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Environmental Science

31 October 2023

Environmental Science is the newest major in UC's Bachelor of Science. It's an interdisciplinary programme taught by staff from Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Forestry Science, Gateway Antarctica, School of Earth and Environment, School of Mathematics and Statistics and Physics and Astronomy. Find out how to study Environmental Science at UC.

HOW TO APPLY

Our academic staff are complemented by guest lecturers from industry,泭泭and local government.

Environmental Science must be taken as a double major with another Bachelor of Science major. The topic looks at how the earth works, how people are affecting the environment and how to solve environmental issues. This new specialisation meets demand from both students and employers for a more specialised course of study in a field of growing national and international relevance.

Graduates will have a broad interdisciplinary background as泭students of both Environmental Science and their other chosen major. 泭They will泭be able to identify, monitor and solve a variety of problems associated with the environment. 泭They find employment in a range of careers including making businesses more sustainable, helping multinationals reduce the impact of major projects and as advisors in government agencies.

Why choose Environmental Science?

Human impact on the environment is a field of increasing concern. We aim to produce graduates with critical insight who will apply their innovative, problem-solving skills to create a better world.

The major offers opportunities to:

  • Develop critical analytical skills
  • Become an environmental decision maker
  • Shape our global future
  • Solve environmental challenges
  • Make a difference
  • Be part of solutions

Study Environmental Science at UC

Fields of research
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Human exposure to contaminants
  • Environmental fate and toxicity of contaminants
  • Water quality
  • Air quality
  • Contaminated land
  • Climate change
  • Antarctic Science
  • Biosecurity
  • Stable isotope geochemistry
  • Freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecology
  • Coastal science

  • Monitoring the Impact of Scott Base in Antarctica: A Recent Evaluation of Wastewater, Water and Soil Quality at Pram Point, Ross Island.
  • Mechanisms of trace metal and diclofenac toxicity in inanga (Galaxias maculatus).
  • Intertidal foraminifera of the Avon-Heathcote Estuary; response to coseismic deformation and potential to record local historic events.
  • Mauka makai Ki uta ki tai: The ecological and sociocultural values of estuarine shellfish fisheries in Hawai`i and Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Impacts of antimicrobial compounds in urban waterways receiving sewer overflows.
  • Characteristics of the Ross and Southern McMurdo ice shelves as revealed from ground-based radar surveys.
  • Metal contamination in streams in three New 厙ぴ勛圖cities, the effects on benthic communities and the accumulation in a New 厙ぴ勛圖mayfly.
  • Distribution, trapping efficiencies and feeding trials for Paranephrops泭zealandicus泭in central Canterbury.
  • Enhancing the performance of wastewater microalgae through chemical and physical modifications in high rate algal ponds.
  • Accumulation of trace elements in aquatic food chains due to sea-fill activities.
  • A comparison of the stable isotopic ecology of eastern, western, and pre-human forest ecosystems in the South Island of New Zealand.
  • An investigation into local air quality throughout two residential communities bisected by major highways in South Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Pocket beach wave processes and current systems investigated via field and numerical modelling studies: a case study of Okains Bay.
  • Evaluation of the customary fisheries management of shellfish in the Canterbury Region.
  • Population biology and restoration of intertidal cockle beds.
Postgraduate pathways in Environmental Science

  • 泭Research Preparation
  • 泭Research Proposal
  • 泭Terrestrial Ecology
  • 泭Evolutionary Ecology
  • 泭Community Ecology
  • 泭Freshwater Ecology
  • 泭Conservation Biology
  • 泭Global Change Biology
  • 泭Marine Biology and Ecology
  • 泭Conservation Genetics
  • 泭Behaviour
  • 泭Applied and Molecular Microbiology
  • 泭Environmental Animal Physiology

  • 泭Current Issues in Environmental Chemistry
  • 泭Advanced Topics in Chemistry I
  • 泭Advanced Topics in Chemistry II
  • 泭Advanced Topics in Chemistry III
  • 泭Advanced topics in chemistry IV

  • 泭Introduction to Disaster Risk and Resilience
  • 泭Natural Hazard Risk Assessment
  • 泭Disaster Risk and Resilience Investigations
  • 泭GIS for Disaster Risk and Resilience

  • 泭Soil Mechanics and Soil Engineering
  • 泭Applied Hydrogeology
  • 泭Engineering Geomorphology and Geohazards
  • 泭Water Resources and Irrigation Engineering
  • 泭Sustainable Energy Systems
  • 泭Ecological and Bioresources Engineering
  • 泭Environmental Engineering Design
  • 泭Water Chemistry

  • 泭Research Methods
  • 泭Restoration Ecology

  • 泭Foundations of Geographic Information Science
  • 泭Remote Sensing for Earth Observation

  • 泭Well-Being, Community and Place
  • 泭Resilient Cities
  • 泭Resource and Environmental Management (REM) in New Zealand
  • 泭Coasts and Rivers: from Natural Processes to Urban Environments
  • 泭Atmospheric and Cryospheric Environments
  • 泭Geography Internship

  • 泭Structural Geology
  • 泭Igneous Petrology and Geochemistry
  • 泭Physical Volcanology
  • 泭Sedimentary Facies and Basin Analysis
  • 泭Active Tectonics and Geomorphology
  • 泭Applied Palaeobiology
  • 泭Coal and Environmental Geology

  • 泭Environmental Health

  • 泭Research Tools
  • 泭Atmospheric, Oceanic and Climate Dynamics

  • WATR401泭Advanced Water Resources
  • WATR402泭Water Quality and Quantity Assessment
  • WATR403泭Water Management, Policy and Planning
  • WATR405泭Research and Communication Methods
  • ENGE414泭Applied Hydrogeology

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