Science - 3970
Program Summary
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Contact: http://www.science.unsw.edu.au
Campus: Sydney
Career: Undergraduate
Typical UOC Per Semester: 24
Min UOC Per Semester: 3
Max UOC Per Semester: 27
Min UOC For Award: 144
UAC Code: 429000
Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements
International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements
Award(s):
Bachelor of Science
View program information for previous years
Program Description
Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes
- Develop and sustain an interest in and knowledge of Science.
- Develop a working knowledge of scientific methods of investigation.
- Encourage curiosity and creative imagination and an appreciation of the role of speculation in the selection and solution of problems, the construction of hypotheses, and the design of experiments.
- Develop an appreciation of scientific criteria and a concern for objectivity and precision.
- Develop confidence and skill in formulating problems and in treating both qualitative and quantitative data.
- Develop the ability and disposition to think logically, to communicate clearly by written and oral means, and to read critically and with understanding.
- Develop the habit of seeking and recognising relationships between phenomena, principles, theories, conceptual frameworks and problems.
- Promote understanding of the significance of science, technology, economics and social factors in modern society, and of the contributions they can make in improving material conditions.
- Provide opportunities for the development of students' motivations and social maturity, and an awareness of their capabilities in relation to a choice of career which will be fruitful to themselves and to society.
- Provide opportunity to study science in combination with other disciplines.
Program Structure
When completing the Bachelor of Science as a single degree, students must complete a minimum of 144 units of credit (UoC). This 144 UoC is comprised of the following:
TOTAL OF 144 UOC
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108 UOC
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* An approved Bachelor of Science major; and
* Science elective courses ('Science' courses are defined in Table 1 below.)
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24 UOC
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* Free electives: these courses can be taken from any Faculty at UNSW.
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12 UOC
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* General Education courses: these courses cannot be Science courses.
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When completing the Bachelor of Science as part of a dual degree, students must complete a minimum of 96 UoC comprised of the following:
TOTAL OF 96 UOC
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96 UOC
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* An approved Bachelor of Science major; and
* Science elective courses ('Science' courses are defined in Table 1 below.)
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Single Degree Program Rules
1. Students enrolled in the single degree must complete a minimum of 144 units of credit;
2. Students must complete at least one approved Bachelor of Science major, and this must be declared before enrolling in Level II courses.
Students do not need to declare a major in their first year as they are encouraged to try a variety of Level 1 Science courses to enable them to select an appropriate major before commencing Level II courses. Information on how to declare a major can be found on the Science Student Centre website.
3. Approved majors in the Bachelor of Science are:
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4. Students may choose to complete an optional minor in one of the following areas, using their Science and/or free electives:
Students cannot complete a minor with the same name as their nominated major, and Level II and III courses cannot be double-counted between majors and minors. More than one minor may be completed subject to the limit on double-counting. Students must declare their minor(s) before their final semester.
5. In addition to the courses required for a student's chosen major, students must take 'Science' courses so that the major plus 'Science' courses total 108 UoC. ‘Science’ courses are listed in Table 1 below.
6. Students must complete at least 24 UoC of Level I ‘Science’ courses. ‘Science’ courses are listed in Table 1 below.
7. Students must complete 12 UoC of General Education at any stage in their program.
Students must follow the UNSW rules for General Education. Any course defined as a 'Science' course in Table 1 cannot be taken as General Education. Additionally, GENS courses cannot count as General Education for Science students. Any exceptions to these rules must be approved by the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) or nominee.
8. A maximum of 72 units of credit of Level I courses can be taken, including any GEN#### course or mainstream Level I course taken to fulfil the 12 UoC General Education requirement.
9. Students may not enrol into Level II courses until at least 30 UoC of Level I courses have been successfully completed.
10. Students may not enrol into Level III courses until at least 72 UoC of courses have been successfully completed.
Dual Degree Program Rules
1. Students must complete a minimum of 96 units of credit.
2. Students must complete at least one approved Bachelor of Science major, and this must be declared before enrolling in Level II courses (see above for a list of approved majors). Information about how to declare a major can be found on the Science Student Centre website.
https://www.science.unsw.edu.au/current-students/forms
Students in the Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) are not permitted to declare a Bioinformatics major in the Bachelor of Science when taking the Bioinformatics Engineering stream for their Engineering component.
