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Master of Ecosystem Management and Conservation (MC-ECOSMC)
Masters (Coursework)Year: 2020 Delivered: On Campus (Parkville)
About this course
- Overview
- Entry and participation requirements
- Attributes, outcomes and skills
- Course structure
- Further study
- Notes
Coordinator
Antanas Spokevicius
Contact
Currently enrolled students:
- General information: https://ask.unimelb.edu.au
- Contact Stop 1
Future students:
- Further information: https://study.unimelb.edu.au/
Overview
Award title | Master of Ecosystem Management and Conservation |
---|---|
Year & campus | 2020 — Parkville |
CRICOS code | 098317B |
Fees information | Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date |
Study level & type | Graduate Coursework |
AQF level | 9 |
Credit points | 200 credit points |
Duration | 24 months full-time or 48 months part-time |
The Master of Ecosystem Management and Conservation aims to prepare graduates for a wide range of ecosystem and landscape management employment pathways by preparing graduates with an understanding the biophysical and the social aspects of ecosystem management and how to function across local and landscape levels to address the problems of the future. The course seeks to development key practical and technical based skills sets as well as the knowledge and theories that underpin them creating graduates who can evaluate, collaborate and act. It is ultimately designed to prepare graduates for employment outcomes and will provide a cohort experience between graduates, teaching staff and practitioners to foster a connected and engaged coursework experience.
Features of the Master of Ecosystem Management and Conservation:
- It is a two year (full-time) or part-time equivalent coursework degree that prepares students for careers in the forest, landscape, ecosystem, conservation and natural resource management sectors.
- Acceleration is possible by for students who have completed study in the similar field reducing the length of the program to 1.5 years, subject to the approval.
- Comprises a core set of subjects aimed at developing a base set of essential and transferable skills and knowledge required by ecosystem and conservation managers more broadly.
- Utilises electives to provide students with options to tailor their course to specific areas to build breadth or depth that builds on the skills and knowledge gained through the core subjects.
- Incorporates professional skills subjects including options for a placement based internships to develop industry experience and establish key networks with future employers nationally and internationally.
- Includes Foundation subjects to provide students new to field with essential background or bridging knowledge making this course accessible to a wider audience interested in careers in ecosystem and conservation management.
- Taught as a mixture of semester and intensive mode delivery with supplementary off-campus field based study.
- Research pathways are possible.
- Includes some Commonwealth Supported Places (HECS) and Australian Fee-paying places.
- Financial support may be available through government student support schemes and other government and industry scholarships.
- Supports study abroad and student exchange nationally and internationally.
- Draws on the research and teaching strengths of academics, educators and practitioners in the forest, landscape, ecosystem, conservation and natural resource management sectors nationally and internationally.
Entry requirements
1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
• an undergraduate degree in a cognate discipline with at least an H3 (65%) weighted average, or equivalent;
OR
• an undergraduate degree in any area including at least 25 points in one or more of Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics or Statistics, or equivalent, and with at least an H3 (65%) weighted average, or equivalent;
OR
• an undergraduate degree in any area and a Graduate Certificate in Environment with at least an H3 (65%) weighted average in the Certificate, or equivalent;
OR
• a two-year associate degree or diploma in a relevant discipline, or equivalent; and
• five years documented, relevant professional experience; and
• an appropriate level of performance on a test conducted by the Selection Committee to confirm generic skills necessary for successful study in the program.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.
2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
• prior academic performance; and
• professional experience; and
• the score on the test conducted by the Selection Committee.
3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.
Note: The requirement for at least H3 (65%) weighted average in each case may be waived where the applicant can demonstrate significant professional development in a relevant area since graduation.
The task-based assessment will be conducted in a single period of two hours duration where students will be required to demonstrate the following abilities to gain entry to graduate study:
• analyze and interpret scientific or technical data
• comprehend and use scientific literature
• conceptualize a problem
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The Faculty of Science (Science) welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and Faculty policy to take reasonable steps to make reasonable adjustments so as to enable the student’s participation in the Faculty's programs. Science contributes to the New Generation degrees and offers a broad range of programs across undergraduate and post-graduate levels many of which adopt a multi-disciplinary approach.
