- 2018

Undergraduate

Minor / Major / Extended major

Commencement year

This area of study entry applies to students commencing this course in 2018 and should be read in conjunction with the relevant course entry in the Handbook.

Any units listed for this area of study relate only to the 'Requirements' outlined in the component of any bachelors double degrees.

Unit codes that are not linked to their entry in the Handbook are not available for study in the current year.

Managing faculty

Faculty of Science

Offered by

School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment

Coordinator(s)

Ms Marion Anderson (Level one)
Associate Professor Jeffrey Stilwell (Level two and three)

Location

Clayton

Earth science is a broad discipline that covers all aspects of the study of the Earth's physical environment and the interaction of that environment with the biosphere. It includes the disciplines of physical geography, geology, geophysics, and climate science. Earth science at Monash provides the students with an integrated, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary perspective that will allow them to understand how the Earth's physical systems operate as well as equipping them to face some of the major global challenges such as climate change, land and water degradation, and resource exploration.

First year studies provide a strong background in geology, physical geography, and climate science, and higher year studies then build upon these foundations to explore processes and principles in more detail. Depending on the sequence of units chosen, the students will gain a deep insight into: geological processes (such as plate tectonics, basin formation, volcanology, earthquakes, and the formation of ore deposits); the Earth's physical environment (such as rivers, groundwater, soils, and the landscape) and the interaction of physical systems and the biosphere; and/or the Earth's climate and how we understand and predict natural and anthropogenic climate change. Throughout the major there is an emphasis on integration of fundamental scientific principles, learning through enquiry and observation, and applications to real-world problems.

There are three streams available within this major: the Earth's physical environment, the Earth's climate, and Geosciences. Students can follow any of these streams or take units across streams to complete a generic stream.

There are many career options available for Earth science graduates. They work as scientists in companies that focus on mineral exploration, contaminant remediation, and water resources or in federal and state government agencies such as CSIRO, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Bureau of Meteorology. If combined with knowledge of environmental legislation, policy, or management, they may work in management roles for non-government or government organisations, including government departments. There is also a role as educators in schools and tertiary education systems.

Availability

Earth science is listed in S2000 Bachelor of Science, S3001 Bachelor of Science Advanced - Global challenges (Honours) and S3002 Bachelor of Science Advanced - Research (Honours) at Clayton as a minor, major, or extended major.

Outcomes

In addition to achieving the general outcomes of their course, students successfully completing this major will be able to:

  • demonstrate an understanding of earth science and explain how scientific knowledge is developed by enquiry and observation
  • understand the interactions within the Earth's physical systems and their interaction of these systems with the biosphere
  • demonstrate a broad knowledge of earth sciences and deeper understanding of specific aspects of geology, geophysics, physical geography, environmental earth sciences, or climate science.

Units

Minor requirements (24 points)

12 points at level 1 and 12 points at levels 2 or 3.

Students complete:

  1. The following two units (12 points):
    • EAE1011 Earth, atmosphere and environment 1
    • EAE1022 Earth, atmosphere and environment 2
  2. Two level 2 or level 3 units (12 points) chosen from the electives lists below.

Major requirements (48 points)

12 points at level 1 and at least 18 points at level 3.

Students complete one of the following streams:

Generic stream

  1. The following two units (12 points):
    • EAE1011 Earth, atmosphere and environment 1
    • EAE1022 Earth, atmosphere and environment 2
  2. Six additional units (36 points), from those listed under electives lists 1, 2 and 3, with at least three units (18 points) at level 3

The Earth's physical environment stream

  1. The following three units (18 points):
    • EAE1011 Earth, atmosphere and environment 1
    • EAE1022 Earth, atmosphere and environment 2
    • EAE2322 Environmental earth science
  2. One unit (6 points) chosen from:
    • EAE2011 Environmental problem solving and visualisation
    • EAE2111 Introduction to climate science
  3. Four additional units (24 points) chosen from electives list 1, with at least three units (18 points) at level 3

The Earth's climate stream

  1. The following four units (24 points):
    • EAE1011 Earth, atmosphere and environment 1
    • EAE1022 Earth, atmosphere and environment 2
    • EAE2011 Environmental problem solving and visualisation
    • EAE2111 Introduction to climate science
  2. Three units (18 points) from electives list 2.
  3. One additional unit from electives list 1 or 2.

