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Overview  2020

Entry Requirements

See entry requirements

Duration

Minimum

Duration

Duration refers to the minimum and maximum amounts of time in which this course can be completed. It will be affected by whether you choose to study full or part time, noting that some programs are only available part time.

Location

Hobart
Semester 1, Semester 2
Launceston
Semester 1, Semester 2

This course may not be available to international students. Please see the list of distance courses (i.e. online and taken outside Australia) that are offered to international students

"I chose the University of Tasmania because the course was unlike any other environmental degree. The units are practical, applicable to the real world, and align with my interests. And as someone who loves the outdoors, what better place to be than Tasmania?"

Gemma Rushton
Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies student
Due to the circumstances around COVID-19, you will begin your studies online. However, when Government guidelines change, on-campus studies will be reintroduced.
Are you a high-achiever with a passion for the environment and wilderness?

The Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies Catalyst Program combines a Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies with extra experiences, activities and opportunities. It was created for outstanding students, just like you.

Understanding and protecting our environment is a global mission, with local impacts. To get you globally connected, you can apply for the Overseas Exchange Program and spend a semester learning at one of our international partner institutions. If you're accepted to the program, you'll be automatically supported by a $2,500 scholarship.

You can also apply for a Summer Research Project where you will work with a supervisor on a research topic of your choice. Again, upon being accept for a project you'll be supported by an automatic $3,000 scholarship.

You can even graduate with a custom built, multidisciplinary second degree, the high achiever academic extension Bachelor of Philosophy at no extra cost, with just a few additional units.

There is a $7,500 relocation scholarship available for domestic interstate students moving to Tasmania, and a $3,000 bursary for Tasmanian students to support the start of University studies.

If you want to get the most out of your University experience, set yourself apart in your chosen field, and give yourself an edge for future employment, the Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies Catalyst Program is for you.

The Catalyst Program gives you a world-class natural environment and wilderness education including hands-on research and field experiences and enriching overseas exchange and education opportunities.

This degree combines a breadth of environment-related disciplines plus gives you the option to widen your studies and include other approaches to the study of wilderness and natural environments.

It is a practical, field-focused degree, providing many options related to the management of the natural environment and environmental policy.

The structure of the degree ensures that you gain a broad cross-disciplinary understanding of the natural environments and wilderness, while being able to specialise in areas of interest. In addition to specialist knowledge and skills, this degree also develops a wide range of general abilities applicable to careers across any sector, including communication, data collection, fieldwork, analysis, information retrieval and presentation, planning and policy development.

Graduates will be able to draw on their multidisciplinary range of knowledge and skills as they seek to address complex socio-environmental problems that have no obvious solution, and often generate considerable public interest. For example, we know that communicating climate change science is only part of the challenge and that professionals working in this area need to be able to navigate politics and social values to effect change.

You could also look to address challenges where the solution involves an understanding of multiple disciplines such as ecology, planning, and environmental impact processes, and the ability to engage with a range of stakeholders who all have different views and experience levels based, such as helping maintain healthy populations of endangered species like eagles.

Graduates are forging their way into their dream jobs, traversing landscapes ranging from sheep farms to World Heritage areas to suburban bushland, where they work indoors and outdoors on challenges that are close to their hearts and move us into a kinder era of environmental stewardship.

The Catalyst Program is built with practical experience in mind. Field trips, research projects, specialist facilities and laboratories, work integrated learning, industry experience, international travel, and more. When you study with us, your learning experience extends well beyond the classroom.

Tasmania is literally a living laboratory

The University of Tasmania has with six diverse ecosystems all within 30 minutes of the Sandy Bay campus, and the world’s second largest temperate rainforest only an hour away. We’re the gateway to Antarctica and, as the birthplace of the green movement, celebrate our biodiversity and environmental sustainability. Many of your classes will be conducted outside in this natural environment, and your proximity to a wide range of pristine, diverse environments, and the researchers who travel from around the world to work in them, give you unparalleled practical field experience while you study. Plus, it makes Tasmania an amazing place to live!

Learn from the best, and learn by doing

Our world-class teaching staff bring their cutting-edge findings and examples to your lessons. And not just in the laboratory and classroom, but outside doing real-world tasks such as environment management plans and heritage assessments. Research in scientific fields of agriculture, chemistry, earth sciences, ecology, environmental science and management, fisheries sciences, oceanography, physical geography, plant biology, and zoology is ranked well above world-class*, meaning that you’re learning from some of the best in the world in the same environment where they conduct their world-class research.

*Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2018 National Report

Study overseas as part of your degree

Never mind a gap year when you can travel and study overseas and have it count towards your degree! The University exchange program provides students with the opportunity to gain an international experience as part of their current degree, with 150 partner institutes globally across 30+ countries, there is a program type for everyone offering programs from semester length to just 2 week international stints.