Students of the Faculty's courses must possess intellectual, ethical, and emotional capabilities required to participate in the full curriculum and to achieve the levels of competence required by the Faculty. Candidates must have abilities and skills in observation; motor in relevant areas; communication; in conceptual, integrative, and quantitative dimensions; and in behavioural and social dimensions.
Adjustments can be provided to minimise the impact of a disability, however students need to be able to participate in the program in an independent manner and with regard to their safety and the safety of others.
I. Observation: In some contexts, the student must be able to observe demonstrations and experiments in the basic and applied sciences. More broadly, observation requires reading text, diagrams, maps, drawings and numerical data. The candidate should be able to observe details at a number of scales and record useful observations in discipline dependant contexts.
II. Communication: A candidate should be able to communicate with fellow students, professional and academic staff, members of relevant professions and the public. A candidate must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively. Communication includes not only speech but also reading and writing.
III. Motor: Candidates should have sufficient motor function necessary for participation in the inherent discipline-related activities. The practical work, design work, field work, diagnostic procedures, laboratory tests, require varying motor movement abilities. Off campus investigations may include visits to construction sites, urban, rural and/or remote environments.
IV. Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of professionals in land and environment industries, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the candidate should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.
V. Behavioural and Social Attributes: A candidate must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.
Students who feel their disability will prevent them from meeting the above academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit. http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability
Professional accreditation
Graduates of the Master of Ecosystem Conservation and Management will be eligible for membership of the Institute of Foresters Australia and with further professional and practical experience to qualify as Registered Professional Foresters.
Intended learning outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will:
- Understand the dynamics of a wide range of terrestrial ecosystems and the biological, environmental, and social processes that shape them and how these determine the patterns in our landscapes and their ecological functions and service provision.
- Consider ecosystems and landscapes as socialecological systems. This would include interactions among social and ecological elements at different spatial and temporal scales, as well as the effects of drivers such as climate change, economic and social change, management actions and event disturbances such as bushfires.
- Apply inter‐disciplinary skills and knowledge to develop innovative, integrated, ethical, culturally inclusive and evidence‐based approaches to landscape policy, planning, and management, including conservation.
- Develop and demonstrate skills in assessing, monitoring and analysing ecosystems, land‐uses, flora and fauna through innovative uses of spatial science and remotely sensed technologies and techniques.
- Critically analyse, evaluate and synthesise qualitative and quantitative data on natural resources, ecosystems and people, and apply these to a decision‐making process.
- Understand and integrate different and sometime competing issues into ecosystem and landscape management programs, such as: catchment hydrology, carbon sequestration, community participation, indigenous cultural heritage, bushfire behaviour and control, conservation of biodiversity, ecological restoration, and ecosystems for food, water and wood provision.
- Engage with, and manage effective relationships with, a wide range of stakeholders (individuals/communities/industry) in ecosystem management. This includes managing conflicts of values or interests and managing issues related to different forms of knowledge and power relations.
Generic skills
- A profound respect for truth, intellectual and professional integrity, and the ethics of scholarship
- Capacity for independent critical thought, rational inquiry and self-directed learning and research
- An ability to derive, interpret and analyse social, technical or economic information from primary and other sources
- Awareness of and ability to utilise appropriate communication technology and methods for storage, management and analysis of data
- Capacity for creativity and innovation through the application of skills and knowledge
- Ability to integrate information across a relevant discipline to solve problems in applied situations
- Highly developed computer-based skills to allow for effective on-line learning and communication
- Highly developed oral communication skills to allow informed dialogue and liaison with individuals and groups from industry, government and the community
- Highly developed written communication skills to allow informed dialogue with individuals and groups from industry, government and the community
- Appreciation of social and cultural diversity from a regional to a global context
- Ability to participate effectively as a member of a team
- Ability to plan work, use time effectively and manage small projects
Graduate attributes
The Melbourne Experience enables our Graduates to become:
Academically excellent
- Have strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship
- Have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s)
- Reach a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication
- Be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self directed learning
- Be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies
Knowledgeable across disciplines
- Examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a broad range of disciplines
- Expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects
- Have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront
- Unfamiliar problems
- Have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment.
Leaders in communities
- Initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces
- Have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations
- Mentor future generations of learners
- Engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs
Attuned to cultural diversity
- Value different cultures
- Be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they
- Choose to live and work
- Have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community
- Respect Indigenous knowledge, cultures and values
Active global citizens
- Accept social and civic responsibilities
- Be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment
- Have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equality and ethics.
