Environment

Learn how we're making a difference

Pioneering environmental research covers both the theoretical and the practical. Across the board, it’s benefiting communities in Australia and internationally.

Through environmental research, we are:

• learning how to make houses more resistant to bushfires – we’re finding out which urban planning and building design decisions will give buildings the best chance of survival.
• studying the relationship between climate change and drought – why are some parts of Australia still waiting for drought-breaking rains after five years? And what can we expect in future?
• improving the quality of urban landscapes – using Australian shrublands as inspiration, we’re coming up with low-cost green infrastructure for cities.
• investigating whether collective self-restraint can save the world – with a view to guiding sustainability policy, we’re working to understand people’s willingness to regulate their own actions for the greater good.
• providing insights into farming in an era of climate extremes – using global data and machine learning, we’re showing where agriculture will be affected most by extreme climate events.

This is just a snapshot. We’re continuing to push the boundaries of environmental inquiry, on a global scale.

Read about the latest environmental research and commentary.

Choose your angle

As a graduate researcher, you can make your mark on the environment in a number of academic fields.

We conduct environment-related research in these faculties:

• Architecture, Building and Planning – sustainable housing and planning; urban greening; climate adaptation
• Arts – environmental social science
• Business and Economics – environmental economics; sustainable business
• Engineering – environmental engineering; sustainable technologies; sustainable energy systems; waste management
• Law – resource, energy and environmental law
• Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences – environmental psychology
• Science – soil, water and atmospheric sciences; climate modelling; conservation; ecology; sustainable energy systems; environmental policy and management; environmental social science and psychology; natural resource management; urban greening; climate change adaptation
• Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences – sustainable food systems; climate change adaptation; soil science.

Use this list to find projects and supervisors for a PhD or research masters.

Join a collaborative research community

As a graduate researcher, you will work in a vibrant, collaborative research community. We offer seminars, workshops and exhibitions that will inspire you. And you’ll work with talented peers and supervisors who will challenge you and extend your ideas.

You could join one of our collaborative research initiatives or centres.

Interdisciplinary initiatives and institutes

• BioInspiration Initiative – taking principles from biological systems and applying them to technological and design problems.
• Future Food Initiative – focusing on protein production. It draws on many areas of research, including human physiology, food chemistry, and consumers and markets.
• Melbourne Energy Institute – investigating how to transition to low carbon energy systems.
• Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute – working to solve challenges of climate change, water and food.

Research centres

• ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes
• Centre for Market Design
• Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law
• Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub
• Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub
• Healthy Soils for Sustainable Food Production and Environmental Quality
• Peter Cook Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage Research
• Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre
• Threatened Species Recovery Hub
• Thrive Research Hub