The exchange is typically undertaken in your second year, and you'll be fully supported by our dedicated Student Mobility team all the way. Upon successful application to the semester exchange, Catalyst students automatically receive a $3,000 scholarship to assist with costs. Other financial assistance is available for both domestic and international students.

Find out more by visiting the Student Mobility website.

Summer research project

Regardless if you choose to pursue a career in research, the Summer Research Project is a great way to set yourself apart for your future career. You apply to conduct a six to eight week research program on a topic of your choice during the summer, typically between your second and third year. If your is successful, Catalyst students receive a guaranteed $3,000 to assist with costs!

You have the advantage of working in some of Australia's best facilities, with access to leading researchers in whatever field of study you're interested in. This may become a pre-cursor to an honours year, or a great experience to add to your CV, either way it's putting you ahead when it comes to starting your career.

Units in this degree, including KGA331 Fire, Weeds and Ferals and KGA381 Environmental Impact Assessment involve you working with teams of students, undertaking intensive field work, and producing natural environment management plans. These plans are often utilised by the owners and managers of the land on which the students are assessing, providing direct benefit to the environment and community while you study.

Career outcomes

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"The multi-disciplinary content of the Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies has provided an excellent basis for working with diverse groups on improving ecological management."

Dr Steve Leonard, Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies graduate

The Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness StudiesCatalyst Program offers outstanding career advantages, giving you an edge over your competitors.

By combining our highly sought after Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies degree with a wealth of extracurricular opportunities, you graduate with a combination of knowledge, skills and experience that truly sets you apart.

This interdisciplinary degree provides you with the knowledge and skills to gain employment in a wide variety of sectors related to natural environments and wilderness, vital as we continue to expand our presence on the earth and need to live in harmony with the natural environment to ensure our survival.

Opportunities include nature-based tourism, natural area management and natural area interpretation, across government, private and not for profit industries.

The broad nature of the degree also provides more general employability in the same way as the Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts. The skills you learn are applicable to industries and sectors all over the world. Anywhere there is interaction with the natural environment, your skills and knowledge can be utilised.

Career opportunities with natural environment and wilderness studies include:

  • Environmental protection
  • Environmental organisations and consultancies
  • Land and heritage management
  • Nature-based and eco-tourism
  • Parks planning and management
  • Resource-based industries such as forestry
  • Natural resource management
Postgraduate study

If you successfully complete this course, you may be also be eligible to apply for a range of other postgraduate courses including Graduate Certificates and Graduate Diplomas and Masters by coursework and research. Filter the course list by Postgraduate to view the current courses available.

Course structure

Entry requirements

Fees & scholarships

Domestic students

Scholarships

Catalyst Program scholarships
Interstate relocation scholarship (domestic students only)

There is a guaranteed $7,500 relocation scholarship available to domestic students who are relocating from interstate to Tasmania, and are commencing the Catalyst Program for the first time.

The scholarship will be delivered as $2,500 per semester for your first three semesters, provided you are fully enrolled in the Catalyst Program at census date, have successfully passed all your units in each semester.

Tasmanian Catalyst scholarship (domestic students only)

There is a $3,000 bursary available to domestic students from Tasmania to support the commencement of their university studies. The scholarship will be delivered as $1,500 per semester for your first two semesters, provided you are fully enrolled in the Catalyst Program at census date and have successfully passed all your units in each semester

Tasmanian International Scholarship (TIS) (international students only)

The Tasmanian International Scholarship (TIS) provides commencing international students with a 25% reduction in registered tuition fees for the duration of their course (provided satisfactory grades are maintained).

Overseas Exchange Scholarship

The College of Sciences and Engineering will give you a guaranteed $2,500 to assist with costs upon successfully applying for a semester overseas exchange. Note that other sources of funding are also available, including additional scholarships, funds through the Commonwealth OS Help Program and (if eligible). Domestic students can still claim Centrelink payments.

Dean's Summer Research Program

Typically taken in the summer of your third year, you have the opportunity to participate in a six to eight week research program working on a topic of your choice. You will work alongside your supervisor and graduate research students to gain experience in identifying and solving research programs. If your project is accepted for the program. You will need to apply to the program, and if successful, will receive a guaranteed $3,000 scholarship to assist with costs.

Additional scholarships

Each year, the University offers more than 900 awards to students from all walks of life, including those who have achieved high academic results; those from low socio-economic backgrounds; students with sporting ability; students undertaking overseas study; and students with a disability.

Although you receive guaranteed scholarships as part of the Catalyst Program, you can still apply for others. For information on all scholarships available at the University of Tasmania, please visit the scholarships website.

Applications for most awards commencing in Semester 1 open at the beginning of August and close strictly on 31 October in the year prior to study.

Important eligibility information

Program participants will be required to fulfil all the Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies and, if applicable, Bachelor of Philosophy requirements.

How can we help?

Do you have any questions about choosing a course or applying? Get in touch.

Domestic
13 8827 (13 UTAS)
International
+61 3 6226 6200
Email
Course.Info@utas.edu.au
Online
Online enquiries

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