In choosing first-level units, students should aim to keep options open for the choice of second and third-level units. Students in the designated science degrees and double degrees have a more structured course than students in the BSc. However, all students should peruse the units available in later years and check on the corequisites and prerequisites set out in the unit entries. Most fields of study have certain prerequisites for progression. To qualify for the award of the degree, the student's program must be consistent with the degree regulations as well as the course requirements that are set out below for each degree.
To qualify for a three-year undergraduate science degree, students must complete 144 points. Students are not able to count a unit or part of a unit more than once.
All science undergraduate courses are based on a uniform six-point unit structure at levels 1 to 3. A 'science unit' is defined as either a unit with a SCI prefix or a unit listed under one of the 'Fields of study and sequences' entries. Note that some of the geography and environmental science units and computer science units count as science units for the purposes of meeting the science degree requirements. Note also that some units labelled as SCI in the unit listings can be taken in only some science courses.
A
sequence in a 'field of study' can be of three types:
(a) units in the same discipline, which generally have the same prefix (eg
BIO, MTH, PSY), in a suitable combination at levels 1, 2 and 3 to satisfy a
major or minor sequence requirement; or
(b) specific combinations of units at levels 1, 2 and 3 that comprise a
minor or major sequence in that field of study, as prescribed in the section
'Fields of study and sequences offered'; or
(c) deemed sequences, where units in the minor or major sequences for that
field of study do not begin until levels 2 or 3. Deemed sequences can include
science units at the preceding level(s), which may or may not be prerequisite
units from another field of study.
A major sequence in science comprises a minimum of 48 points of studies in a field of study over three levels, including a total of at least 36 points of studies at levels 2 and 3, with at least 18 points of those studies at level 3. Examples of three such sequences are:
Level 1 |
12 points |
12 points |
12 points |
Level 2 |
12 points |
18 points |
18 points |
Level 3 |
24 points |
18 points |
24 points |
Total |
48 points |
48 points |
54 points |
Studies towards a major sequence can be in a single field of study, or in
related fields of study (eg first-level biology followed by second and
third-level studies in physiology). See 'Sequences in a field of study' above
for further details. Some major sequences are interdisciplinary (eg atmospheric
science, biotechnology, materials science).
A minor sequence in science comprises 24 points of studies in a field of study with no more than 12 points of those studies at level 1. An example of a minor sequence in a field of study is 12 points of studies at level 1 and 12 points at level 2. See 'Sequences in a field of study' above for further details of 'deemed sequences'.
To complete a double major sequence in the same field of study, students need to complete at least 72 points of studies in the same or a deemed field of study, including a total of at least 60 points of studies at levels 2 and 3, with at least 36 points of those studies at level 3. Examples of double major sequences are:
Level 1 |
12 points |
12 points |
12 points |
Level 2 |
12 points |
18 points |
24 points |
Level 3 |
48 points |
42 points |
36 points |
Total |
72 points |
72 points |
72 points |
To complete a major and a minor sequence in the same field of study, students will need to complete at least 60 points of studies in the same or a deemed field of study, including a total of at least 48 points of studies at levels 2 and 3, with at least 18 points of those studies at level 3. Examples of a major and minor sequence in the same field of study are:
Level 1 |
12 points |
12 points |
12 points |
Level 2 |
12 points |
18 points |
24 points |
Level 3 |
36 points |
30 points |
24 points |
Total |
60 points |
60 points |
60 points |
Note that a unit at level 2 or 3 cannot be used to contribute towards both a
minor and a major sequence except as part of a 60-point major and minor
sequence in the same field of study.
Faculty approval is required for any proposed alteration to the course of study during the semester. Students should obtain the enrolment amendment form for courses/units from the faculty office.
Except for those enrolled in the Bachelor of Science (Science Scholar Program), students may not enrol in more than 30 points per semester. At first-year level, students may not enrol in more than 24 points per semester.
To
satisfy a second-semester prerequisite, students must obtain a grade of NP or
better in the first-semester unit.
To satisfy a first-level prerequisite, students must obtain a grade of NP or
better in one of the pair of sequential prerequisite units, provided that a
grade of at least P is obtained in the other unit. Students cannot proceed to a
higher-level unit in a discipline if they obtained NPs for two prerequisite
units.
Prerequisites, corequisites and prohibited combinations (ie where only one unit
from a group of units can be counted towards the degree) are set out under the
unit entries.
Students may wish to enrol in a unit they have previously failed twice. Students who fail a unit twice and elect to attempt it for the third time may do so only with the permission of the head of school. Students who make a third or subsequent attempt in a unit must pay 75 per cent of the full single-unit fee charged for that unit. Students who elect to take this option will need to enrol in the unit on a single-unit non-award basis. Upon successful completion of the unit, the points will be credited back to their degree course.
To complete units which have a laboratory component, students shall, to the satisfaction of the head of school, participate and satisfactorily complete such compulsory exercises and laboratory work as shall be prescribed in unit information sheets. If students have not completed the prescribed requirements for any unit, they may be deemed ineligible to pass the unit, or be otherwise penalised, as shall be specified, for unsatisfactory performance.
Students
who obtain a result of 45 to 49 per cent for a unit may be awarded a grade of
NP (near pass). This means that the student will be deemed to have passed this
unit.
Students whose first enrolment in a Monash undergraduate science degree is
prior to 1999 may be awarded a grade of NP for a maximum of 24 points
throughout the course of their degree, with no more than 12 points to be
counted at level three. Students whose first enrolment in any undergraduate
degree was in 1999 or later may be awarded a maximum of two NP grades in their
first year of tertiary studies (12 points). Students should note that the grade
of NP is now awarded only as a transition measure for students in their first
year of tertiary study. The NP grade will not apply to level-one units taken in
a second or subsequent year of tertiary study.
Students who commenced studies in degree programs managed by the Faculty of Science, including the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science, are subject to the following exclusion rules:
Students who commenced study in a degree program managed by the Faculty of Science prior to 2000 should refer to the Science Policy Bank at http://www.sci.monash.edu.au/facpol/index.htm for exclusion policy information.
For further information about the Faculty of Science academic policies, refer to the Policy Bank at http://www.sci.monash.edu.au/facpol/index.htm
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