Home / Future Undergraduate Students / Study / Courses

A Beginner's Guide to University Study

Studying at university is very different to studying at School. On this page we try to give an overview of some of the following;

What is University Study?

At school, students who complete their studies will receive the same award - the Higher School Certificate (HSC) which can be composed of a huge number of different subjects.

At University each student who completes their studies will receive a degree. There are lots of different degrees and degrees are awarded by Faculties.

To get your degree you'll need to study and pass a certain number of subjects that are acceptable to the Faculty.

Each Faculty has its own Regulations about what subjects are and are not acceptable and these are listed in the Faculty Handbook.

What is the Faculty of Science?

The Faculty of Science consists of a Faculty Office and several Schools and Disciplines in different areas of Science.

The Schools and Disciplines have their own separate offices and staff, and actually teach the units of study (subjects) that you will take as part of your degree.

For example: the School of Physics is part of the Faculty of Science and offers all the Physics units of study to students in the Faculty of Science and also to students from other Faculties.

Back to Top

What are all the different degrees in the Science Faculty?

In the Faculty of Science you may choose one of a number of different degrees.

Some of these degrees can be combined with degrees from other Faculties.

You can choose:

  • A generalist degree where you have the opportunity to study different types of Science and even subjects from outside Science.

    The Bachelor of Science is a generalist degree. Students who choose this degree will graduate with a Bachelor of Science (abbreviated to BSc) and will choose a major which is a specialist area of study that can be added to their degree certificate (testamur).

  • A stream degree is one in which you will specialise in one particular area of Science.

    Stream degrees are more specialist and include the Bachelor of Science (Molecular Biology & Genetics) or the Bachelor of Medical Science amongst others. Students in those degrees graduate with a BSc (Molecular Biology & Genetics) or a BMedSc respectively, which indicates that they have studied specifically in that that area of Science.

What will I study in my degree?

Subjects or units of study last for one semester and are worth a certain number of credit points (cp) towards your overall degree (usually 6cp except some 1st year Maths units which are worth 3cp). Most students will take four units of study or 24cp in each semester over three years.

For example: the subject BIOL 1001 Concepts in Biology is worth 6cp and taught by the School of Biology.

To graduate you will have to complete a certain number of credit points in specific areas and at specific levels. This is all laid out in the science handbook.

Science students spend much of their first year studying some or all of Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology (with variations depending on which degree you are in) plus some elective units. All Science students will have to complete a certain amount of Mathematics.

These first year (or junior) subjects are the building blocks that allow students to specialise and study in more depth in their second (intermediate) and third (senior) years.

In a generalist degree like the Bachelor of Science, students would usually choose their major some time in their second year and start studying all the prerequisites for their third year units of study. A BSc student may choose one or two majors and may study a number of subjects outside the Faculty of Science.

A stream degree like the Bachelor of Psychology or the Bachelor of Medical Science is much more structured with many of the second year units already chosen for you. In these degrees students can usually choose from a range of senior subject areas to specialise further within their chosen field.

Back to Top

How do I choose a degree?

Go to the Courses and Majors page and browse around the degrees that we offer in Science.

UAC students can also use the resources in our HSC Site

You can read about professional recognition of the degree programs, career opportunities and also view more information on what you are likely to study in each year of your degree.

You may also like to visit the website of the Schools and Disciplines to read more about your areas of interest.

For example: students who wish to study Psychology may like to visit the School of Psychology website.

Which degree you decide on can depend on several factors, including:

  • What you enjoy,
  • What you are good at,
  • What ATAR you are likely to get, and
  • Whether you know what area you want to work in when you have graduated.

Where can I see exactly what I’ll be studying?

The Handbook! This will be your best point of reference throughout your degree.

The Handbook has enrolment tables for each degree as well as specific information about what you will need to study and descriptions of all the Units of Study in Science. Use the links in the box on the right hand side of the page to help you navigate around the Handbook.

It's not necessary for students to learn about their degree in too much depth before they come here to study but some prospective students find it helpful in making choices.

Back to Top