In 1998, the following Bachelor of Engineering degree programs are offered:
With the exception of the three Bachelor of Technology degrees and the Bachelor of Engineering Studies, all the undergraduate degree programs listed above are of four years duration, if taken full-time, or of eight years duration, if taken part-time. The three Bachelor of Technology degrees and the Bachelor of Engineering Studies are of three years duration, if taken full-time, and of six years duration, if taken part-time.
With the exception of the three Bachelor of Technology degrees and the Bachelor of Engineering Studies, each of the undergraduate degree programs listed above may be awarded either as a pass degree or as a degree with honours. A candidate is awarded a degree with honours for meritorious performance in the course as a whole. No additional time is required. All subjects which have a numerical mark are considered in the determination of an honours result, but greater weight is given to the subjects in the later years of the course than to those in the earlier years.
At all levels and in all courses many subjects have prerequisites - subjects which must have been passed before the subject in question is attempted. Students should ensure that all prerequisites have been met before enrolling in a subject. If a student fails a subject which is a prerequisite for another subject for which the student is enrolled, it is the student's responsibility to withdraw from the subject which has the failed subject as a prerequisite.
An outline of the course structure and content, and the core and elective subjects required at each level, for all the programs listed above, are set out in full in the subject lists included after this section of the handbook. The requirements for degree completion are also set out in the subject lists. Also included are subject lists for the various consecutive and double degree programs available at the Clayton and Gippsland campuses. Students should become familiar with the subject lists relevant to their candidatures. While the lists are accurate at the time the handbook goes to press, subsequent variations may mean that they are not completely accurate at the time of publication of the handbook. However, students may obtain up-to-date lists from the faculty administration offices.
Subject to university approval, the faculty intends, with effect from the beginning of 1999, to replace the nine Bachelor of Engineering degree programs offered variously at Caulfield, Clayton and Gippsland with a single Bachelor of Engineering degree to be offered in a variety of streams across the three campuses. The introduction of the new BE degree will coincide with a move to common prerequisites at all three campuses, and is an outcome of the faculty's strategic planning for its development over the next five years.
The new degree program is being introduced in two stages. The first level of the new degree, common to all streams of engineering and all campuses, commences in 1998 in the context of the existing Bachelor of Engineering degrees on each campus. Subject to approval, the new degree itself will be introduced at first and second level concurrently in 1999. All students admitted to candidature for a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1998 will have already completed, or commenced, the first year of the new degree program, and will be transferred automatically to the new Bachelor of Engineering program at the end of that year.
Irrespective of the campus at which applicants are admitted to the engineering course in 1998 and thereafter, at the end of the first common year of study, students in the new program will be able, subject to academic merit and any quotas which may operate, to move into a preferred engineering stream on any of the three campuses.
Most students who commenced study in 1997 or earlier will complete their course in the existing Bachelor of Engineering degree program. For those students who, because of part-time study, leave of absence, failure etc., find themselves part-way between the old and the new courses, appropriate transition arrangements are being developed. Where necessary, each student's course will be reviewed individually and agreement will be reached with the student about subjects still to be completed so as to ensure appropriate coverage of content without disadvantage to the student.
Detailed information about the streams of engineering to be offered at each campus in the new degree program will be available from faculty administration offices at the end of 1997.
Full details of the structure and content of the common first level for the Bachelor of Engineering degree programs are set out in the subject lists at the end of this section of the handbook. The first level lays a foundation in the basic sciences of mathematics, physics and chemistry upon which later year studies build, and introduces students to the key areas of engineering. It also includes material on the role of the engineer in society, an emphasis on engineering for sustainable development, and a focus on developing students' communication skills. Computing is also introduced at this level because of its importance throughout the remainder of the course.
Nine of the twelve first-level subjects required are core, that is compulsory. A student's choice of the remaining three subjects must take into account two factors: the amount of mathematics, chemistry and physics completed prior to admission to the course, and the stream or streams of engineering in which the student hopes to proceed at the end of the first year. (The large majority of students entering the faculty have completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), and references in the following paragraphs are to the prerequisite VCE subjects. Some local and international students enter the faculty with other, equally acceptable, qualifications, and advice about subject choice for students with qualifications other than the VCE may be obtained from staff of the faculty administration offices.)
If a student has completed Mathematical Methods and only one of Chemistry and Physics at VCE Units 3/4, the student will be required to complete ENG1901 (Engineering mathematics A) and one of ENG1701 (Chemistry A) or ENG1801 (Physics A) (depending on which subject was not taken at VCE). The student will not have space for an elective, and will be obliged to choose between ENG1702 (Chemistry B) and ENG1802 (Physics B).
How this choice is made will depend very much on what stream of engineering the student hopes to take on completion of the first year. Most engineering streams will accept the student, subject to academic performance and any quotas which may exist, on the basis of either Chemistry B or Physics B. However, if the student is considering taking chemical engineering, the student is strongly advised to take ENG1702 (Chemistry B). Conversely, if a student is considering taking electrical and computer systems engineering, the student is strongly advised to take ENG1802 (Physics B), as the two departments believe that the respective `B' subjects provide an appropriate preparation for their courses. Note that either of these electives is regarded as appropriate preparation for all but one of the engineering streams.
If a student has successfully completed, at VCE Units 3/4, either Mathematical Methods, Specialist Mathematics and one of Chemistry and Physics, or Mathematical Methods and both Chemistry and Physics, the student will have space for one elective. This will enable the student, if the student wishes, to take both ENG1702 (Chemistry B) and ENG1802 (Physics B), thereby leaving options open for all engineering streams. Alternatively, it will be open to the student to exercise the choice outlined in the previous paragraph.
If a student has successfully completed, at VCE Units 3/4, all of Mathematical Methods, Specialist Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics, the student will have space for two electives. The student will then be able, if the student wishes, to take both ENG1702 (Chemistry B) and ENG1802 (Physics B), thereby leaving options open for all engineering streams, or the student may exercise a choice as described above. Students with available elective spaces are also able to take other approved electives worth not less than four credit points, which may include later year subjects for which prerequisites have been satisified.
The following sections describe the existing degree programs offered at each campus with respect in particular to the streams of engineering available and the content of the levels which follow the common first year.