School of Geography
Study with us
Geography is a discipline that investigates environments of different kinds (urban, built, natural) by asking what processes, operating at different scales, have created those environments. It also focuses on places, asking why places have the characteristics they do. A key strength of Geography is the way it invites the physical and social sciences into conversation, to respond to questions about spatial processes, both physical and social, and the nature of places. Many Geographers see their discipline as making important contributions to the creation of more just societies and more sustainable environments.
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Courses
Find out about the range of courses available, from undergraduate to PhD.
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Geography Pathways
Use the Geography Pathways tool to help choose subjects aligned with your interests or to identify pathways suited to the subjects you have already taken.
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Scholarships, Awards and Prizes
Explore the Scholarships, Awards and Prizes on offer to support students and research, and recognise outstanding academic achievement.
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Current Students
Get involved with our student societies and find out about our many field trips.
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Development Geography
Development Geography examines patterns and situations of human well-being in developing societies, with a focus on an integrated understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality across time and space.
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Urbanisation and Geographies of the City and Urban Life
Research into the characteristics of particular urban environments and how people inhabit them, govern them, and transform them is the focus of urban geography
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Earth Surface Processes
Researchers in The School of Geography investigate the processes that form and change the Earth’s surface, with a primary focus on fluvial, coastal, glacial and karst environments.
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Biogeography
The School of Geography hosts a team of Biogeographers who investigate the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time.
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Environmental Geography
Environmental Geography is the part of Geography that has the most active collaboration between human and physical geographers, as they study the relationships between environments and societies in places.
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Cartographic and Spatial Services
The Faculty has a full-time cartographer, who has extensive experience in all aspects of cartographic work. She is a member of the Mapping Sciences Institute of Australia and a cartography editor of the Journal of Maps.
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PhD Projects
Applications are invited for PhD Projects in the School of Geography at the University of Melbourne.
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Current Research Projects & Fellowships
Staff and students in the School of Geography are extremely grateful for the funding and support we receive for research from the Australian Research Council and from our partners in government, civil society and industry. Currently funded research projects are listed below.
Australian community engagement
Engaging with community groups and in public conversations to generate and share knowledge and experiences is central to our geographical practice.
International engagement
International engagements generating vibrant teaching, research, organisational and community networks underpin our approach to a globally engaged geographical scholarship.
Support Geography
We invite you to be one of our valued philanthropic supporters and be part of the next generation of donors who view research as an investment in the future.
To discuss opportunities to support research, scholarships for students, or early career researchers, please contact Science Advancement – Penny Fairbank, Senior Development Manager: fairbank@unimelb.edu.au or call +61 (0)3 8344 3792.
Welcome!
The School of Geography at the University of Melbourne is embarking on an exciting period of growth. This follows its move into the Science Faculty at the start of 2015, and the recognition there of the importance of Geography’s capacity to work in and across both the social and natural sciences.
At Melbourne you can undertake a Geography major as part of a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts. These lead on to various Masters and PhD programs and a diversity of career opportunities.
Our current areas of world-leading research strength include international development, urbanisation, biogeography and earth surface processes, with an overarching interest in environment and environmental change. We are also embarking on a new specialisation in health geography. An important element of teaching and learning within the School is to acknowledge Indigenous connections to country.
Geography has been taught at the University for more than 50 years (for more on our history, see here). Whether you join our journey as a student, a researcher, a community/industry collaborator, or all three, we look forward to your participation in the next fifty years.
Professor Lesley Head
Head of School