About Environmental Science at Rhodes University

The vision of the Department of Environmental Science is to generate and develop knowledge, skills and understanding of complex, coupled human-environmental systems in a globalising and changing world through excellence in learning, research, community engagement and practice. 

Associated with this vision, the Department seeks to:

1) produce well-rounded and critically thinking graduates capable of addressing environmental challenges (particularly in Africa),

2) foster and execute innovative interdisciplinary research at the multiple interfaces between economic, social and biophysical systems,

3) Communicate research results for maximum impacts at multiple scales from policy development to community action,

4) Collaborate with stakeholders, practitioners and communities to promote the uptake of DES best practice and knowledge.

The image below captures the core research themes currently at focus in the department. The center around which the research in the department rotates is the issue of sustainability and resilience in linked social-ecological systems in a dynamic and changing world. Staff and post graduate students are interested in both understanding social-ecological systems through research into, for example, rural livelihoods and ecosystems processes, and in testing and developing an understanding of how to manage such systems. In pursuit of the latter, staff and students conduct research into ecological restoration, various approaches to ecosystem management, and governance. Please visit the staff profiles and research page to learn more about research currently underway in the department.

The department was established as a cross-departmental programme in 1998. By 2002 it grew to a full department and now employs 6 full-time academic members of staff as well as 3 support staff.  The Department has developed close links with other departments on campus and now offers a number of short courses such as the Tools for Wetland Assessment(TWA), Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM), Land Degradation and the newly launched Urban Greening short course. From 2004 untill 2007, the department was also responsible for the development and coordination of the environmental management electives for the Rhodes MBA programme.  The MBA programme is now run by the Rhodes Investec Business School.

Please use the following links to obtain details regarding undergraduate and postgraduate studies, student fees and the application procedure.