Honours Overview

Description

Plants underpin life on Earth. Honours in Botany allows you to conduct rigorous scientific research on various aspects of the taxonomy, biology or functioning of plants. Your research could investigate the exciting diversity and uniqueness of Australian flora or focus on how plants function and interact over all levels of biological organisation, from the plant cell to the role of vegetation in the functioning of ecosystems. Other research may focus on the ways plants adapt to environments ranging from the Antarctic oceans to deserts of the inland. You might also study how best we can overcome problems of environmental degradation such as those derived from mining and salinity. If you are enthusiastic about plants across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, this honours specialisation is for you. Honours in Botany can lead to many careers including ecologist, conservation biologist, plant physiologist, plant taxonomist, agricultural scientist, forester, environmental impact assessor, flora resource manager, government policy writer and consultant, consultant risk assessor involved in predicting and identifying algal blooms, consultant for aquaculture, marine biologist, evolutionary biologist, science journalist, laboratory technician, field research officer, plant pathologist or forensic scientist.

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) critically identify gaps in knowledge in the field of botany; (2) design and implement a research project that fills an identified gap in knowledge; (3) critically analyse results and draw evidence-based conclusions; (4) manage and analyse research data sets using appropriate statistical tests; (5) present research outcomes orally and in the form of a scientific paper; and (6) convey specialist knowledge in the field of botany.

Entry requirements

A weighted average mark of at least 65 percent in the Level 3 units of the Botany major; or equivalent, as recognised by UWA.

Intake periods

Beginning of year and mid-year

Courses

Honours in Botany can be taken as a specialisation in the following degrees:

No study plans found for this course. Check your chosen major, see study plans or contact your student advising office for more information.

Units

Key to availability of units:
S1
Semester 1
S2
Semester 2
N/A
not available in 2026 – may be available in 2027 or 2028
NS
non-standard teaching period
Take all units (42 points):
AvailabilityUnit codeUnit nameUnit requirements
BIOL4461 None
BIOL4462 None
BIOL4463 None
BIOL4464 None
BIOL4465 None
BIOL4466 None
S1, S2 SCIE4402 Data Management and Analysis in the Natural Sciences
Prerequisites
Successful completion of
any one STAT1400 Statistics for Science
or STAX1400 Statistics for Science
or STAT1520 Economic and Business Statistics
or STAX1520 Economic and Business Statistics
or SCIE1104 Science, Society and Data Analysis
or SCIE4401 Data Use in Science
or ENVT4422 Research Methods in Environmental Science
Take unit(s) to the value of 6 points:
AvailabilityUnit codeUnit nameUnit requirements
S2 BIOL5542 Conservation Genetics
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
72520 Master of Biological Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 71570 Master of Geographic Information Science
or BH004 Bachelor of Science (Honours)
and Successful completion of
one Unit(s) GENE4002 Integrated Topics in Genetics I
or Unit(s) GENE2250 Principles of Inheritance
or Unit(s) BIOL3364 Evolutionary Processes
S1, S2 ENVT4411 Geographic Information Systems Applications
Incompatibility
Unit(s) GEOG2201 Geographic Information Systems (ID 1384)
NS ENVT5310 Biodiversity on Country
Incompatibility
ENVT3310 Biodiversity on Country
S1 ENVT5512 Ecosystem BiogeochemistryNone
N/A GEOS5510 Applied Palynology
Prerequisites
Successful completion of
one Unit(s) GEOS4412 Petroleum Systems