* an appreciation for the role of modelling in environmental science;
* an overview of the range of environmental models in use;
* the skills required to model environmental systems and processes;
* an introduction to the construction and mathematical analysis of environmental models;
* a high level of ability to analyse and evaluate environmental models;
* describe major current global environmental challenges facing scientists and policy-makers;
* discuss the relevance of a range of scientific disciplines to environmental management including meteorology, ecology, toxicology, hydrology, geology and epidemiology;
* analyse the role of various evidentiary approaches to supporting science-based arguments including empirical observation and analysis, modelling and use of expert opinion; and
* judge the merit of scientific arguments made in documents related to environmental policy.
Academic titleMaster of Science (Environmental Science)
Course descriptionCourse structure (all subjects are 12.5 points each, total points: 200)
Discipline Core (62.5 points)
Students must take:
o 600-654 Global Environmental Change, plus
o 600-303 Environmental Risk Assessment*, plus
o 600-653 Environmental Monitoring and Audit, plus
o Environmental Modelling (This subject will not be available until semester 1, 2010), and
o Graduate Seminar: Environmental Science (This subject will not be available until semester 2, 2010)
Discipline Elective (37.5 points)
Students must take 3 of the following subjects:
o 625-634 Climate Affairs
o eScience ** (this subject will not be available until semester 2, 2010)
o 600-617 Systems Modelling and Simulation
o 606-608 Restoration Ecology (offered every second year from 2009)
o 121-532 Environmental Impact Assessment
o 451-610 Fundamentals of GIS
o 207-412 Environments of Urban Landscapes
o 207-501 Management of Plant and Animal Invasion
o 250-650 Wildlife Management
o 207-511 Soil Science and Management
o 610-680 Environmental Chemistry*** (may not be available beyond 2009)
o 610-360 Analytical and Environmental Chemistry***
o 606-305 Vegetation Management and Conservation***
o 606-607 Flora of Victoria*** (summer semester)
o 654-608 Conservation Biology***
o 625-608 Hydrogeology**** (summer semester)
* Exemption from this subject will be granted if the student has completed this as part of their undergraduate degree.
** These subjects can be taken either as an elective discipline subject or as an elective professional tool (but cannot be counted as both).
*** This subject is only available as an elective to a student if an equivalent subject has not been completed in the student's undergraduate degree.
**** Availability of subject may depend on timetabling constraints.
Project Module (12.5 points)
o 600-611 Industry Project (this subject will not be available until semester 2, 2010)
Professional Tools Module (87.5 points)
Professional Tools Core (75 points)
Students must take:
2 Business Tools Units
o 600-614 Business Tools: Money, People and Projects, plus
o Business Tools: The Market Environment (this subject will not be available until semester 1, 2010) plus
2 Science Tools Units
o 600-615 Thinking and Reasoning with Data, plus
o 600-618 Ethics and Resonsibility in Science, plus
2 Communication Tools Units
o 600-619 Science and Communication, plus
o 600-616 Science in Context
Professional Tools Elective (12.5 points)
Students must take 1 of the following Science Tools subjects:
o eScience (this subject will not be available until semester 2, 2010) and/or
o 600-617 Systems Modelling and Simulation1 and/or
o Critical Analysis in Science (this subject will not be available until semester 2, 2010)