indigenous Land and Sea Management

Plus 9 units of elective

^ Students are permitted to choose only one of those topics specified in groups. This is to allow students to gain option topics from a range of diverse disciplines without compromising the intended environmental breadth of the program. For example students may only take one of the biology topics in year 1 ensuring elective space remains for other discipline choices.

Honours

Admission to an honours program may be offered to a student who meets certain academic criteria subject to the school/department being able to provide appropriate resources and staff to supervise the program of study. Refer to School of Environment honours link.

Combined degrees

The Bachelor of Environment may also be studied in a combined degrees program with any Bachelor degree in the Faculty of Science and Engineering .