Geosciences stream

  1. The following four units (24 points):
    • EAE1011 Earth, atmosphere and environment 1
    • EAE1022 Earth, atmosphere and environment 2
    • EAE2511 Deep earth processes
    • EAE2522 Sediments and basins
  2. Four additional units (24 points) from electives list 3, with at least three units (18 points) at level 3

Extended major requirements (72 points)

12 points at level one and at least 24 points at level three.

Students complete one of the following streams:

Generic stream

  1. The requirements for the major in earth science (48 points)
  2. Four additional units (24 points) from EAE3000, and electives lists 1, 2 or 3, with overall at least four units (24 points) at level three

The Earth's physical environment stream

  1. The requirements for the major in earth science, Earth's physical environment stream (48 points).
  2. Four additional units (24 points) from EAE3000, and electives lists 1 or 2, with overall at least four units (24 points) at level three.

The Earth's climate stream

  1. The requirements for the major in earth science, Earth's climate stream (24 points)
  2. Four additional units (24 points) from EAE3000, and electives lists 1, 2 or 3, with overall at least four units (24 points) at level three

Geosciences stream

  1. The requirements for the major in earth science, geosciences stream (24 points)
  2. Four additional units (24 points) from EAE3000 and electives list 3.

Electives

List 1

  • EAE2011 Environmental problem solving and visualisation
  • EAE2111 Introduction to climate science
  • EAE2322 Environmental earth science
  • EAE3012 Geographical information systems and remote sensing
  • EAE3022 Hydrogeology
  • EAE3051 Palaeoclimatology
  • EAE3311 Physical environments
  • EAE3321 The Earth's critical zone
  • EAE3331 Catchment hydrology
  • EAE3342 Environmental cycles on our living planet
  • EAE3900Not offered in 2018 Landscape, environment and sustainability in Italy

List 2

  • EAE2122 Introduction to atmospheric physics and dynamics
  • EAE2322 Environmental earth science
  • EAE3051 Palaeoclimatology
  • EAE3111 Climate dynamics
  • EAE3132 Future climates: Projections, impacts and adaptation

List 3

Requirements for progressing to honours and other further studies

Students must meet the entry requirements for S3701 Bachelor of Science (Honours), M5021 Graduate Diploma of Health and Science Research or meet the progression requirements to the fourth year of S3002 Bachelor of Science Advanced - Research (Honours).

Students must also complete prerequisite study as per the intended discipline. Refer to the honours prerequisites table.

Relevant courses

Bachelors

Single degrees

Successful completion of this area of study can be counted towards meeting the requirements for the following single degrees:*

  • S2000 Bachelor of Science
  • S3001 Bachelor of Science Advanced - Global Challenges (Honours)
  • S3002 Bachelor of Science Advanced - Research (Honours)

Students in other single bachelor's degrees may be eligible to complete the minor or major by using 24 or 48 points of their free electives.

Double degrees

Successful completion of this area of study can be counted towards meeting the requirements for the Bachelor of Science component in the following double degrees:*

  • B2023 Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science
  • B2016 Bachelor of Commerce Specialist and Bachelor of Science
  • D3005 Bachelor of Education (Honours) and Bachelor of Science
  • E3007 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Science
  • C2003 Bachelor of Information Technology and Bachelor of Science
  • L3007 Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Science
  • S2006 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts
  • S2007 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Biomedical Science
  • S2004 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Computer Science
  • S2003 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Global Studies
  • S2005 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Music

* Students cannot complete a minor, major or extended major in the same area of study.