Courses within SEGS are noted for their fantastic field-trips during which the information taught in lectures and tutorials is reinforced and extended as students and staff work together in the "real world". Field trips are also an opportunity for cementing student friendships and getting to know academic and teaching staff in an informal setting.

Course delivery is flexible as staff use Lectopia (a UWA product) to make many lectures and notes available in a variety of formats (i.e. as podcasts) for review and revision.

Some courses make use of  the WebCT online Learning management system to deliver notes, tests and to manage online discussion forums. 2008 will see the introduction of a fully online course.

How we teach

The teaching program in SEGS integrates all aspects related to the study of the Earth, including landforms, soils, vegetation, water, rocks, climate, the marine environment, economic resources and our interactions with the environment.

The central aim of Earth Science is to use an understanding of the processes that have created the Earth as the basis for the management of environmental issues.

We make full use of Western Australia's status as a spectacular natural laboratory  which lets us examine not only the surface and marine environments that exist today, but the geological record of ancient land surfaces, early oceans and life forms stretching back 3,500 million years!

Earth Science challenges us to think on a range of scales from minute observations, using sophisticated instruments such as electron microscopes, to global scale observations using satellite imagery and numerical models.

The skills that our global perspective of the Earth requires is reflected in the wide range of skills and knowledge that are built into the teaching program in the School. We recognise the need for the interchange of approaches and emphasise this through the value placed on generic scientific skills and problem solving.

The world values our graduates for their ability to think logically, develop solutions and to embrace a multidisciplinary view of the Earth and its environments.

Our broad-based first year units (see right) provide the framework in which subsequent first, second and third year units, in the various degree courses, build breadth and depth of understanding of key Earth Science concepts, processes and interactions and their relevance to maintaining and enhancing the quality of human existence on planet Earth.

What we teach

Our philosophy is reflected in the introductory first year units available in the School of Earth & Geographical Sciences in first and second semesters.

• Earth and Environment: The Dynamic Planet provides an introduction to how the Earth works by focusing on the principles that emphasise the connections between major Earth systems – atmosphere, water, life and the solid Earth.
• Earth and Environment: Geographical Perspectives addresses the complex character of relationships between human societies and the earth's physical and biological systems. Geography offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding these relationships and encompasses ecological, social, economic, political and ethical perspectives from which to examine global environmental issues.
• Earth and Environment: Geological Perspectives investigates the geological processes and their driving forces which operate to shape the major features of the Earth's present day topography and looks back through geological time.
• Earth and Environment: Terrestrial Ecosystems focuses on understanding the importance of the terrestrial ecosystem in delivering many of the crucial environmental goods and services on which society depends.

Full unit information

• SEGS Units
• FNAS Units
• UWA