Course structure
Complete 100 points of Core subjects.
Complete all of the following:
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
FRST90015 | Landscape Ecology | Semester 1 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENST90044 | Analysing Ecosystems and Their Values | Semester 1 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST90025 | Patterns and Processes of Landscape Fire | February (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST90022 | Ecosystem Processes of Water and Soil | April (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENST90045 | Spatial Tools for Ecosystem Management | Semester 1 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENST90046 | Landscape Governance and Policy | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
NRMT90007 | Communities and Ecosystem Management | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENST90043 | Sustainable Landscapes | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
***ENST90046 and NRMT90007 must be undertaken within the final 100 points of the course
Complete between 12.5- and 25-points of Professional Skills subjects from the following:
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
SCIE90027 | Ecosystem Internship |
Summer Term (Online)
Semester 1 (Online)
Semester 2 (Online)
|
25 |
GEOG90022 | International Internship in Environment |
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
SCIE90017 | Science and Technology Internship |
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
SCIE90012 | Science Communication | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
AGRI90089 | Human Resource Management |
Semester 1 (Online)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
AGRI90087 | Project Management | Not available in 2020 | 12.5 |
Complete at least 50 points of Electives subjects from the following;
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
FRST90034 | Ecological Restoration | August (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST90033 | Farm Trees & Agroforestry | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST90030 | Forests in the Asia Pacific Region | Not available in 2020 | 12.5 |
FRST90032 | Forests, Carbon and Climate Change | Semester 2 (On Campus - Burnley) |
12.5 |
FRST90078 | Conserving and Managing Native Forests | Semester 2 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST90017 | Bushfire Planning & Management | September (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST90076 | Short Research Project B |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
NRMT90003 | Social Research Methods | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
AGRI90075 | Research Methods For Life Sciences | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Complete 25 points of Foundation subjects from the following in the first year of study.
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
FRST30001 | Forest Systems | February (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST20015 | Fire in the Australian Landscape | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
BOTA30004 | Vegetation Management and Conservation | Not available in 2020 | 12.5 |
EVSC30007 | Integrated Landscape Analysis | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
BOTA90005 | Flora of Victoria | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
HORT90041 | Tree Growth and Function | February (On Campus - Burnley) |
12.5 |
EVSC30003 | Environmental Risk Assessment | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ECOL30005 | Applied Ecology | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST30003 | Urban Forest Ecosystems | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ECOL20003 | Ecology | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENST20001 | Human Behaviour and Environment | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
GEOG30025 | Biogeography and Ecology of Fire | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENST20004 | Economic Tools for the Environment | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENST30004 | Nature, Conservation and Society | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Note:
1: Those choosing to undertake FRST90076 Short Research Project B as an elective will be required to complete one of either NRMT90003 Social Research Methods or AGRI90075 Research Methods for Life Science as well as a 12.5-point professional skills subject. Students considering this option are required to discuss this with the course coordinator prior to commencement.
2: Students are expected to complete ENST90046 Landscape Governance and Policy and NRMT90007 Communities and Ecosystem Management during the final 100 points of their study as part of a capstone experience.
3: A 150pt cognate stream is available. Up to 50pts credit can be awarded for foundation and elective subjects to students deemed to be cognate allowing them to complete the course in 1.5 years. Students planning to undertake the cognate stream will need to discuss this with the course coordinator prior to commencement. The cognate stream will comprise of: completion of all Core subjects - 100pts, completion of 12.5 to 25 points of Professional Skills subjects and completion of 25 to 37.5 points of elective subjects.
4: Students can complete, on approval from course coordinator, electives or foundation subjects from: * the Office of Environmental Programs Subject List * the University Handbook * or alternatively from another University nationally or internationally (up to 25% of total course).
Further study
Progression Pathways to PhD
The Master of Ecosystem Conservation and Management allows students to complete either the Ecosystem Internship or the Short Research Project B to progress to a PhD.
Note: The majority of the Master of Ecosystem Conservation and Management (MEcosysMgtCons) subjects are taught at the Parkville campus and some are taught at alternate metropolitan and regional campuses. Costs associated with accommodation and travel is at the students' own expense.
Last updated: 11 October 2023