Offered By	ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
Areas of Interest	Environmental Studies

The major in Environmental Studies equips students with a broad understanding of (i) the complex and often conflicting, interrelationships between human societies and their environment; and (ii) the solutions, or sets of solutions that are available to address our most intractable environmental problems. Reflecting the complexity of human-environment relationships, the major in Environmental Studies offers a range of possible study areas, from natural ecological and earth system processes; through environmental management, resource use and policy, to cultural ecology and the history of environmental change, perception and philosophy.

The breadth of disciplinary coverage means that the courses relevant to this major are taught across several ANU Colleges, including Arts and Social Sciences, Business and Economics, Law, and Medicine, Biology and Environment. Different coherent approaches and areas of focus are achieved by grouping these courses to meet students' particular interests, ranging from a concentration on those natural resources that provide the essential economic foundations for society through to the study of more general aspects of the environment affecting quality of life. A common theme is the interactivity between humans and their environment at the individual and societal levels, as well as global, regional and local scale change processes. The major in Environmental Studies provides students with the multidisciplinary perspectives, skills and knowledge to engage meaningfully with the complex problems facing societies and the environment in the 21st century.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Due to structural changes in the undergraduate program rules in 2012, the courses that make up the new 2012 majors may be different to the pre-2012 majors, and therefore some courses cannot be counted between majors.  Students are advised to contact the CASS Student Office if they are unsure about their Majors.

 

Learning Outcomes

Students who complete this minor will have the skills and knowledge to:

• Understand the connections between human culture, institutions and policies and environmental systems and change.
• Critically assess the relationships between human cultures and societies, the institutions, economic and political paradigms that characterise them, and the impacts on the natural environment.
• Apply multi- and interdisciplinary approaches to tackling complex problems in a variety of contexts (eg. climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainability in business and industry, regional planning, land care, public participation, and cultural heritage).
• Gather and analyse relevant data for creating adaptive responses to environmental issues.
• Synthesise the principal approaches to environmental management and other relevant fields of study.

Requirements

This major requires the completion of 48 units, which must include:

12 units from the completion of the following compulsory courses:

ENVS2011 - Human Ecology (6 units)

ENVS3021 - Human Futures (6 units)

 

A maximum of 12 units from the completion of 1000-level courses from the following list:

BIOL1008 - Human Biology (6 units)

ENVS1001 - Environment and Society: Geography of Sustainability (6 units)

ENVS1003 - Introduction to Environmental and Social Research (6 units)

ENVS1004 - Australia's Environment (6 units)

ENVS1008 - Sustainable Development (6 units)

SCNC1001 - Science under the Microscope (6 units)

SOCY1002 - Self and Society (6 units)

SOCY1004 - Introduction to Social Psychology (6 units)

 

A minimum of 12 units from completion of core courses from the following list:

ENVS2012 - Sustainable Systems: Urban (6 units)

ENVS2013 - Society and Environmental Change (6 units)

ENVS2022 - Sustainable Systems: Rural (6 units)

ENVS3028 - Environmental Policy (6 units)

ENVS3040 - Solving Complex Problems (6 units)

HIST2225 - Environmental History: Australia and the World (6 units)

SOCY2022 - Environmental Sociology (6 units)

PHIL2114 - Sustainability, System and Agency (6 units)

 

A maximum of 12 units from the completion of courses from the following list:

ANTH2135 - Vietnam Field School (6-12 units)

ENGL2057 - Representations of Nature (6 units)

ENVS2007 - Economics for the Environment (6 units)

ENVS2009 - Quantitative Environmental Research Methods (6 units)

ENVS2014 - Qualitative Research Methods for Sustainability (6 units)

ENVS2017 - Vietnam Field School (6-12 units)

ENVS3001 - Climate Change Science and Policy Field School (6 units)

ENVS3004 - Land and Catchment Management (6 units)

ENVS3005 - Water Resource Management (6 units)

ENVS3007 - Participatory Resource Management: Working with Communities and Stakeholders (6 units)

ENVS3020 - Climate Change Science and Policy (6 units)

ENVS3033 - International Environmental Policy (6 units)

LAWS3103 - Law and the Environment (6 units)

MGMT3101 - Business and the Natural Environment (6 units)

PHIL2114 - Sustainability, System and Agency (6 units)

POLS2011 - Development and Change (6 units)

VCUG3001 - Unravelling Complexity (6 units)

The information published on the Study at ANU 2013 website applies to the 2013 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2012 website.