Undergraduate - Area of study Human geography

Human geography investigates the changing and complex relationship between people and their environments. In this area of study, we grapple with some of the major contemporary challenges the world faces - rapid urbanisation, environmental degradation, climate change, deepening poverty, uneven global development, and rising socio-economic inequality. Combining geography, social science and sustainability science, this interdisciplinary area of study provides students with a unique blend of analytical skills and knowledge required to find sustainable solutions to these global challenges. Students undertaking this area of study will integrate skills gained from critical thinking, grounded experience and field-based learning to develop applied research capabilities necessary for professional careers in urban and regional development, community and international development, and environmental management. It will prepare them to work in sustainable policy development and practice across a wide range of industry sectors, including state and federal government departments, international aid agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs), private and public research organisations, infrastructure agencies, and environmental and community-based organisations. This area of study also prepares students wanting to pursue careers in teaching geography, society and environment studies.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the major, students will be able to:

• analyse and compare key spatial, social and environmental phenomena across a range of contexts and scales, informed by advanced theoretical concepts
• demonstrate spatial competency in interpreting and justifying data to answer complex problems at the interface of human-environment relations
• recognise and critically assess intellectual traditions in geography, sustainability, international development and urban geography
• work independently and in teams to produce creative solutions to address a range of social, urban and sustainability problems
• critically evaluate policy interventions in sustainable development, environmental management, international development, and urban and regional policy
• critically reflect on their own geographical practice and that of the discipline in relation to questions of social and ecological justice.