When Associate Professor Marcus Morse describes Tasmania as “the best place in Australia to study outdoors”, he’s not exaggerating. For students at the University of Tasmania, this environment is not a backdrop but the very foundation of their studies.
Outdoor education has long been a staple in Australian schools, often in the form of camps, excursions or enrichment activities. But at the University of Tasmania, a new set of courses is challenging how future educators, guides and environmental leaders are prepared for these roles.
In 2025, University of Tasmania became the only university in the country to offer a Bachelor of Outdoor and Environmental Education (OEE) that is vertically integrated with pathways into guiding and teaching. Associate Professor Marcus Morse, who leads the study area, says the aim was simple but ambitious: “to do something totally new for outdoor education in Tasmania.”
The flagship offering is a three-year Bachelor of Outdoor and Environmental Education, which takes students well beyond lecture halls. Classes are balanced with extended fieldwork, from day trips up Kunanyi/Mount Wellington, coastal journeys on the Tasman Peninsula, to multi-day treks along the Overland Track. Students spend half their week in traditional classes and the rest immersed in the field.
Nested within the bachelor is a Diploma of Nature-Based Guiding – essentially the first year of the degree. Students who complete the diploma can either take it as a stand-alone qualification for guiding and tourism, or step directly into second-year bachelor studies.
The third strand is perhaps the most unusual: a “vertical double” course that combines the OEE bachelor with a Master of Teaching in just four years. Normally, the two qualifications would take five.
“Because of the way the electives are structured, the first year of the master’s is embedded into the bachelor,” Dr Morse explains. “It means students can graduate as fully qualified teachers more quickly – and it’s the only place in Australia you can do that.”
The courses are deliberately designed to attract a mix of students. In its first year, the bachelor drew around 40 students – half from Tasmania and half from the mainland. Roughly two-thirds came directly from secondary school, while a sizeable group were “mature students” in their 20s and 30s who had already been working in schools or as outdoor instructors.
“They’re people who have the passion already,” Dr Morse says. “Some are teaching assistants, some are guides, and they’ve realised they want to turn that passion into a career.”
University of Tasmania expects the 2026 intake to expand to around 60, with demand outstripping early projections. Word of mouth plays a strong role: the outdoor education community in Australia is relatively small, and the idea of studying in Tasmania – an island renowned for its wilderness – has proved a strong drawcard.
An island as a classroom
What distinguishes the university’s approach is not only its setting but its philosophy. The courses are built on place-based education – a model that prizes the landscape itself as a teacher.
“Rather than treating the outdoors as an add-on to classroom learning, we start with the place,” Dr Morse says. “If we’re on Kunanyi/Mount Wellington, what can it tell us about geology, ecology, cultural histories? How does the place contribute to learning?”
Students keep reflective journals and nature diaries in addition to standard academic assessments. The aim is to cultivate habits of observation and reflection that can translate into their own practice as teachers or guides. “We want them to notice, to pay attention,” Dr Morse explains. “That’s how you learn from place – and it’s how you can engage students differently when you go into schools.”
Tasmania’s compact geography is central to this model. “From the centre of Hobart, it’s 20 minutes to alpine conditions on Kunanyi,” Dr Morse points out. “On the mainland in many places, you’d drive four hours to reach something similar.”
Fieldwork runs throughout the degree. First-year students spend two days a week in classes and two days in the field, with trips ranging from single-day excursions to four-day expeditions. The first-year course’s centrepiece is the seven-day Overland Track trek. “That’s the stand-out trip in first year, in terms of both length and how amazing it is,” Dr Morse says.
Students also travel to Cradle Mountain, the Tasman Peninsula, the Central Plateau and Wukaluwikiwayna/ Maria Island, places chosen not just for their natural beauty but for the lessons they hold.
“Maria Island is incredible for its geology and history,” Dr Morse explains. “The Central Plateau is another student favourite. And even being on Kunanyi is hugely powerful – you’re close to Hobart, but it feels like another world.”
Partnerships with local tourism operators and outdoor educators strengthen these field experiences. Students meet practitioners in the field, gaining insight into industry practice and professional pathways.
Graduates are positioned for careers that extend well beyond traditional teaching. Dr Morse identifies three common pathways:
- Guiding and tourism – from Tasmanian operators to international guiding roles.
- School-based roles – as instructors, teaching assistants, or qualified teachers for those who take the Master of Teaching.
- Land management and cultural interpretation – including ranger positions, water management, and with scope for Indigenous students to move into cultural or heritage officer positions.
As its name suggests, the suite of courses doesn’t treat outdoor education as simply being “in the outdoors”. Environmental literacy, sustainability, and cultural awareness are woven through the curriculum. Students engage with Indigenous perspectives both through dedicated subjects and through regular field trips.
“Every time we go somewhere, we engage with the cultural and ecological histories of that place,” Dr Morse says.
For him, the value is twofold: graduates are better prepared for diverse roles, and they carry with them a different way of thinking about education itself.
For more information, visit www.utas.edu.au/study/undergraduate/outdoor-and-environmental-education
