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