The University of New South Wales

go to UNSW home page

Handbook Home


PRINT THIS PAGE
Glossary: F - R
Scientia
 
 
This glossary provides a general definition of terms commonly used at UNSW and is intended as a guide only.

Faculties are the large academic organisational units of the University, generally comprised of several Schools or Departments. UNSW has nine Faculties; Arts and Social Sciences, Australian School of Business, Built Environment, College of Fine Arts (COFA), Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, and University College (ADFA).

UNSW offers several ‘fast-track’ or ‘Masters track’ programs. These give students the opportunity on completion of an undergraduate program (and subject to progression requirements), to progress directly to a particular Masters program with exemptions/credit transfer for some courses completed as part of their undergraduate study, e.g. the Bachelor of Engineering/Master of Commerce.

A core course, usually taken in Stage 1 that must be satisfactorily completed in order to complete the requirements of the program. It lays the foundations for higher level courses.
See Core Course.

See Elective.

A Gateway Course is the entry-level course for a major or program. It is a foundation course that introduces students to the scholarly conventions, concepts and skills/techniques of the discipline community/field of study that are necessary to complete the major or program.

UNSW requires undergraduate students in single degree programs to complete some courses outside their study area from any Faculty other than the one in which their program is based. This contributes to the breadth of learning requirement in programs. The Handbook indicates which courses are available as General Education.

Students receive a final assessment grade for each course in their program. Examples include; High Distinction (HD), Pass (PS), Fail (FL) and result not finalised (WD).

A student who has completed all the requirements for his/her program, but has not yet had the degree formally conferred.

A student who has completed all the requirements for his/her program, and has had the degree formally conferred.

Study that complements a program's disciplinary core and provides both breadth and maturity outcomes.
See Blue Zone, Breadth.

The Faculty in which a student’s program is based. The Home Faculty is the Program Authority.
See Program Authority.

The highest level of learning in an undergraduate program within the Australian tertiary education system. In some programs it is an optional fourth year of intensive study after three years of basic undergraduate study and often has a research training focus. In some programs Honours is awarded on the basis of a student’s entire program of study rather than on the results of a separate Honours year. Honours is awarded at: Class 1, Division 2 Class 1, Division 2 Class 2, and Class 3.

The University where students are enrolled - UNSW.

See Cross-Faculty.

A student who is a citizen of a country other than Australia or New Zealand, and not an Australian permanent resident.

Undergraduate courses are usually classified by Level e.g. Level 1 courses are usually undertaken in the first stage of a program, Level 2 in the second stage etc. In many cases the first digit of the four-digit numeric suffix of the course code indicates the level of the course e.g. ECON1101 is a Level 1 course whereas MARK3054 is a Level 3 course, usually undertaken in stage 3.

See Domestic Student.

See Campus.

A specified sequence of study in an area of academic or vocational specialisation within a program. Majors require students to take an approved set of courses and units of credit. Courses may include core and elective courses. In some programs students have a choice of Major and may be able study two majors, or a Major and a Minor. In other programs, such as the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) the major is implicit – all students major in Law.
The term major is also used more informally to describe an area of study in which a student may specialise. In general usage a Minor is a type of Major. (In practice the requirements for a Minor are typically a sub-set of the requirements for a Major in the same academic area.)
See Program, Minor, Specialisation, Plan, Stream.

Each course undertaken by a student at UNSW is assessed using a variety of methods, usually culminating in the award of a single final mark, or score, out of 100. The mark determines the associated final grade.
See Grade.

A postgraduate program that provides an advanced level of knowledge or mastery over an area of study or professional practice. Masters programs can be by coursework or involve a research component

A sequence of depth study in a second area of specialisation, available in some programs, comprising fewer units of credit than a major. For example, a student enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce might complete a major in Accounting and a minor in Finance.
See Major, Stream.

Enrolment in a course, or sequence of courses, which do not lead to or count toward a formal award program.

A particular course that will be available for enrolment in a particular teaching period.

See International Student.

See Doctorate / Doctoral Program.

Plan, or Stream, is a sequence of study. This is the umbrella term for majors, minors and postgraduate program specialisations. At UNSW, streams are identified by a a six-digit code that consists of a four-character subject area, a single alphabetical character strand code, and a single character stream type code. For example, SENGA1 refers to the full-time Software Engineering stream, whereas SENGA13648 refers to the Software Engineering stream offered under program 3648.
See Stream, Major, Minor

Programs of study available to students who have either already completed a university degree or hold approved equivalent qualifications and/or experience. They offer the opportunity for students to further their skills and qualifications in a particular area of specialisation. Completion of a postgraduate program may lead to an award of a Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Masters (by Coursework or Research), Doctorate (PhD) or post-doctoral qualification.

Completion of a postgraduate coursework program requires students to undertake a sequence of courses, rather than research (although a research component may also be involved).

Completion of a postgraduate research program requires students to undertake supervised individual research rather than postgraduate coursework, although in some circumstances a coursework component may be involved.

A student who is close to fulfilling the minimum units of credit required to complete their program and whose eligibility to graduate is under review by their Program Authority. A student’s eligibility to graduate is dependent on the outcome of final results and other necessary program requirements.

Requirements which must be completed before enrolling in the course, e.g. completing a Level I MATH course before progressing to Level II MATH courses.

Designated study requirement.

See Core Course.

See Elective.

Refers to the student’s previous enrolment stage within a Program.
See Program, Stage.

Prizes are presented to students for meritorious academic achievement. Prizes are in the form of medals, books, book vouchers, cash amounts and certificates and are awarded annually on the recommendation of the Head of School. Official University prizes appear on a student’s academic and supplementary transcripts.

A structured program of study leading to the award of a degree, diploma or certificate. UNSW offers award programs in 3 academic careers (Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Research). Each program is identified by a 4 digit numeric code (eg 3432 - Bachelor of Psychology). Programs are structured as sequenced combinations of core and elective courses. Many programs also require students to major in one or more areas of specialisation. Some programs are structured as combined degree programs.
See Combined Degree Program, Course, Major.

The program authority is responsible for the planning, resourcing and delivery of a program, including teaching resources and arrangements, and administrative arrangements including publication of program information, marketing and recruitment, teaching delivery, including technology enabled learning and teaching, assessment and quality. The program authority is responsible for all matters that affect students in an award program – including admission, enrolment, progression, and graduation.
For combined degree programs one of the contributing Faculties is identififed as the Program Authority (when the program is proposed). For these programs the Program Authority has responsibility for matters such as enrolment and leave from the program, although both Faculties are separately responsible for certifying that students have satisfied requirments for their particular degree. In the absence of a Program Authority, or Head of School, authority is referred to the Dean of the Faculty in which the program is based. In practice the Program Authority may delegate some responsibilities to Schools in the Faculty.
See Program, Course Authority.

Specifies the academic rules and requirements for a particular version of a program. Students are required to complete the requirements that applied at the time the student was admitted, unless a specific transition program is approved

The person nominated by the Course Authority to be available to answer any questions during an examination. The Referee is normally the Course Convenor.

Postgraduate programs of study which involve a student independently researching a specific topic under the guidance of a supervisor and producing a thesis or report. Some research programs do involve a coursework component

See Elective.

URL for this page:

© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.