Antarctic Research Centre courses
Discover the Victoria University of Wellington courses taught at Te Puna Pātiotio — The Antarctic Research Centre.
Study at the Antarctic Research Centre
Te Puna Pātiotio — The Antarctic Research Centre (ARC) provides world-leading research on how the Antarctic is responding to climate change and the consequences, both globally and for Aotearoa New Zealand
The ARC sits within Wellington Faculty of Science, co-located with the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences.
Courses are based in Wellington and do not visit Antarctica. However, Some Master’s and PhD students visit Antarctica for their research, and occasionally students can visit on a summer scholarship.
List of courses
Browse a list of courses offered at the ARC. Check the days, trimesters, and years available to make sure the courses are available and work with your schedule.
100-level courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GEOS 101 | Our Dynamic Earth and Environment | In this course you will be introduced to the Earth system, covering the physical processes that shape the Earth and environment. This course emphasises how humans interact with the environment, recognising differing societal perspectives, especially... |
| GEOS 103 | Antarctica: Unfreezing the Continent | A broad introduction to Antarctica, including its history, exploration, weather, geology, fauna and management. Its role in the global climate system is emphasised. This course is primarily designed for non-science majors. |
200-level courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ESCI 201 | Climate Change and New Zealand's Future | The Antarctic Research Centre is offering this summer course. Designed for science and non-science students, this course provides a summary of current knowledge on climate change, the evidence and its uncertainties, and possible climate scenarios for... |
| GEOS 201 | Hydrological Science and Freshwater Management | This course equips students with the fundamental principles of hydrology and water management. Through practical exercises and theory, you will learn about hydrological processes, river dynamics, floods, and droughts. We then apply this theoretical k... |
| GEOS 211 | Earth’s Changing Surface | Humanity lives and depends on sedimentary environments (e.g., soil for farming, coastal plains for residence). You will learn to interpret and explain the interactions that are occurring today between environment and climate change, Earth-surface pro... |
300-level courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GEOS 301 | Hydrological Science and Freshwater Management | This course equips students with the fundamental principles of hydrology and water management. Through practical exercises and theory, you will learn about hydrological processes, river dynamics, floods, and droughts. We then apply this theoretical k... |
| GEOS 306 | Past, Present and Future Environmental Change | Sedimentary deposits record past changes in Earth’s surface environments and biosphere – a series of natural experiments that provide important context for the future of global change. You will learn to use knowledge of processes operating today to i... |
400-level courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ESCI 412 | Paleoclimatology | The course is a study of contemporary research papers in Paleoclimate science. Concentrates on environmental proxy indicators, dating methods and climate dynamics. Prominent NZ Quaternary records as well as high profile records from elsewhere are exa... |
| ESCI 452 | Earth History | This course will examine stratigraphic principles and approaches used to reconstruct past depositional environments, to then interpret major tectonic and/or climatic events in Earth’s history. Geochemical and paleontological proxies will be used to i... |
Postgraduate study options
Most of our research projects have opportunities for postgraduate student involvement at Honours, Master’s or PhD level.