The Environmental Science coursework program was introduced to the School of Safety Science as a result of increasing awareness of environmental problems that have emerged since the 1980’s. The environmental arena has always been an interesting area for exploration and discovery. The most striking feature of Environmental Science is its multidisciplinary focus where information is sourced from numerous disciplines such as geology, biology chemistry, climatology, and other disciplines. The Environmental Science coursework program was designed with this interdisciplinary interaction in mind.

The interdisciplinary nature of the Environmental Science coursework program is best reflected by the requirements needed to complete the degree. This program was an initiative that was adopted by the Faculty of Science whereby students have to complete one compulsory core subject from the School of Safety Science and the rest of the courses needed to complete the degree are sourced from a list of postgraduate courses offered by the Faculty. In order to assist students in selecting the areas in environmental science that motivates them and that they feel passionate about, the compulsory core subject was designed to cover a range of interesting topics ranging from environmental law, climate change, environmental impact assessment, risk assessment, environmental management, and professional practices.

The core course of the Environmental Science program is offered all year round with class mode held in Session 1 and the rest of the year the course is conducted in web mode. This flexibility in delivery, together with the invited guest lecturers to cover some of the topics, has contributed to the success of this initiative.

Environmental Science research is the major contributor to knowledge we currently enjoy in the environmental field. A good scientist questions everything in a constructive manner through critical thinking in order to further understand and resolve environmental problems. The environmental science research area is a new area within the School and represents a further exploration of scientific knowledge obtained in coursework through the process of developing a hypothesis, testing its validity and coming up with conclusions.

The multidisciplinary nature of the environmental field helps in the formulation of a range of interested topics for research. The environmental toxicology section of the website lists our interests in environmental toxicology and the availability of a range of projects in that area, covering the assessment of ultraviolet light damage to chemical toxicities in soils and aquatic ecosystems. All projects will involve the use of in vitro techniques rather than the use of animal models because of our strong belief that there is no need to sacrifice animals in experimentation, especially if alternative means for toxicity evaluation and testing have and/or can be developed.

In addition to our interests in environmental toxicology we can also accommodate other interesting projects, subject to resource availability. For example, there is a range of interesting projects currently being coordinated looking at geosequestration of CO₂ in Australia and how this might contribute to lowering greenhouse emissions. Another project being undertaken is the assessment of toxicity of a river system going through an industrial complex. All the research conducted in the toxicology laboratories helps in driving teaching in the area in addition to assisting the community through consultancies and testing services.