New Zealand

This course examines the core hydrological and climatic processes that cause change within the environment, particularly the role of water. It covers why climate varies spatially, and why vegetation has such an important influence on the availability and timing of moisture and stream flow. It will also examine how hydrological and climatic systems respond to human interaction and environmental change. The emphasis will be on providing the skills necessary to interpret the processes controlling the spatial and temporal variability in climate and water availability.

This course examines a number of critical issues in the contemporary Pacific through a detailed consideration of the work, ideas, and writings of Pacific writers, artists, film makers, activists and scholars. It also encourages critiques of established historical and narrative accounts.

This course considers the environmental factors that control and modify human and non-human behavior. Generally, an experimental laboratory approach is taken, and quantitative theories are stressed. Topics include: classical and operant conditioning, theories of reinforcement, the stimulus control of operant behavior, behavioral analysis of problem solving, concept and language learning, choice, self control, memory, and experimental design. 

This course examines stochastic processes, including generating functions, branching processes, Markov chains, random walks.

This course examines classic and contemporary theory and research in personality psychology. It covers a variety of perspectives on personality, such as: psychoanalytic, genetic and evolutionary, cultural, biological, humanistic, trait and behavioral. In the laboratory sessions, students will take various personality assessment instruments and participate in experiments to gain first-hand insight into cutting-edge personality research.

This course examines contemporary geospatial technologies such as web-mapping, GPS and tracking devices (such as your phone), Remote Sensing and GIS. It covers key concepts and principles behind these tools and their use, along with practical experiences through laboratories. Critical and theoretical perspectives on the tools, their use, and their social impacts will be discussed.

This course examines how magmatism has shaped Earth, how magma forms and evolves physically and chemically to make igneous rocks, and what controls its subterranean emplacement or volcanic eruption.

This course provides foundational knowledge, understanding and practical skills aligned to complex challenges of the modern era from an Earth Science perspective. It covers geoscientific data collection, analysis and visualization, hazard analysis, and spatial mapping.

This course examines the nature, formation, and classification of soils, their physical, chemical, mineralogical, and biological properties, and issues of soil quality, land degradation and sustainable management. It also encompasses the properties, genesis, and distribution of the soils of New Zealand and their use.

In this course students will develop a basic conversational fluency and proficiency in the pronunciation of the Māori language. Students will learn some basic sentence structure patterns, gaining confidence in using these patterns both in writing and in speaking, as well as aural confidence in listening to basic Māori language.