Overview 2023
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- CRICOS: 033976D
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For years prior to 2015, please view the Course and Unit Handbook Archive
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Nature, and especially wild nature, has become increasingly important for human mental and physical wellbeing. At the same time, it is fast being displaced, degraded and destroyed. An ability to think critically and creatively across disciplines, in the intersection between nature and human society, is vital for informing the management, protection, and use of the natural environment. People with this knowledge will work to protect and restore nature on our one planet.
There is no better place to study natural environments and wilderness than Tasmania. Our state is a living laboratory, with a fifth of it in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Areas, and 42% in protected areas, many of which are close to our campus doors. Tasmania also offers a vibrant variety of urban, social, and rural environments to engage with, learn from, and live amongst.
This wide, interdisciplinary degree will enable you to contribute your skills and experience to a wide variety of occupations in a wide variety of places. Every nation, regardless of their level of development, has a natural environment which must be managed and protected.
Catalyst Program
Are you a high achiever and want to get the most out of your University experience? The Catalyst Program combines your Bachelor degree with scholarships, extracurricular experiences, special events, and networking opportunities. It was created for outstanding students, just like you. Learn more about the Catalyst Program
Course objectives
The Bachelor of Natural Environments and Wilderness helps students develop the ways of thinking, integrative knowledge and practical skills that will enable them conserve biodiversity and geodiversity in one of the more difficult times in the history of nature on the planet: the Anthropocene extinction event caused by unrestricted economic growth.
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 affect change.
You will be well placed to help address problems, such as maintaining populations of wedge-tailed eagles, that require a variety of perspectives, from the cultural through the social to the scientific, and also that require engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders.
Graduates work in environmental advocacy, park management and planning, natural environment interpretation, environmental assessment, natural environmental research, environmental management, natural resource management, policy development and business enterprises, particularly those associated with natural area tourism. They are, and will be, making a big difference.
Learning Outcomes
Practical experience
Your study experience will be a combination of classroom, laboratory and in-the-field learning in the inspiring landscapes of Tasmania.
Tasmania is literally a living laboratory
Within half an hour from the Sandy Bay campus, we access marine, coastal, heathland, wetland, grassland, woodland, dry eucalypt, wet eucalypt, rainforest, subalpine and alpine natural environments, as well as urban nature. The world’s second largest temperate rainforest is only an hour away from our Cradle Coast campus. 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
Become a Student Ambassador
Improve your communication, teamwork and leadership skills, meet new people, inspire and help others, and developing lasting friendships and networks as a student ambassador. Our ambassadors proudly represent the University throughout Tasmania in schools, at University and community events, and support a range of recruitment and engagement activities. Though the Student Ambassador Program or STEM Outreach Team you will have many opportunities for training and professional development, experience in real-world community engagement and outreach, networking, and public speaking, plus end up with a key point of distinction on your CV.
Study overseas at one of our partner institutions
Our international exchange program offers opportunities to study at universities around the world, and it counts towards your degree. Exchange can allow you to have an affordable educational and cultural experience in a foreign country for a semester, or a full year. To facilitate this, we offer a range of scholarships and financial assistance. You may also be eligible for OS-HELP Loans or scholarship funding to assist with their airfares, accommodation and other expenses.
Work placement
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
Gemma Rushton first found her passion for the outdoors growing up on the north coast of New South Wales. Her interest took her to Tasmania, where she studied Natural Environment and Wilderness. Now she’s thinking about postgraduate study in Environmental Management or Planning.
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
While the degree may be taken out after three years of successful study, the fourth year of the degree provides the opportunity to develop either research skills, or job-ready skills and job-related experience. Professional certification as a planner can be gained as a progression from this fourth year, or as an alternative to the fourth year, plus one extra year.
Postgraduate courses are also available in Environmental Management and Protected Area Management.
Course structure
The Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness requires the completion of 300 credit points comprising:
- 100 credit point Major
- 100 credit points of Core units
- 100 credit points of Elective units
The major in Natural Environment Management and the core units ensure both a breadth and depth of relevant knowledge.
