biotechnology/index

aos

18 September 2017 22 December 2024

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Students who commenced study in 2016 should refer to this area of study entry for direction on the requirments; to check which units are currently available for enrolment, refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your area of study.

Monash University

Undergraduate
Major/Extended major

Commencement year

This area of study entry applies to students commencing this course in 2016 and should be read in conjunction with the relevant course entry in the Handbook.

Any units listed for this area of study relate only to the 'Requirements' outlined in the Faculty of Science component of any bachelors double degrees.

Unit codes that are not linked to their entry in the Handbook are not available for study in the current year.

Managing faculty

Faculty of Science

Offered by

School of Science

Coordinator

Dr Lee Sui Mae

Websites

Faculty of Science

School of Science

Location

Malaysia

This is an interdisciplinary laboratory-based program that covers broad areas of biotechnology including applications in medical sciences, agriculture, environment, and industry. The Biotechnology major seeks to produce multi-skilled graduates rather than specialists in one particular aspect of biotechnology. It emphasizes a core understanding of the basic sciences and frames this knowledge around fundamental laboratory skills such as modern instrumentation, experimental design and data analysis, biochemical and microbiological techniques, and recombinant DNA technology.

The Biotechnology major offered at Monash University Malaysia trains students in areas of genetics, genomics, plant biotechnology, environmental biotechnology, as well as ethics and regulation, relevant to the rapidly emerging biotechnology industries worldwide. The teaching and learning approaches used include lectures, tutorials, practical classes and field trips. Students are exposed to a variety of scientific communication skills including scientific reports and oral presentations. The practical classes are particularly effective as they use pilot scale equipment to provide the students with hands-on laboratory skills in biotechnology.

The rapid development of the biotechnology industry worldwide has created exciting and rewarding career opportunities in health care, drug discovery, agriculture, environmental sciences, manufacturing and services, as well as in research and development.

Availability

Biotechnology is listed in the Bachelor of Science at Malaysia as a major or extended major.

Outcomes

In addition to achieving the broad outcomes of their course, students successfully completing this major or extended major will be able to:

  • demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the molecular and chemical processes that underlie the wide variety of functions in all forms of life, including micro-organisms, plants and animals
  • apply critical thinking, quantitative and qualitative techniques to solve biotechnology problems and demonstrate inquiry and critical thinking, and ethical, social and international understanding in the context of biotechnology
  • demonstrate understanding of the fundamental concepts of biotechnology business, intellectual property rights, and the regulatory framework governing the biotechnology industry.

Units

Supporting studies

The chemistry units CHM1051 Chemistry I advanced and CHM1052 Chemistry II advanced are required to support the major and extended major in Biotechnology.

Major requirements (48 points)

12 points at each of level 1 and level 2, and 24 points at level 3.

Students complete:

(a.) The following units (36 points):

(b.) Two units from the following (12 points):

  • BTH3752 Molecular biology and biotechnology
  • BTH3820 Plant biotechnology
  • GEN3040 Genomics and its applications
  • SCI3990 Science in action research project

Extended major requirements (72 points)

12 points at level 1, 24 points at level 2 and 36 points at level 3.

Students complete:

(a.) The requirements for the major in Biotechnology (48 points)

(b.) The following two units (12 points):

(c.) Two additional units (12 points) from the following:

  • BTH3722 Medical microbiology
  • BTH3752 Molecular biology and biotechnology
  • BTH3820 Plant biotechnology
  • GEN3040 Genomics and its applications
  • SCI3990 Science in action research project

Requirements for progressing to honours

24 points of relevant level 3 units, of which normally 18 points are from the level 3 units listed above.

Refer to S3701 Bachelor of Science (Honours) for full details.

Relevant courses

Bachelors

Single degrees

Successful completion of this area of study can be counted towards meeting the requirements for the following single degree:*

  • S2000 Bachelor of Science

Students in other single bachelor's degrees may be eligible to complete the major by using 24 or 48 points of their free electives.

* Students cannot complete a major or extended major in the same area of study.