Protecting and sustainably managing our environment is one of our greatest global challenges and our graduates are well placed to tackle this challenge head on.
The growing human population is expected to exceed 9 billion within the next 40 years. The need to provide for increasing human demands, while protecting and sustainably managing the environment, is one of our greatest global challenges. Environmental studies is at the core of this challenge.
We take a strong interdisciplinary approach so our students gain skills applying the biological, chemical and Earth sciences to understand and manage the impacts of human activities on the environment.
Learn from leading professors and researchers in the sustainability field and develop skills to change the way we tackle environmental challenges. Find our more about our researchers tackling some of the big issues of our time, including climate change, biodiversity and conservation.
World-class laboratories at both our Hamilton and Tauranga campuses.
Get extra support with our broad range of scholarships.
We have a 'living lab' on our doorstep
Our Tauranga campus offers the only science research facility in New Zealand specifically configured to address the real issues of our engagement with the sea in terms of environmental sustainability, and also with a strong theme of innovation in creating wealth from our marine resources.
Connect with like-minded students, staff and the wider community. Waikato Eco Campus hosts workshops, tree planting, community hīkoi and much more! It's a great way to develop a deeper passion for the environment, volunteer, and get connected.
Just how prepared is Aotearoa’s highly valuable tourism sector for the coming impacts of climate change? Research recently concluded in the Deep South Challenge: Changing with our Climate suggests that the answer is similar to most sectors of New Zealand society: not nearly prepared enough.
A large research project that seeks to understand how biology responds to increasing temperature could give insight into what may really happen to life if our planet heats up. Professor Vic Arcus and Professor Louis Schipper from the University of Waikato are two of four key principal investigators leading a project that aims to determine whether there’s a single theory of temperature dependence that applies to life.
A campaign to curb McDonald’s single use straws spurred Hamilton student Abbey Huriwai to study Environmental Science and Biodiversity at the University of Waikato. Miss Huriwai says she has always had an interest in biology, and at high school one of her teachers spoke a lot about environmental problems facing the world.