Geography at the University of Melbourne is a globally leading discipline, ranked 9th in the world in the latest Shanghai Ranking of Academic Subjects and 16th globally in the latest QS rankings. Our distinctiveness lies in our strong regional focus, our deep engagement with communities, and our critical, justice-oriented ethos.
Bridging human and physical geography, our research is driven by a determination to respond to the major challenges of our time, from climate change and environmental justice to equitable urban futures. Our expertise spans the social, cultural, political and environmental dimensions of place; cities and urban life; migration, mobility and population; climate change and its impacts on societies and landscapes; past climates and environments; earth surface processes; and global inequalities, development and justice.
Our geographers contribute to shaping the discipline globally through editor roles with leading journals, including Geomorphology, Natural Hazards, Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, Social & Cultural Geography, Progress in Human Geography and Journal of Political Ecology. We also play a leading role in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures.
We are a vibrant community of around 60 staff, including 24 full-time continuing academic staff, and a large cohort of research students, with around 65 PhD candidates and a thriving Masters and Honours community. We foster a warm, welcoming and intellectually lively environment, including through a regular geography seminar series that attracts international guests, an active geography postgraduate society, and regular social events.
Research groups studying geography
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Archaeological Science
Archaeological science is concerned with the application of various scientific techniques to solve problems related to archaeology, human origins and cultural history.
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Cities and Urban Life
Investigating how cities and urban areas are being transformed at a time of rapid urbanisation, global environmental change, technological advancement, economic and political restructuring, and growing social and economic inequality.
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Environment, Wellbeing and Sustainable Communities
Researching how interdependent environmental and social systems affect the wellbeing and sustainability of people and populations.
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Human Geography Lab
As a collective, we support the Human Geography Lab (Room 2.11 of 221 Bouverie Street), a place for thinking, collaborating and training in qualitative, creative, performative and post-qualitative research methodologies.
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Migration, Mobility and Population
Conducting research on multiple forms of human mobility at various spatial and temporal scales, with a geographic focus on Australia, Asia, and the Pacific.
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Past Climates and Environments
Investigating the nature, magnitude and timing of past climate and environmental change, and the interactions between climate, environments and past human populations.
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Quaternary Landscapes and Sediment (QuaLaS)
Investigating a wide range of Earth surface processes over various timescales in the Quaternary to better understand the dynamic evolution of our environment.
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Renewable Energy
We research the potential of energy resources within our natural environment to provide energy across a range of spatio-temporal scales, from individuals to the planet.
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Responsible Mining and Energy Transition
Our group combines expertise in remote sensing, GIS, geosciences, environmental engineering, and human and physical geography to explore the human and environmental impacts and risks of mining and energy transitions.
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Speleothem Research Group
Investigating past climate and environmental change using speleothems (cave mineral formations, such as stalagmites and stalactites).
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Wiinya Environmental Research Group
Palaeoecological and biogeographic research developing and integrating high-resolution palaeoenvironmental records from across the Southern Hemisphere, primarily in Australia, to provide comprehensive reconstructions of environmental change over time.