Course information
Download course brochureWork with people to build a better world and make a real difference with the Bachelor of Sustainability at UNE. Our degree integrates the social sciences and humanities with environmental sciences and natural resource management to give you a thorough understanding of sustainability and help you build on your experience to develop real-world strategies that work. By broadening your knowledge, plus honing your critical, analytical and problem-solving skills, you can advance your career while working towards finding tangible solutions for environmental and social dilemmas.
Why study the Bachelor of Sustainability with UNE?
We are the first university in Australia to offer the Bachelor of Sustainability and our course remains unique. Our degree is as innovative as the solutions required to address current problems in Australia and across the globe, and we are committed to meeting these complex challenges in thoughtful and meaningful ways.
Our approach combines a range of sustainability-oriented fields of study including environmental and resource management, sustainable development, geography, law, economics, psychology, ethics and social policy. You will learn all-encompassing perspectives on how to strategise and form solutions that will give you a professional advantage in the workplace.
We offer targeted, career-orientated majors in a broad range of specialist areas:
- Community Engagement and Development — focuses on public education, engagement and participation, working with communities to build community resilience and capacity.
- Cultural Heritage Management — focuses on Indigenous and public heritage management and working with communities to care for living culture as well as historic and archaeological heritage.
- Environmental Governance — focuses on integrating the social and environmental aspects of sustainability for environmental governance and policy, particularly in nature conservation.
- Environmental Resilience — focuses on achieving sustainable land management in a changing climate.
- Governance and Regulation — focuses on the policy and regulatory arena, and how to harness the political, economic, social and global forces that impact communities in order to achieve sustainability.
- Water Sustainability — focuses on the sustainability of water from a combined science, social/cultural, and economic perspective, to address water degradation and achieve water security.
UNE has a long history of supporting social and environmental health and well-being across Australia and beyond. This was recognised at the 2010 NSW Green Globe awards where UNE received a 10-year sustainability certificate for its extensive accomplishments in resource management and education for sustainability.
What makes our course different?
Our aim is to equip you to meet the challenges of today and build a sustainable future for tomorrow. By integrating a range of sustainability-orientated fields of study — including environmental and resource management, sustainable development, geography, law, economics, psychology, ethics and social policy — our Bachelor of Sustainability will give you a future fit perspective and ability to strategise and form fit-for-purpose solutions. This will give you that much-needed ‘edge’ in the workplace and the growing ‘green collar’ sector. With this degree you will also get to:
- Complete the mandatory Sustainable Development major, then choose 1-2 additional majors from targeted career-orientated options that are designed to support a range of aspirations.
- Develop your skills in critical and analytical thinking, and how to problem solve — skills that are valued and necessary in workplaces across a range of industry contexts.
- Gain workplace experience as part of your studies and improve your employability as a graduate by choosing our WORK300 unit.
- Learn from academics who are passionate about sustainability – in their lives, their teaching and their research. At the forefront of their fields, our teaching staff undertake vital work in biodiversity conservation, environmental law and policy, and climate change.
- The strength and diversity of our student body provides excellent opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. This collaborative experience has ongoing benefits — in the workplace and in life.
- Study flexibly either on campus, or online at home in your own time to suit your lifestyle and other commitments.
UNE is an industry leader in the provision of online, lifelong learning. Students consistently award UNE the maximum 5-star ratings for Overall Experience and Student Support in The Good Universities Guide.
Study online
Most of our students choose to study online across three study periods with 24/7 tutor support* and fit study around work and family commitments. Uniquely, our online students are mostly over 30 and bring valuable experience with them. They form a community of adults juggling the same challenges and priorities and who bring their life and work experience together at UNE in order to become future-fit and better respond to a rapidly changing world.
Study on campus
Many of our students choose to take advantage of the on-campus lifestyle in Armidale, in the beautiful New England region, with access to unparalleled support, accommodation and sporting facilities. These students are often starting their first degree and have left school recently. Through access to academic and career support they get a fantastic start to their careers.
* 24/7 tutor support includes: essay feedback (within 24 hours); live chat 24/7 for generic feedback on academic writing; and subject-specific help at a foundation or first-year level for subjects including mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, business, accounting, microeconomics, macroeconomics and statistics. There are also a wide range of workshops, resources and courses available in academic skills support to assist you and help you to succeed.
