Graduate Diploma in Planning and Management of Natural Hazards

The Graduate Diploma in Planning and Management of Natural Hazards takes a multidisciplinary approach to looking at natural hazards and how society can build resilience in the face of natural hazards.

The course will build from a broad knowledge of natural hazard situations towards questions of policy development in the field of hazard mitigation.

The course will cover the following topic areas:

Course Aims

To provide graduates with a multidisciplinary knowledge of natural hazards and best practice methods for their planning and management.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: demonstrate advanced knowledge of natural hazards and their planning contexts in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region; demonstrate an advanced and applied understanding of the role of planning systems and policy in the mitigation of natural hazards; demonstrate an advanced understanding of the causes and impacts of natural hazards within relevant environmental, economic and social contexts; and demonstate advanced and applied skills in research, literacy and communication, particularly pertaining to planning and management of natural hazards, including the ability to present a coherent and convincing argument based on current research.

Graduate Attributes

Knowledge of a Discipline Graduates will develop an advanced understanding of current paradigms in natural hazard and disaster planning and management in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as relevant practices from a variety of international contexts. The course explores a wide range of approaches to building resilience to natural hazards in various Australian and international contexts. Exposure to varied policy approaches will expand the graduate's skills in hazard planning and management. Communication Skills Graduates will be able to communicate effectively to a range of audiences in the areas of natural hazard planning and management. Through participation in the course, students will hone their online communication skills (online students), their oral skills through discussions and presentations (on-campus students) and their written skills through assessment tasks such as essays (all students). Problem Solving Graduates will have advanced skills in analysing natural hazard situations from a planning and management perspective. This will include high-level capabilities in solving problems relating to the planning and management of natural hazards, and in applying logical, critical and creative thinking to various hazard and disaster scenarios. Information Literacy Students will develop skills in organising and reporting upon a wide-range of sophisticated information relevant to the planning and management of hazards. All units in the course are delivered online, and students are both directed to a wide range of best practice sources and encouraged to use those sources to inform unit-based discussions and tasks. Ethical Conduct and Social Responsibility The successful development of systems for appropriate planning of, preparation for, response to and recovery from natural hazards and disasters must involve all sectors of society. The course will prepare students to act in an ethical and socially responsible manner in the wider social contexts of hazard planning and management. Lifelong Learning The course will provide advanced knowledge and skills that can be utilised and built upon in a range of forums. Skills in policy analysis and plan-making acquired through the course will underpin ongoing learning in professional contexts. These skills will be flexible and diverse, and will have multiple applications in a range of contexts and situations. Independence and Collaboration Graduates will have an independent capacity to analyse hazard contexts, and competency in procedures for addressing hazard situations. Through the course, students will learn principles and skills relating to stakehlder engagement and collaboration crucial to planning and management activities in natural hazard contexts. Students will have opportunities to work collaboratively to solve problems in some units.