Bachelors in Environmental Science in Australia

Environmental scientists have careers in planning, management, monitoring and research. These roles are usually found in government departments and agencies, local councils, consultancies, and industrial and mining companies, and you could be working in urban, rural or remote settings.

The world requires skilled scientists and innovators to develop solutions to the complex environmental problems facing a rapidly changing planet. Our Bachelor of Environmental Science is a highly flexible course that provides you with a broad foundation in the core theories and specialised applied skills that underpin environmental science, together with a strong scientific understanding of local and global environmental issues and their management.

UNE sits in the New England region of NSW surrounded by diverse and unique ecosystems with a patchwork of managed and natural land uses. Our course provides practical experience and easy access to the arid rangelands, wetlands and cropping and grazing systems to the west, and the Gondwana World Heritage semi-tropical rainforests, coastal environments and more densely populated urban centres to the east.

We address major environmental challenges such as water security, pollution, climate change and conserving biodiversity and threatened species, particularly in rural and regional Australia. UNE is regionally based, with national and global collaborations, ensuring that our research and teaching is of the highest quality and positively influences our communities, industry and government.

Future fit your career for life with the knowledge and practical skills you will need to thrive as an environmental scientist, and help to find the solutions we will need to build environmental, socially and fiscally sustainable systems.

What makes our course different?

UNE's Bachelor of Environmental Science is an undergraduate program that focuses on the scientific foundation for protection and conservation of managed and natural national environments. You will learn about ecological processes and conservation, air, land, water, plant and wildlife management and protection and develop skills in the field and laboratory to solve real world problems. The course also provides you with opportunities to:

• Study flexibly – with options to study online or on campus, full time or part time, you can balance study with your existing commitments. We are experts in online education, with innovative teaching in an interactive, collaborative learning environment.
• Engage directly with world renowned and enthusiastic lecturers in small classes and take advantage of our world-class facilities during practical sessions and intensive schools held on campus (mandatory for some online units).
• Complete a core suits of interdisciplinary environmental science units along with a major that matches your interest. Each major is designed to strengthen your professional competency and fine-tune the holistic, problem solving and applied skills needed for your career. You can choose to specialise in either conservation and ecology ,applied management, people and environment, or vegetation and landscapes.
• Complement your major and broaden your scope with a wide range of multidisciplinary minors including botany, geoscience, zoology, soils, spatial science, global environments, water science, data science and modelling, science communication and indigenous cultural studies.
• Network with postgraduate students with varied professional experience and backgrounds. In the higher years of your degree, combined classes for some units gives you exposure to the real-world applications of environmental science and related disciplines as you study alongside people already working in the field.
• Gain key practical and industry skills through a range of experiential opportunities, with embedded links for industry engagement. A final capstone unit in the course provides opportunities for hands-on experience in a work environment.
• Access state-of-the-art laboratories and learning resources. These include our purpose-built Agricultural Education Facility that allows laboratory sessions to be video-linked to tutorials, our Natural History Museum and internationally recognised NCW Beadle Herbarium - which house vibrant collections of Australian plant and animal species - and our multi-million dollar glasshouse complex.
• Gain a global perspective by studying overseas or taking part in international field trips. For example, learn more about wildlife conservation in Botswana, or Himalayan ecology in Bhutan.
• Undertake a research unit if you want to explore a particular specialisation or are interested in research opportunities.
• Progress to an honours degree if you have an above average academic record and wish to continue with your studies.
• Leave UNE job-ready by completing a work-integrated learning unit that allows you to work with an industry or business partner to enhance your professional skills development.

By choosing UNE, you are choosing an industry leader in the provision of online lifelong learning for aspiring and qualified environmental scientists. In fact, students consistently award 5-star ratings to UNE for Overall Experience and Student Support in The Good Universities Guide.