A Graduate Diploma in Geoscience will prepare you to gather and interpret geological information for a wide range of purposes.
Introduction
Geoscience is the study of our dynamic planet and helps us to understand the origin and evolution of Earth, its ancient environments and climates, natural hazards and the formation of natural resources including groundwater, petroleum and minerals.
Domestic students may be eligible for a Commonwealth supported place within this course.
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Course description, features and facilities
Geoscience is a science that aims to understand all aspects of our planet, ranging from the Earth's surface to the deep interior. It also aims to discover how the Earth has evolved during the past 4.4 billion years, including the origin of continents, oceans, atmosphere and life. Applying knowledge of Earth processes and time scales is fundamental to locating resources such as groundwater, petroleum and minerals, and understanding climate and other environmental changes. Most of Australia's mineral and petroleum resources are in Western Australia, so UWA is well placed for students to gain geological skills.
UWA is well equipped for teaching and research in geoscience. It is the only institution in the world to house two state-of-the-art Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) instruments (CAMECA IMS 1280 and CAMECA NanoSIMS 50) providing a unique analytical capability to Australian and international researchers.
Our teaching is also supported by the world class research and development of the Energy and Minerals Institute, the Centre for Exploration Targeting, the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, the Geothermal Centre of Excellence and the Centre for Petroleum Geoscience and CO2 Sequestration.
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Structure
The course consists of units to a total of 48 points comprising eight coursework units chosen from an approved list of units.
| Key to availability of units: |
S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; S3 = summer teaching period; N/A = not available in 2013;
NS = non-standard teaching period; OS = offshore teaching period; * = to be advised |
The course consists of units to a total value of 48 points comprising—
(a) all of the following units:
| NS | GEOS4410 | Australia's Geological Evolution |
| S2, NS | ENVT4411 | Geographic Information Systems Applications |
| S1, S2 | SCIE4401 | Data Use in the Natural Sciences |
| S1, S2 | SCIE4403 | The Conduct, Ethics and Communication of Science |
and
(b) four units from below:
| NS | GEOS4413 | Environmental Geoscience |
| NS | GEOS4411 | Mineralising Systems |
| NS | GEOS4412 | Petroleum Systems |
| NS | GEOS4415 | Mineral Geoscience Special Topic |
| NS | GEOS5503 | Petroleum Resources |
| S1, S2 | SCIE4402 | Data Management and Analysis in the Natural Sciences |
Career opportunities
Employment opportunities are plentiful in the resource industries (minerals, geothermal and groundwater) or research fields such as planetary geology and volcano or earthquake hazard prediction. Additional employment opportunities exist in government agencies dealing with resources or environmental companies and agencies. Many graduates continue to develop their specialist skills in industry or government agencies around the world, while others join academic institutions.
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Further study opportunities
Students with a Graduate Diploma in Geoscience can pursue further studies by completing the Master of Geoscience (coursework).
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These pages are under review and are being updated.
Check the Entrance requirements
This course is available to Australian and international students.
On this page
- Admission Requirements
- English competency
- Advanced standing
Admission Requirements
A bachelor's degree from this University with a relevant major or equivalent as recognised by the Faculty; or successful completion of the Graduate Certificate in Geoscience of this university or equivalent as recognised by the Faculty.
English competency
Advanced standing
If you have undertaken prior tertiary study within the last five years, you may be eligible for advanced standing (credit and/or exemption).
Applications for advanced standing are assessed upon acceptance of any offer of admission made by the University.
On this page
- Prerequisites
- English competency
- Advanced standing
Prerequisites
As a rule, international students must:
- Have a bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline (where required), completed to a sufficiently high standard;
- Meet the specific prerequisites for the course. (Refer to admission requirements for this course)
- Meet UWA's English language requirement.
English competency
All prospective international students must meet the English language proficiency requirements of the University. The most common international examination used in applications is the IELTS (academic) and the University’s requirement is an overall score of 6.5 (with no individual band below 6.0) for most coursework courses.
Please refer to our English language competency requirements to see a list of other accepted examinations. The University accepts a number of qualifications and any not listed will be considered on an individual basis.
Advanced standing
Students with previous tertiary level qualifications will be considered for advanced standing (credit).
These pages are under review and will be updated in early 2013.
How to apply
This course is available to Australian and international students.
On this page
- Application Deadlines
- How to apply
- Fees
- Contact details - admission information
Application Deadlines
Semester 1: 23 January
Semester 2: 26 June
How to apply
Submit a completed application form
Fees
Annual fee: $8360.
As some units vary in cost, the actual student contribution will depend on the mix of units you choose. See the unit costs website for details of individual unit costs.
askUWA
On this page
- Application Deadlines
- How to apply
- Fees
- Contact details - admission information
Application Deadlines
While there are no strict application deadlines for the submission of international postgraduate coursework applications, prospective students are strongly encouraged to apply with sufficient time to allow for the processing of their application and to secure a student visa.
Postgraduate coursework applications generally take four weeks from receipt of an application to offer.
How to apply
International postgraduate applicants must complete the postgraduate application form and submit it through an authorised UWA overseas representative or directly to the UWA International Centre.
Fees
$30980, per year.
This figure has been arrived at by assuming that you study a full-time study load for one year made up of units all within the same fee band. As some units vary in cost, the actual student fee will depend on the mix of units you choose. The international student fees page has further details.
UWA International Centre (M352)
- Address
- The University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley, Perth
Western Australia 6009
- Telephone
- (+61 8) 6488 3939
- Fax
- (+61 8) 9382 4071
- Contacts
- International Centre
- Enquire on-line
- askUWA
- Location
- UWA Map
- Opening hours
- Monday - Friday, 9am - 4pm
- About UWA
- Find out what makes UWA an internationally recognised university.
- Foundation and preparatory courses
- There are a range of programs available to help give you the opportunity to gain the academic qualifications or prerequisites required for admission to UWA.
- Social life on campus
- There are over 20,000 students enrolled at UWA - lots of new friends not only from Perth and Western Australia but from all areas in Australia and around the world.
These pages are under review and will be updated in early 2013.
