Monash University: University Handbooks: Postgraduate Handbook 2002: Units indexed by faculty
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Masters degrees by coursework or coursework and minor thesis


The various coursework masters programs offered by the faculty are aimed at either increasing the depth of understanding of specialisation of a graduate engineer in areas which have previously been studied at undergraduate level, or broadening the education of a graduate engineer into areas which may not have been previously studied during the undergraduate training.
For the Master of Engineering Science (Coursework and Minor Thesis), Master of Engineering Science in Process Integration (Coursework and Minor Thesis) and Master of Maintenance and Reliability Engineering, a candidate must gain 72 credit points before becoming eligible for the award of the degree. The coursework component is normally 54 credit points. The remaining 18 credit points are to be earned by a minor thesis. Enrolment in the minor thesis involves taking research units each semester, and candidates must enrol in at least one-third of the value of the thesis in any semester in which the thesis is undertaken.
It is the faculty's policy to encourage candidate's to complete their courses in minimum time. It should be noted that although regulations allow for these courses to be completed in less than 18 months, any candidate attempting to do so is required to complete the equivalent of 18 months of full-time study (ie 72 credit points) during this period. International students should particularly note that completion of the courses in minimum time would still attract a financial liability for 18 months of study.
Each candidate will have a member of the faculty's academic staff as a supervisor. The supervisor will advise the candidate in the selection of coursework units and their sequence, help in the selection and specification of a candidate's project, and supervise the project.
For the masters programs in Biomedical Engineering, Materials Engineering and Telecommunication Engineering, a candidate must gain 48 credit points before becoming eligible for the award of the degree. Candidates for the Master of Telecommunication Engineering or Master of Biomedical Engineering must complete a coursework component plus either a project to the value of 12 credit points or a 24 credit point minor thesis. Candidates for the Master of Transport and Traffic must successfully complete approved graduate units to the value of 72 credit points. There is no minor thesis component.
For admission to candidature for all coursework masters programs except the Biomedical Engineering, Materials Engineering and Telecommunication Engineering degrees, there must be clear and irrefutable evidence that a candidate has (a) a four-year university honours degree in engineering, or (b) a four-year university pass degree in engineering or similar degree plus honours-equivalent experience appropriate to the field of study, or (c) articulation from an appropriate postgraduate diploma program. For admission to the masters degrees in Biomedical Engineering, Materials Engineering and Telecommunication Engineering, a four-year degree or postgraduate diploma-level qualification in a discipline that provides a suitable basis for the course is required. Candidates with a four year (honours) science or applied science degree may also be admitted to the Master of Materials Engineering.

Courses available

The following masters degrees by coursework or coursework and minor thesis are offered by the faculty:

Coursework units

The Faculty of Engineering operates a two-semester system for its graduate coursework programs. Each semester is of 13 effective teaching weeks. The first semester commences in the first week of March and the second semester commences in the third week of July.
As far as possible, on-campus coursework is held within the period 4 pm to 8 pm on weekdays, except for level-four undergraduate units approved for graduate study. Each coursework unit is self-contained, including examination. There are no supplementary examinations for candidates who fail a unit.
Graduate units are postgraduate in nature and are clearly advanced relative to normal undergraduate units and to refresher-type extension courses. Units normally require 39 contact hours (six credit points). A contact hour requires attendance of students and instructor. A 39-contact-hour unit normally contains no more than 26 hours of formal lectures, the remaining time being spent in tutoring, laboratory, etc. A similar ratio applies to smaller units.
Unit offerings may not be repeated every year and, whenever possible, long-term notification will be given of unit offerings. Sufficient units will be offered so that candidates may pursue reasonable specialisation. The yearly course prescription of each candidate must be approved by the head of the department or school in which the candidate is enrolled.
Any candidate who requests an intermission of candidature which during the whole period of candidature leads to the total length of all such intermissions exceeding 12 months will be advised to seek 'withdrawal in good standing'.
Departments or schools offering coursework units at the Clayton campus reserve the right to withdraw an offered unit if an insufficient number of students choose it. If this occurs, there will be, generally, ample alternative units available. The units offered need not be the same each year, although repetitions of the more sought-after units can be expected. It is intended that a candidate can look ahead at least to the following year when selecting units.
Coursework candidates with interdisciplinary interests may include a selection of postgraduate units from other faculties within the university, for example Business and Economics. Credit for such units is normally limited to 25 per cent of the course. Initial inquiries should be directed to the faculty offering the unit(s) concerned, followed by consultation with the engineering department or school in which the student registers as a masters candidate.

Assessment of performance

Each unit in a particular semester is completed and its candidates assessed or examined before the next semester starts. Final examinations can, if required by a department or school, be held after the completion of the semester but before the start of the next semester. In the case of second semester, the final examination must be held within three weeks of completion of the 13-week semester.
Candidature may be terminated if progress is regarded as unsatisfactory. Performances will be reviewed at the end of each academic year and if they do not reach the required standard, students will not be permitted to continue with the course. Students will be given their results by marks and grading of high distinction (HD), distinction (D), credit (c) , pass (P) or fail (N) in each unit.

Academic progress rule

The appropriate section of the various regulations reads as follows: ÒThe faculty board may review the academic progress of a candidate and, after taking into account any recommendation from the head of the department concerned and the supervisor, and after giving the candidate an opportunity to be heard, may terminate the candidature, on the grounds of unsatisfactory performanceÓ.
All engineering higher-degree-by-coursework candidates are required, subsequent to attempting units to the value of 18 credit points, to pass at least two-thirds (67 per cent) of all credit points attempted. Should a candidate not achieve this level of academic performance, his or her academic progress should be reviewed to decide whether or not candidature should be terminated on the grounds of unsatisfactory progress.
Results for higher-degree candidates will be examined at the end of each academic year to identify those candidates who have not passed at least two-thirds of all coursework attempted. This calculation will be made according to the weight of each subject so that allowance is made for coursework units which are allocated a non-standard weighting. Candidates identified according to this procedure will then have their academic progress reviewed.
Any student selected for this review is entitled to an opportunity to be heard, and in the event that the student is excluded, provision exists for an appeal to the Exclusion Appeals Committee of the Academic Board.

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