Course objectives
The degree of Bachelor of Science is a course of three years full-time duration (or equivalent part-time) which has as its objective the training of graduates in science who at the end of the degree are able to show a breadth of knowledge of fundamental scientific concepts covering a range of disciplines. At the same time students will acquire a more specialised understanding of concepts within biological, physical, chemical, earth or mathematical sciences derived from more detailed subjects offered in the later years of the degree. At the end of the course, science graduates will be able to relate acquired skills to technical and vocational applications relevant to specialist disciplines; they will be able to organise knowledge, ideas and concepts efficiently, rationalise and define problems and logically carry out processes for their solution. To this aim, training will enable students:
* to organise ideas systematically;
* to carry out problem-solving methods and experimentation, either as solitary investigators, or in a team environment;
* to test and investigate a particular scientific problem or set of problems singly or in complex interactions.
Students will be encouraged to be initiators and where individual skills may be deficient, to develop interpersonal skills which can lead to the solving of problems by group effort in appropriate cases.
Students will have acquired sufficient skills to disseminate the results of investigation, by oral, written, or electronic means, or in some cases all three. Graduates will exhibit leadership qualities; they will have scientific skills and confidence in their ability as scientists and will be able to interact easily with colleagues and with the general community. They will also be scientifically responsible, trained in scientific disciplines and entitled, where appropriate, to membership of learned societies and professional associations.
In a fourth year leading to the award of the Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree, in addition to the above, students will be expected to display a higher level of independent analysis and research in their chosen field of expertise. This higher level of experience has vocational aims but also provides a preparation for study by coursework and/or research for the higher degrees of Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy.
First-year
In each semester four equal-weight (six-point) subjects must be taken, at least three of which must be listed in the first schedule of the regulations. At least one sequential pair of these subjects must be chosen from those shown as laboratory subjects in the first schedule. In second semester at least three of the disciplines must be continued. No more than twelve points at first-year level may be taken from subjects not listed in the first schedule. For details of corequisites, see individual subject entries. For details of prohibited subject combinations, see section 6.4 of the regulations for the Bachelor of Science.
Second-year
In each semester three equal-weight (eight-point, or the equivalent number of four-point) subjects must be taken, at least sixteen points of which must be listed in the first schedule of the regulations. In second semester at least two of the disciplines must be continued. No more than sixteen points at second-year level may be taken from subjects not listed in the first schedule.
Third-year
Within the forty-eight points, at least twenty-four points must be studied in a discipline listed in the first schedule. The remaining twenty-four points may be: (a) studied in the same discipline (this option is currently available in chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics and physics) or (b) split so that twelve points are studied in the first discipline and twelve in a second, or (c) studied in a second discipline or (d) split into twelve points each in a second and third discipline. The second and/or third disciplines may be from faculties other than the Faculty of Science.
Bachelor of Science (Honours)
The fourth-year level of study is also called the honours year and students having successfully completed the first three years, ie having qualified for the BSc pass degree, may apply to enter the honours year. The normal requirement for entry to the honours year is a credit grade average in a relevant third-year discipline. The details of one student's honours program in a discipline may be significantly different from those in another program in the same discipline. Departments at this level are able to cater substantially for the interests of individual students, although there may be compulsory elements to be completed by all students in the one discipline. The relevant regulation simply states that the work to be completed by a candidate will be as prescribed by the relevant head of department.
Study sequences
As has been indicated earlier, the first year of the course is largely devoted to extending the basic foundation of science, which students have commenced in secondary school, while the higher years increasingly permit specialisation in a number of directions. Students' scope for choice in higher years must be based on what they have chosen in the earlier years - later-year subjects build on earlier subject content.