Undergraduate courses and subjects 2000 - Essential information for students enrolling in undergraduate science degrees

Essential information for students enrolling in undergraduate science degrees

Planning your course
Enrolment requirements

Planning your course

In choosing first-year subjects, students should aim to keep options open for the choice of second and third-year subjects. Students in the designated science degrees have a more structured course than the BSc. However, all students should peruse the subjects available in later years and check on the corequisites and prerequisites set out in the subject entries. Most disciplines require certain prerequisites for progression. To qualify for the award of the degree, the student's program must be consistent with the course regulations as well as the course requirements which are set out below for each degree.

Enrolment requirements

Approval for course changes

Faculty approval is required for any proposed alteration to the course of study during the semester; students should obtain the form for altering courses/subjects from the faculty office.

Maximum semester enrolment

Except for those in the Bachelor of Science (Science Scholar Program), students may not enrol in more than 30 points per semester. At level 1, students may not enrol in more than 24 points per semester.

Prerequisites

To satisfy a first-semester prerequisite, students must obtain a grade of NP or better in one of the pair of sequential prerequisite subjects, provided that a grade of at least P is obtained in the other subject.
To satisfy a second-semester prerequisite, students must obtain a grade of NP or better in the first-semester subject (see below for NP grade rules).
Prerequisites, corequisites and prohibited combinations (ie only one subject from a pair or set of subjects can be counted towards the degree) are set out under subject entries.

Repeating failed subjects

Except with the permission of the dean acting on the recommendation of the head of department, students may not enrol in a subject they have previously failed twice. Students who fail a subject and elect to repeat it must, unless exempted by the head of department, repeat all requirements of the subject.

Laboratory requirements

To complete subjects which have a laboratory component, students shall, to the satisfaction of the head of department, participate and satisfactorily complete such compulsory exercises and laboratory work, if any, as shall be prescribed in subject information sheets. If students have not completed the prescribed requirements for any subject, they may be deemed ineligible to pass the subject, or be otherwise penalised, as shall be specified, for unsatisfactory performance.

Major and minor sequence in the Faculty of Science

Major sequence

A major comprises a three-year sequence constituting at least 48 credit points, ie one-third of the degree load of 144 points. Examples of three such sequences are:

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total
12 points	18 points	24 points	54 points
12 points	12 points	24 points	48 points
12 points	18 points	18 points	48 points

Note that a major sequence is defined as either three years of study in a single discipline, or a deemed major sequence where there is a coherent three-year sequence in related disciplines (eg first-year biology followed by second and third-year studies in physiology). Some major sequences will be interdisciplinary (eg materials science).

Minor sequence

Students will also be required to complete at least one minor in a science area of study, consisting of 12 points at level 1 and at least 12 points at levels 2 OR 3. Thus at least 72 points in the BSc will consist of major and minor studies.

Sequences

Sequences in disciplines can be of two types:
1. subjects taught by the same department at levels 1, 2 and 3 (in whichever combination of levels to satisfy a major or minor sequence requirement), or
2. deemed disciplines which apply where subjects begin at levels 2 or 3. The deemed discipline sequence in this case may require the completion of prerequisite subjects (from another discipline) at the preceding level(s) (in whichever combination of levels to satisfy a major or minor sequence requirement).
Subjects must be taken from the science subjects contained in this handbook as follows:

· at least 36 of the 48 points at level 1
· at least 36 points of the 48 points at level 2
· at least 24 points of the 48 points at level 3

Students may opt to select their remaining subjects from the subjects offered by the faculties of Arts, Business and Economics, Information Technology, Education or Law, subject to meeting any entry requirements of those faculties. Note that Geography and Environmental Science subjects are shown as ARTS and Computer Science subjects are shown as IT in the subject listings.

Reaching 144 points

To qualify for a three-year undergraduate science degree, students must complete 144 points.
Students are not able to count a subject or part of a subject more than once.
Students whose first enrolment in a Monash undergraduate science degree is prior to 1999 may be awarded a maximum of 24 points at NP level throughout the course of their degree, with no more than 12 points to be counted at level 3. Students whose first enrolment in an undergraduate science degree was in 1999 or later may be awarded a maximum of two NP grades in their first year of tertiary studies (12 points).