All students study a set of core units.
In your elective component you can choose from any units marked as "Student Electives" which you meet the pre-requisites for, at any level, from across the university.
Your electives can be used to add breadth to your degree, by exploring a variety of different subject areas from within or outside the College of Sciences and Engineering. Alternatively, you can deepen your engagement with specific subject areas, for example, by completing additional units in the same discipline as your major or related fields.
You can also use this space to complete an optional second major which may be (i) a sustainability major, or (ii) *another major from across the institution, noting some exclusions apply. (*to enrol in a major outside your discipline, please contact a Student Advisor via Uconnect).
If you are starting in 2023 you can find your course planner here – this helps you plan what units to enrol in and when.
We have a team of Course Information Officers available to help you structure your studies to meet your desired outcomes. For enrolment assistance please contact us via U Connect today.
Major
Natural Environment Management
This major provides graduates with the knowledge and skills to gain employment in a wide variety of sectors related to the natural environment and wild country. Through guided study, authentic experience and practice it enables students to understand the reciprocal relationships between people and wild nature and ways in which wild nature can be managed and interpreted by people.
Year 1
KGA171 Global Geographies of Change introduces you to the study of Geography and Environment by integrating physical and social science inquiry. You study earth evolution, human development and their interaction, in light of questions about sustainability. You apply this knowledge…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
This foundation unit in Geography and Environmental Studies develops your knowledge of how people depend on nature, and how increasingly the conservation of nature depends on people. We will explore these relationships through a values lens: how nature is important…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 2 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
Year 2
The physical and living aspects of the global environment interact to produce the extraordinary variety of landscapes, ecosystems and species that occupy this planet. This unit highlights the interplay and conservation of controlling processes so that they continue to maintain…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Society needs professional environmental managers who have the knowledge and skills to effectively tackle problems of sustainable resource use, climate change and biodiversity conservation. Environmental managers also play an important role in helping communities identify and move towards sustainable and…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
Year 3
Political ecology is a diverse area of study, professional practice and activism that integrates the pursuit of justice, sustainability and development. Political ecology builds intellectual and emotional clarity by unearthing root causes of environmental problems and guiding transformative actions to…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
View all details for KGA308 Political Ecologies of Development
This unit considers strategies to sample, understand, and address geoconservation and geotourism issues. By way of a series of field-based and problem-based learning experiences, you will develop the skills and knowledge to conduct and curate (geo)heritage inventories, assess prospective sites…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
The conservation of nature needs to occur at the landscape scale as well as within protected areas. Landscapes can be wilderness areas, rural areas with highly varied land use or urban areas. Whatever their type - there are landscape processes,…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
This unit introduces legal, administrative, social and scientific aspects of environmental impact assessment (EIA) using case studies. The unit emphasises the practical aspects of environmental impact assessment in Tasmanian contexts, but EIA processes and legislation are similar in many parts…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
Core Units
Year 1
Choose two from:
This unit introduces students to the idea of ecosystem services by exploring the benefits that nature provides for people. Whether these benefits are traded in markets or occur in non-market settings, the ecosystem service framework is key to sustainable management…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
This unit examines policy and governance in emergency management. Students will examine policy and governance frameworks and structures from a local, state, national and international perspective. The unit will explore the policy and governance processes, structures and frameworks that span…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
View all details for HSP102 Emergency Management Policy and Governance
This unit explores Indigenous lived realities through an Indigenous lens. Using the theoretical concept of the lifeworld, the focus is the Palawa/Aboriginal People of lutruwita/Tasmania. Country is integral to Palawa knowledge and wellbeing, and core learnings are built around a…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
View all details for HUM113 Indigenous Lifeworlds: Story, History, Country
Planet Earth has been shaped over 4.5 billion years by ever-changing dynamic processes. These processes can help us to understand how the Earth formed, has evolved, and will continue to change, from its deep internal structure to its more familiar…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
The unit explores human population growth and the impending global food crisis by introducing agriculture as a managed ecosystem, from the earliest shifting cultivation systems to the most intensive systems currently practiced today. The ecological, economic and social sustainability of…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Data Handling and Statistics 1 is the first of three applied statistics units offered by the School of Natural Sciences (Mathematics). Statistics is the science of decision making, and as such forms a key foundation of any scientific research. This…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 2 | ||||
| Cradle Coast | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
KSA101 will provide a background to the science and management of the seas with focus on Antarctic and Southern Ocean. On the completion of this unit, students will demonstrate a knowledge and comprehension of the contemporary issues facing Antarctic, marine…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
View all details for KSA101 Introduction to Marine and Antarctic Science A
Core Units
A field-based unit taught in one of Tasmania’s distinctive island environments. Students who successfully undertake this unit will develop a wide variety of skills in environmental data recording in the context of a project designed both to increase knowledge of…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Spring school (late) | ||||
| Launceston | Spring school (late) | ||||
| Cradle Coast | Spring school (late) | ||||
View all details for KGA213 Natural Environment Field Techniques
This unit is designed to give students a general overview of spatial information and its applications. Spatial information is becoming an increasingly prevalent part of our daily lives. The ability to incorporate spatial information into various applications is a valuable…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
View all details for KGG102 Introduction to Spatial Information
This unit presents a series of lectures and associated practical classes introducing fundamental concepts in ecology of both plants and animals. It also introduces behavioural and evolutionary ecology and experimental methods. There is a strong emphasis placed on developing skills…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 2 | ||||
Year 2
All aspects of human life are geographical. Our lives take place in space. Spatial practices and ideas are central to individuals andsocieties: they help determine who and what belongs where, who controls and owns which resources, and who has what…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
View all details for KGA205 Geographies of Economy, Politics and Culture
Over six hundred million people live on the world’s 43 island nation-states and on hundreds of sub-national island jurisdictions. The ‘island-continent’ of Australia comprises over 12,000 islands, islets and rocky outcrops, while the island-State of Tasmania is an archipelago of…
Credit Points: 12.5
This unit is currently unavailable.
A unit essential for those working towards a career managing natural environments and people in protected areas. For those with other vocational interests, the unit is a way to learn about natural ecosystems and the principles of conservation management. Fire,…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Summer school | ||||
View all details for KGA331 Fire, Weeds and Ferals: Conserving Nature in Protected Areas
Electives
Entry requirements
For Domestic students
We encourage you to apply for the courses you most want to study. If you are not eligible to enter your chosen course right now, the UTAS admissions team will work with you to find the best pathway option.
Enquire online for advice on the application process and the available pathways to study at UTAS.
Domestic applicants who recently completed secondary educationApplicants are ranked by ATAR and offers made based on the number of places available. This course has a Guaranteed ATAR of 65.
In 2022, the lowest ATAR to receive an offer into this course was 60.20. The lowest ATAR to receive an offer may change from year to year based on the number of applications we receive.
Applicants who have recently completed senior secondary studies but have not received an ATAR may still be eligible for admission. We will consider your subject results on a case-by-case basis when we assess your application.
Domestic applicants with higher education studyTo be eligible for an offer, applicants must have:
- Partially completed an undergraduate course at Diploma level or higher (or equivalent). Applicants must have completed at least two units of study (equivalent to 25 UTAS credit points). If an applicant has failed any units the application may be subject to further review before an offer is made; OR
- Completed the UTAS University Preparation Program (or an equivalent qualification offered by an Australian University).
To be eligible for an offer, applicants must have completed a Certificate IV (or equivalent) in any discipline.
Domestic applicants with work and life experienceApplicants without senior secondary, tertiary or VET / TAFE study can complete a personal competency statement.
Applicants may be eligible for an offer if they have relevant work and / or life experiences which demonstrate a capacity to succeed in this course.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONIf your ability to access or participate in education has been affected by circumstances beyond your control, you can apply for special consideration as part of your application. We will consider a range of factors for special consideration, including economic hardship, a serious medical condition or disability.
We can only approve applications for special consideration where we are confident that you have the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in your studies. If your application is not approved, the UTAS admissions team will work with you to find the best alternative pathway to your chosen course. Special consideration is not available for international applicants.
For International students
All international students will need to meet the minimum English Language Requirements, University General Entry Requirements and any course specific requirements such as pre-requisite subjects, if applicable.
English Language RequirementsThis degree requires an IELTS (Academic) of 6.0, with no individual band less than 5.5, or a PTE Academic score of 50, with no score lower than 42 or equivalent.
For students who do not meet the English Language Requirement through citizenship or prior studies in English in an approved country, evidence of an approved English language test completed within the last 2 years must be provided. See the English Language Requirements page for more information.
General Entry RequirementsAdmission to undergraduate courses at the University of Tasmania requires the completion of qualifications equivalent to a 12th year of education in Australia.
Please review the equivalent undergraduate entry requirements to see the minimum requirement relevant to your country. The ATAR information for this course is located in the “For Domestic Students” section of the entry requirements on this page.
You can also meet the General Entry Requirement for this course with the following qualifications or prior studies:
Completion of an equivalent AQF Certificate IV or above
Complete or incomplete (minimum 25 credit points) of previous tertiary study at Bachelor level or higher
If you do not meet the minimum requirements, we offer the Foundation Studies Program.
Course Specific RequirementsThis course does not have any course specific requirements.
Credit transfer
Credit in a course may be granted through recognition of prior formal learning i not undertaken through a recognised educational institution. Assessment of individual applications will (a) determine the extent to which the applicant’s previous learning is equivalent to the learning outcomes of the course to which they have been admitted; (b) be undertaken by academic or teaching staff with expertise in the subject, content or skills area,
Articulation
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.
Most relevant are Master of Planning and Master of Protected Area Governance and Management
Alternative entry pathways
If you aren’t eligible for an offer to this course, you should consider enrolment in the Diploma of University Studies or the University Preparation Program.
In all cases, contact us to discuss an option best suited to your needs.
Detailed Admissions Information
Detailed admissions information and advice for all undergraduate courses, including comprehensive, course-level student profiles, is available from UTAS Admissions.
Fees & scholarships
Domestic students
Cost shouldn’t get in the way of you studying.
If you’re a domestic student, you may be eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place in this course. This means your fees will be subsidised by the Australian Government. You’ll only need to pay the student contribution amount for each unit you study within the course.
You may also be able to defer payment of the student contribution amount by accessing a HECS-HELP loan from the Government. If eligible, you’ll only have to pay your tuition fees once you start earning above a specific amount.
Further information is available at Scholarships, fees and costs.
Student contributionStudent contribution amounts are charged for each unit of study. This means that how much you’ll pay will depend on which units you choose. Find out more about student contribution amounts.
Further informationDetailed fee information for domestic students is available at Scholarships, fees and costs, including additional information in relation to the compulsory Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF).
International students
2023 Total Course Fee (international students): $108,563 AUD*.
Course cost based on a rate of $34,950 AUD per standard, full-time year of study (100 credit points).
* Please note that this is an indicative fee only.
International students
International students are charged the Student Services and Amenities Fee but this fee is incorporated in the annual rate. International students do not have to make any additional SSAF payments.
Scholarships
Scholarships for domestic students
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.
The University provides a number of relocation scholarships to encourage students relocating from interstate, or Tasmanian students who are required to move away from home, to study the Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness and to assist with relocation expenses.
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.
Scholarships for international students
There are a huge range of scholarships, bursaries and fee discounts available for international students studying at the University of Tasmania. For more information on these, visit the Tasmanian International Scholarships (TIS) website.
How can we help?
Do you have any questions about choosing a course or applying? Get in touch.
- Domestic
- 1300 363 864
- International
- +61 3 6226 6200
- Course.Info@utas.edu.au
- Online
- Online enquiries