Monash University: University Handbooks: Undergraduate Handbook 2002: Units indexed by faculty
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Bachelor of Biomedical Science


General information

Course abbreviation: BBiomedSc + Course code: 2230 + Clayton on-campus study only

Student outcomes

The Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree will be characterised by providing three main outcomes for its graduates. These are:

Students will, by the selection of elective units throughout the course, decide which of these outcomes is to be achieved.

Admission and selection

Quota

In 2002, it is expected that the first-year intake into the course will be 100 students. In addition to these places, the faculty will offer a number of first-year places to suitably qualified local and international students on a full-fee-paying basis.

Selection

To be eligible for selection to the course, an applicant must apply through the VTAC system. Internal applicants who are currently enrolled in a Monash course must complete a Monash Biomedical Science application form.

VCE prerequisites

The prerequisites for entry into the Bachelor of Biomedical Science are:

Selection procedure

Selection will be made on the basis of the ENTER and will involve a two-stage process, with a middle band of approximately 20 per cent. Applicants should consult the latest VTAC guide for further details. Current Monash University students must complete a Monash Biomedical Science internal transfer application form, which is to be returned to the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences by 1 December.

Admission to first year with equivalent qualifications

Students who have not achieved their entrance qualifications in Victoria must hold qualifications which in the faculty's opinion are equivalent to those held by local candidates. The qualifications must include the same prerequisite units as those for local candidates outlined above. Such applicants must demonstrate at least the same level of academic merit as that which is required for local applicants.

Applications from non-school leavers

Applicants presenting with either partially complete or completed tertiary qualifications will be considered for entry to the Bachelor of Biomedical Science course. In considering such applications, the selection committee will take account of an applicant's entire academic record. Applicants for later-year entry must clearly demonstrate to the selection committee that the content of their previous studies is at least equivalent to the Monash Bachelor of Biomedical Science course components for which they are seeking exemption.
Application for entry to the Bachelor of Biomedical Science is through:
Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC)
40 Park Street
South Melbourne, Victoria 3205
Telephone 1300 364 133
or on the internet at http://www.vtac.edu.au
Current Monash University students applying solely for a transfer to the Monash Bachelor of Biomedical Science course must complete the Monash Bachelor of Biomedical Science internal transfer application form. A VTAC application is not necessary.

International students

Places are available in the first year of the Bachelor of Biomedical Science course for international students. These students come from overseas to study in Australia under student visas and return overseas upon completion of their degree.
Selection of international students is determined on the basis of each applicant's academic qualifications.
Prospective applicants should be aware that the fee charged for the course will be set annually, taking into account inflation and other factors.

Course structure

The course is designed as a series of interlinked and consecutive sequences of units aimed to permit students to readily acquire fluency and proficiency in the concepts, language and fundamentals of the biomedical sciences. The development of such a flexible curriculum may be achieved as part of one or more orderly course sequences or knowledge streams. The distinctive feature of this educational approach is that students are allowed some flexibility in their choice of units so that they are able to construct a sequence of studies suitable to their own requirements. In this way, students choose the most appropriate studies for their own particular career aspirations.

Core units and electives

All students in the Bachelor of Biomedical Science course will complete a program which is a combination of core and elective units. In the first and second year of the program, students will study three core and one elective unit each semester. In the third year of the program, students will study two core units and two elective units each semester. Every semester, students will receive more detailed information about all core and elective units from unit convenors and individual unit manuals. These manuals contain detailed information on teaching staff, contact persons, timetables, textbooks, reading guides, supplementary lecture material, details and weighting of assessment methods and procedures including some specific assessment dates. Manuals are available at the commencement of each semester.

General considerations

The undergraduate course is normally taken in three years of full-time study.

Units for the BBiomedSc

First year

Students will be required to study three core units and one elective unit in each semester of first year.

First semester
Second semester
Second year

Students will be required to study three core units and one elective unit in each semester of second year.

First semester
Second semester
Third year

Students will be required to study two core units and two elective units in each semester of third year.

First semester
Second semester
Elective units

The following faculties offer units suitable as electives in various years of the program.

Faculty of Arts
First-year electives

In principle, all first-year Faculty of Arts units are available as electives for the Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree, subject to their availability, timetable considerations and the rules and regulations of the Faculty of Arts. A range of units is available, which will, over two years, provide a minor sequence (24 points) in arts. These include several language units and units from philosophy, geography, sociology, history and politics. Several of these are also available by distance and flexible modes. The Faculty of Arts, together with the Department of Physiology, has developed a pair of first-year elective units, BME1111 (Science, culture, and the concept of race, human origins and development) and BME1122 (Human affairs, health, illness and sexual difference).

Second and third-year electives

The Faculty of Arts has several possible elective units at later year levels, which would include languages, philosophy and geography. A range of units is available, which will, over two years, provide a minor sequence (24 points) in arts.

Faculty of Business and Economics
First-year electives

Students may choose up to two electives from the discipline areas accounting and finance, business law and taxation, economics, econometrics and business statistics, management, and marketing. For full details of units and discipline areas, consult the Faculty of Business and Economics section of this handbook.

Second and third-year electives

Students may choose up to two second-year and four third-year electives from all discipline areas in the Faculty, provided unit pre-requisites are met. A minor sequence may be achieved by completing 24 points in a discipline area. For full details of units and discipline areas, consult the Faculty of Business and Economics section of this handbook.

Faculty of Engineering

The Faculty of Engineering is planning to offer, via the Centre for Biomedical Engineering, a third-year elective 'Sports medicine and rehabilitation', which will also involve the departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Physiology and Surgery.

Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law has agreed to make available a small number of places in certain units to suitably qualified students. Students wishing to be considered for these units need to consult with the associate dean (Teaching) of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

Faculty of Information Technology

The Faculty of Information Technology is reviewing the development of elective units for the second and third year of the degree.

Faculty of Science

Students may choose from several units offered by departments from the Faculty of Science. The Department of Mathematics in first year and the Department of Biological Sciences in second and third year are offering several elective units.

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Students may choose from elective units from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences in all three years of the degree. Units developed by the departments of the faculty for the Bachelor of Science will be available as electives within the Bachelor of Biomedical Science, provided they do not overlap with core units. Units offered in the Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics and in the Bachelor of Behavioural Neuroscience are available as electives to students undertaking the Bachelor of Biomedical Science provided they do not overlap with core units.

First-year electives

The Department of Psychological Medicine has developed a unit, BME1130 (The human being in health and illness). The Department of Physiology, together with the Faculty of Arts, has developed a pair of first-year elective units, BME1111 (Science, culture, and the concept of race, human origins and development) and BME1122 (Human affairs, health, environment and sexual difference). Nutrition and Dietetics offers two first-year elective units, BND1011 (Social nutrition) and BND1022 (Food chemistry).

Third-year electives

The Department of Microbiology and the Department of Pathology and Immunology are offering BME3011 (Infection and immunity).

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