Future Students

Geology and Resource Economics

This course allows you to combine your geology studies with economics, and complete your degree in only four years. This unique combination of skills will make graduates especially attractive to employers in the resources industries, particularly the minerals and energy industries.

Graduates will study geology and geological processes in depth, including field trips to the northwest, south coast and Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Geology and Resource Economics is a named program under the four-year Bachelor of Science.

Level 1
In Level 1 you will study Earth and Environment: Dynamic Planet; Earth and Environment: Geological Perspectives; Earth and Environment:  Geographical Perspectives; Macroeconomics, and Biometrics to provide the foundation for your studies. Depending on your TEE subjects, you may also need to study Chemistry and Mathematics.

Level 2
Level 2 studies will expand your knowledge through the study of Earth History Methods; Earth Materials; Environmental Economics or Finance Accounting; Field Geology; Structural and Metamorphic Geology; and Geographic Information Systems. In addition you will choose units from the elective list.

Level 3
In Level 3 you will specialise further, studying Geological Mapping; Project and Risk Management; Management Decision tools and at least two from: Marine Geology, Geochemistry and Petrology; Structural Geology and Tectonics; Petroleum Geology;  Basin Analysis; Mineral Exploration Technology and Ore Deposit Genesis.  In addition you will choose units from the elective list such as Project and Risk Management, Management Decision Tools,  and Economics of Water Management.

Level 4
In Level 4 you will undertake a supervised research project worth 50 per cent of your mark for fourth year and the units Analysis for Natural Resource Economics; and Environmental and Resource Economics.

You may earn Honours based on your marks for the research project plus your four best marks from Level three units.

If you are interested in finding out which subjects you will study then have a look at the Course Outline. This will show you the core units and the options for the course, along with course rules.

You will notice that each unit has a unit code, for example EART1105. The first number in the unit code indicates the level of the unit - in this case level one. For a more detailed description of a particular unit, click on the unit code.

Career opportunities

Graduates will be qualified to follow careers in either geoscience or natural resource economics, and particularly combinations of the two disciplines. The dominant role of natural resources in the Western Australian economy ensures many opportunities locally, while your broad training will also qualify you for positions both interstate and internationally. Likely employers include a wide variety of petroleum and minerals companies, such as Woodside Energy, BHP Billiton and state and federal government agencies.