Environmental Geography and Planning major

This major provides foundational knowledge and skills in environmental geography and planning. It provides students with an understanding of how environmental processes intersect with planning practice in a range of geographical contexts and at different spatial scales.

Essential skills are developed for careers in environmental planning, including principles of site assessment, urban design, landscape evaluation and design, visualisation and master-planning. These are considered in the context of the strategic and statutory dimensions of environmental planning frameworks. Students are also provided with opportunities to put their knowledge into practice through a range of options, including fieldwork and industry projects.

Graduates in this major will be well positioned to develop careers in a range of fields including environmental design, sustainable planning, environmental consultancy and planning agencies across the private, non-profit and public sectors both domestically and overseas.

The major provides pathways to professional accredited degrees, notably the Master of Urban and Regional Planning and the Master of Urban Design.

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) Critically evaluate key concepts, theories and practices in environmental geography and planning; (2) Explain the role of strategic and statutory policy frameworks in guiding environmental planning; (3) Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate strategic and technical responses to environmental planning issues.; (4) Discuss the interdisciplinary and professional context within which environmental planning and design is situated; and (5) 5. Communicate environmental planning perspectives and knowledge effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences using appropriately selected written, oral and visual means.

Broadening guidelines

All students studying towards a Bachelor's Degree at UWA are required to Broaden their studies by completing a minimum of four units (24 points) of study outside their degree specific major. Broadening is your opportunity to explore other areas of interest, investigate new disciplines and knowledge paradigms and to shape your degree to suit your own aspirations and interests. Many of you will be able to undertake more than this minimum amount of broadening study and we encourage you to do so if this suits your aspirations. Over the next few months you will find here some broadening suggestions related to your degree-specific major. While we know that many students value guidance of this sort, these are only suggestions and students should not lose sight of the opportunity to explore that is afforded by your Broadening Choices. Advice can also be sought from your Allocated Student Advising Office.

Prerequisites

enrolment in the Bachelor of Environmental Design or Bachelor of Philosophy

Environmental Geography and Planning can be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:

BP011 Bachelor of Environmental Design
BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)

Overview of unit sequence

Environmental Geography and Planning is a degree-specific single major comprising:

  • two Level 1 units
  • three Level 2 units
  • three Level 3 units
Key to availability of units:
S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; N/A = not available in 2021; NS = non-standard teaching period

Note: Units that are indicated as N/A may be available in 2022 or 2023.

Level 1

Degree-specific major units
Take all units (12 points):
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S1 GEOG1103 Urbanisation and Sustainability
Prerequisites:
Nil
Co-requisites:
Nil
Incompatibility:
Nil
S1 URBD1000 Introduction to Urban Design
Prerequisites:
Nil
Co-requisites:
Nil
Incompatibility:
Nil

Level 2

Degree-specific major units
Take all units (12 points):
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
NS GEOG2202 Reading Landscapes: People and Processes
Prerequisites:
GEOG1103 Urbanisation and Sustainability
OR
GEOG1104 Disasters!
OR
GEOG1106 Climate Change: Environment and Society
OR
Approval of Unit Co-ordinator
Co-requisites:
Nil
Incompatibility:
Nil
S1 LACH2000 Landscape Context Studio
Prerequisites:
ARLA1040 Techniques of Visualisation
and
ARLA1000 Design Studio--Groundings
OR
URBD1000 Introduction to Urban Design
Co-requisites:
Nil.
Incompatibility:
Nil.
Degree-specific major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 6 points:
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S1, S2 GEOG2201 Geographic Information Systems
Prerequisites:
36 points of prior study
Co-requisites:
Nil.
Incompatibility:
Nil
N/A GEOG2204 International Field Work in Geography
Prerequisites:
48 points of prior undergraduate study at UWA and approval by Unit Coordinator
Co-requisites:
Nil.
Incompatibility:
Nil
S2 LACH2050 Plants and Landscape Systems
Prerequisites:
ARLA1000 Design Studio—Groundings (formerly LACH1000 Landscape Architecture Studio—Groundings)
or
one of the following: BIOL1131 Plant and Animal Biology, EART1104 Discovering Earth (formerly Introduction to Geology), EART1105 The Dynamic Planet, SCIE1104 Science, Society and Data Analysis, GEOG1103 Coastal Cities: Geographical Perspectives, URBD1000 Introduction to Urban Design (ID 5037)
Co-requisites:
Nil.
Incompatibility:
Nil.

Level 3

Degree-specific major units
Take all units (18 points):
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S2 GEOG3303 Environmental Policy and Planning
Prerequisites:
Completion of 72 Points Course Enrolment MJD-CONBI Conservation Biology (ID 256)
Or
MJD-NRMGT Natural Resource Management (ID 1237)
Or
MJD-GGRPY Geographical Sciences (ID 1240)
Or
MJD-HGYPL Human Geography and Planning (ID 1550)
Or
MJD-WLCDM Wildlife Conservation (ID 4836)
Or
MJD-ENVDM Environmental Science and Management (ID 4842)
Or
MJD-ENVMT Environmental Management (ID 4847)
Or
MJD-ENGEO Environmental Geography and Planning (ID 4869)
Or
MNR-SAPEP Science and Policy: Environmental Planning (ID 59)
Or
MNR-SPCEU Science and Policy: Climate Change, Environmental Planning and Urban Environments (ID 60)
Or
MNR-ENVST Understanding the Environment (ID 73)
Co-requisites:
Nil
Incompatibility:
Unit PLNG2203 Environmental Policy and Planning (ID 1313)
S1 GEOG3305 Urban Planning and Design
Prerequisites:
URBD1000 Urban Design
OR
GEOG2205 Geographies of Economic Development
OR
GEOG2206 Social Geography and Planning
Co-requisites:
Nil.
Incompatibility:
Nil
N/A GEOG3310 Fieldwork in Environmental Geography and Planning
Prerequisites:
GEOG2202 Reading Landscapes: People and Processes
Co-requisites:
Nil
Incompatibility:
GEOG3302 Geographic, Environment and Planning Fieldwork

Choosing your degree-specific major

General degrees

You must satisfy the requirements of a degree-specific major before you complete your course. The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you to try out a number of different subjects to see what interests you before nominating your degree-specific major. You have the choice to either nominate your degree-specific major when you first enrol in the course or delay nominating it until your second year.

To plan the first year of your study without nominating a degree-specific major, you are advised to choose units that will pave the way to two or more degree-specific majors that are of interest to you. For examples of the choice of units available in first year, search the first-year study plans .

To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.

The following example illustrates how the Environmental Geography and Planning degree-specific major can be included in the Bachelor of Environmental Design course.

%Course study plan%

There are more choices open to you. For more examples, search the study plans .

Specialised degrees – Bachelor of Advanced Computer Science (Honours), Bachelor of Automation and Robotics, Bachelor of Environmental Design, Bachelor of Music

You must satisfy the requirements of the degree-specific major in your degree before you complete your course.

Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

This comprehensive degree does not require you to choose a degree-specific major.

Choosing a second major

You also have the option to choose a second major from those available in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students. and Bachelor of Science courses, giving you the opportunity to pursue your interests no matter how different they are.

For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .