Overview 2022
Location
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
View archived years for this course
For years prior to 2015, please view the Course and Unit Handbook Archive
View the current year's course page
Sustainability at the University of Tasmania
In 2022, the University of Tasmania was recognised as the world's leading university on United Nations Sustainability Goal #13 Climate Action by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.
The University was also recognised as the 'Sustainability Institute of the Year' at the Green Gown Awards Australasia 2021, presented by Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability.
Throughout this course, you’ll learn practical knowledge about sustainability, and how to apply it to in your home, community, business or social enterprise.
The Diploma is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and provides four engaging themes to focus your studies:
- Environment, Ecology and Planet
- Resource Use and Design for Living
- Well-being and Health to Promote Sustainable Living
- Social Justice, Equity, and Diversity
Upon graduation, you’ll have a better understanding of your connection to sustainability as an individual, consumer and citizen.
Applications are now closed for 2022.
Learning Outcomes
Practical experience
The practical experiences of this Diploma are what you make it through your choice of units, and as you take your sustainable living knowledge out into the world and make a difference.
While the Diploma of Sustainable Living is offered 100% online, depending on what you choose to study you could be:
- growing a bigger, healthier and more productive garden thanks to your understanding of the Science of Gardening,
- using the principles of Sustainable Design for Houses to inform your house renovations with a focus on improving impact on the environment and your health,
- Helping maintain a healthy local ecosystem through your own Backyard Biodiversity,
- Engaging in your community, exploring your local environment, and much more!
Career outcomes
As a graduate of the Diploma of Sustainable Living you will possess new skills, outlooks on living, and a deeper understanding of sustainability in an ever changing world which will complement your existing career direction.
Where to from here? Further study options for those interested in sustainability.
Completing a Diploma in Sustainable Living and looking for your next step? Develop the skills to build a better future and continue your passion for sustainability with further study in one of these suggested courses:
- Major or elective units in Geography and Environment
- Major in Tourism Management, and include a second major or elective units in Geography and Environment
Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness
- Major in Natural Environment Management
- Major in Sustainability
Course structure
The Diploma of Sustainable Living comprises 8 units, made up of 2 core and six elective units.
HEJ111 Communicating Sustainability must be among the FIRST 4 units studied and KGA107 Local Lives for a Sustainable Planet must be among the LAST 4 units studied
Core Units
Sustainability is a central concept for communities pursuing social and economic goals within ecological limits. Yet the different ways sustainability is defined, communicated and enacted reflects the wide range of underlying values, perspectives and priorities at stake. In this unit,…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
This unit involves both critical reflection on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and critical reflection on lives lived in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. You will learn and apply techniques to identify, plan, implement and evaluate the…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | 11 Week Session Apr | ||||
| Hobart | 11 Week Session Oct | ||||
View all details for KGA107 Local Lives for a Sustainable Planet
Elective Units
Pulling together the disciplines of sociology, law and complementary medicine this unit is designed for students who want to develop their knowledge in order to understand, debate and critically analyse the use and place of complementary medicines in the modern…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
View all details for CSA120 Complementary Medicines in Contemporary Society
Now, more than ever, everyone needs the skills to communicate and work effectively across different cultural systems, values, perspectives and behaviours—whether these differences arise from national, Indigenous, religious, ethnic, workplace or other cultural contexts. This includes developing the capacity to…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Hobart | Paramedicine Study Period 1 | ||||
View all details for CZZ104 Living and Working with Cultural Diversity
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 but includes a comparative study of Noongar (WA) and Navajo (US) Peoples to demonstrate the…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
View all details for HSS113 Indigenous Lifeworlds: Sovereignty, Justice, Society
Contemporary media is saturated with images of extreme weather events, hunger,poverty, conflict, pollution, austerity, and financial crisis. Mounting evidence suggeststhe 21st century will be defined by unprecedented challenges related to environmentalinstability, economic inequality and risks to social well-being on a…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
This unit aims to develop an awareness of environmental and human health impacts of housing in order to inform critical and creative decision-making in the design and renovation of houses. You will explore how housing affects our own health and…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launceston | 11 Week Session Apr | ||||
| Launceston | 11 Week Session Oct | ||||
View all details for KDA101 Introduction to Sustainable Design for Houses
This unit will build on your practical knowledge of sustainable design for houses, expanding your thinking to houses within landscapes - both natural and constructed - and interacting with climate, biodiversity, human health and urban and regional food systems. You…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launceston | Semester 2 | ||||
| Launceston | 11 Week Session Feb | ||||
View all details for KDA102 Sustainable Design for Houses and Landscapes
Human-induced climate change is the most serious problem currently facing our planet - a global problem with increasingly obvious local impacts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that the next 10 years will be critical to averting…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
View all details for KGA104 Introduction to the Science of Climate Change
The course of climate change can be altered, and science tells us the next decade will be crucial. Averting a climate catastrophe depends on rapid action to reduce greenhouse gases, as well as widespread adaptation to minimise the impact of…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
In this unit, we are going to explore the science underlying what you do in your garden, why your plants respond to your gardening, and how plants grow and reproduce. What we hope that you will gain, is a much…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Winter school (late) | ||||
| Hobart | 12 Week Session Dec | ||||
This unit aims to develop your awareness of the ecological processes operating in your garden, to assist informed decision making about garden design and management. You will explore the environmental parameters of your garden (e.g. macro and microclimate, geology, and…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | 11 Week Session Apr | ||||
| Hobart | 11 Week Session Oct | ||||
Biodiversity is a critical component of sustainable living and is central to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. At a local scale, biodiversity is important for healthy and sustainable living, and due to the complexity of biodiversity issues…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Winter school (late) | ||||
| Hobart | Spring school (extended) | ||||
| Hobart | 11 Week Session Feb | ||||
Living with Fire is a level-100 unit offered as part of the Diploma of Sustainable Living. Fire has shaped the evolution of the world we see around us and is fundamental to life. Yet wildfire can also be devastating to…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Hobart | Spring school (extended) | ||||
In this unit you will not only learn about the science behind fishing techniques and how these interact with the biology and behaviour of a species, but also how recreational fisheries are sustainably managed and how you can be a…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
In this unit you will learn about the importance of making informed decisions to fish responsibly and sustainably. This will include improving your knowledge on both releasing and harvesting fish. You will learn how to apply best practice fish handling…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Do you want to make a difference to something in the world you care about? Would you like some time and space to consider, develop and test your approaches in a safe environment, supported by experts in the field? Following…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
View all details for XBR102 Developing your Creative and Entrepreneurial Potential
The challenge of ensuring adequate and sustainable food production and equitable access to food for a diverse human population in the 21st century is crucial and profoundly complex. This unit helps you contribute to meeting this challenge. The interdisciplinary skills…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Earth is a lively and dynamic planet that is undergoing rapid changes wrought by the activities of humans. In what ways are these changes impacting on us and other species? Are we precipitating another mass extinction; the 6th major mass…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
This unit is an elective of the Diploma of Sustainable Living course and explores the interlinked scientific, technical, environmental, economic, social and political factors that have shaped society's energy usage and which will impact on future energy policy and decision…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
This unit provides a multidisciplinary introduction to the nature of science and scientific knowledge, the methods of science, and the communication of science. You will encounter perspectives on the nature and role of science in society and examine what science…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Cradle Coast | Semester 1 | ||||
In this unit, you will be introduced to the concept of sustainability starting with the transformations necessary for achieving the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a way that organises them into 6 logical groups. You will examine…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 2 | ||||
| Launceston | 5 Week Session Jan B | ||||
| Cradle Coast | Semester 1 | ||||
| Cradle Coast | Semester 2 | ||||
Entry requirements
For Domestic students
We encourage you to apply for the courses you most want to study. If you’re not eligible to enter your chosen course right now, the UTAS admissions team will work with you to find the best pathway option.
Domestic Applicants who have recently completed secondary education
Completed the TCE (or equivalent)
Domestic Applicants with higher education study
Completed at least one undergraduate unit (equivalent to 12.5 UTAS credit points).
Domestic Applicants with VET / TAFE study
A completed VET Certificate III or higher,
Domestic Applicants with work and life experience
If you have not successfully completed senior secondary, tertiary or TAFE/VET study, but have relevant work and life experience you can complete a personal competency statement. You may be eligible for an offer if you have work and life experiences that demonstrate a capacity to succeed in this course.
Prerequisites
Nil
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
If 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.
Articulation
Articulation from: If you have completed the Undergraduate Certificate in Sustainable Living, you can receive advanced standing for four 12.5 credit point units of the Diploma of Sustainable Living.
Articulation to: Graduates of the Diploma of Sustainable Living who are interested in ongoing study can pursue a major in Sustainability under P3O Bachelor of Science.
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).
Scholarships
For information on general scholarships available at the University of Tasmania, please visit the scholarships website.
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
- Course.Info@utas.edu.au
- Online
- Online enquiries