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Environmental Risk Assessment (EVSC90014)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Overview
Availability | Winter Term |
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Fees | Look up fees |
Environmental Risk Assessment aims to provide you with the skills to undertake and critically evaluate environmental risk assessments. We outline the history and social context of risk and explore the psychology of risk perception. You will be introduced to quantitative and qualitative tools with the objective of giving you the ability to select, apply and assess technical and socially based risk assessment. The subject is structured to develop your skills in writing reports and participating in group exercises.
While the contact period is six intensive days, the learning period is longer. Reading materials are distributed in May and a small assessment task is set to encourage you to be fully prepared. You will be required to complete a take-home examination and a substantial practical report in the weeks following the course.
The subject is made up of lectures in the mornings and practical exercises in the afternoons. It assumes no formal background in quantitative methods. An understanding of basic statistical concepts (means, medians, standard deviations, confidence intervals, basic linear regression) is an advantage. If you have not been involved in an undergraduate statistics class before, contact the subject coordinator to discuss your options.
Intended learning outcomes
At the completion of the subject, participants should be able to:
- describe approaches to risk assessment in various disciplines;
- discuss the relevance of a range of scientific disciplines to environmental risk assessment including ecology, toxicology, epidemiology, statistics, psychology and sociology;
- analyse the role of different evidentiary approaches to supporting risk assessments including empirical observation and analysis, modelling, and use of expert opinion; and
- judge the merit of scientific arguments based on null hypothesis significance testing.
Generic skills
On completion of this subject students should have developed the following generic skills:
- ability to apply their broad knowledge of risk assessment across a range of fields, including environmental science, conservation biology, biosecurity, ecotoxicology, and epidemiology;
- capacity to employ highly developed conceptual, analytical, quantitative and technical skills relevant to environmental risk assessment;
- ability to evaluate risk assessment techniques, different types of information and uncertainty in addressing decisions about risk to the environment and people; and
- capacity to work effectively in groups to undertake a group risk assessment with people whose disciplinary and cultural backgrounds differ from their own.
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Corequisites
Non-allowed subjects
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
A critical review of up to 500 words due on the first day of class
| Early in the teaching period | 10% |
A written assignment of up to 2500 words reporting on an application of the methods to a real, work-based problem due one month after classes finish
| 4 Weeks after the end of teaching | 50% |
A take-home examination of up to 2000 words
| During the assessment period | 40% |
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Dates & times
- Winter Term
Coordinator Bonnie Wintle Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24 hours lectures and 18 hours practical/tutorial sessions Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 2 July 2023 to 7 July 2023 Last self-enrol date 3 July 2023 Census date 14 July 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 21 July 2023 Assessment period ends 4 August 2023
Last updated: 10 November 2023
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
There are no specifically prescribed or recommended texts for this subject.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 10 November 2023