3. Students may choose to complete an optional minor using their Science electives (see above for list of approved minors).
Students cannot complete a minor with the same name as their nominated major, and Level II and III courses cannot be double-counted between majors and minors. More than one minor may be completed subject to the limit on double-counting. Students must declare their minor(s) before their final semester.
4. In addition to the courses required for a student's chosen major, students must take 'Science' courses so that the major plus 'Science' courses total 96 UoC. ‘Science’ courses are listed in Table 1 below.
Students in the Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) dual degree may not count ‘COMP’ courses towards their Science requirements unless they are specified as core courses in their major (i.e. for these students ‘COMP’ courses will not count as ‘Science’ courses).
5. Students must complete at least 24 UoC of Level I ‘Science’ courses. ‘Science’ courses are listed in Table 1 below.
6. Students may not enrol into Level II courses until at least 30 UoC of Level I courses have been successfully completed.
7. Students may not enrol into Level III courses until at least 72 UoC of courses have been successfully completed
Double Majors in Dual Degrees
Students who intend to complete a double major in the Bachelor of Science when taken as part of a dual degree should be aware that it may be difficult to complete two majors within 96 UoC. Therefore, students who intent to complete a double major should be aware that it may involve extra time and cost to complete, and this may have visa implications for international students.
Table 1: Definition of 'Science' courses
'Science' courses are courses offered by the following Schools. The course prefixes that are associated with each School are in bold:
Aviation | AVIA |
Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences | BIOS, BEES, CLIM, GEOS, IEST, MSCI, ENVS |
Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences | BABS, BIOC, BIOT, MICR |
Chemistry | CHEM |
Computer Science | COMP |
Food Science | FOOD |
Materials Science and Engineering | MATS |
Mathematics and Statistics | MATH |
Medical Sciences | ANAT, NEUR, PATH, PHAR, PHSL, SOMS |
Psychology | PSYC |
Physics | PHYS |
Optometry and Vision Science | OPTM, VISN |
Science Faculty | SCIF |
Students wishing to become a Science teacher should be aware that not all of the above-listed Science majors are available in the Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Education dual degree. Students in this program should refer to the 4076 Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Education program page for the complete list of rules and requirements for that degree.
Bachelor of Engineering / Bachelor of Science dual degree
All combinations of Engineering program and Science majors are possible within five years of full-time study. However, in order to complete these combinations, special exceptions are made when undertaking particular Science majors, as indicated below:
Mathematics
Students majoring in Mathematics in the Bachelor of Science will need to replace the second year Mathematics courses in their Engineering program with second year Mathematics courses required for the Mathematics major. For further information regarding this, students should see staff in the School of Mathematics and Statistics or the Science Student Centre, or view this document: Mathematics in BE BSc Programs.
Biology, Ecology, Geography, Earth Science, and Marine Science
Students undertaking a major in Biology, Ecology, Geography, Earth Science, or Marine Science as part of the Bachelor of Science, will be exempted from completing MATH1041 Statistics for Life and Social Sciences and BEES2041 Data Analysis for Life and Earth Sciences when MATH1131 Mathematics 1A, MATH1231 Mathematics 1B, and a relevant second year statistics course has been completed as part of the Bachelor of Engineering. For further information regarding this, please contact the Science Student Centre.
Physics
Students undertaking a major in Physics as part of the Bachelor of Science, may need to replace the second year Mathematics courses in the Bachelor of Engineering with second year Mathematics courses required for the Physical Science major. For further information regarding this, students should contact the School of Physics.
Biotechnology and Neuroscience
Students completing a major in Biotechnology or Neuroscience may need to use their first year Engineering elective to take a course for this major, otherwise, it will require 246 UoC to complete the requirements for the Engineering degree and Science major. This could involve an extra semester of study, extra cost and may have visa implications for international students. Students wishing to major in Biotechnology or Neuroscience should seek advice from the Science Student Centre as soon as they start planning their enrolment.
Bioinformatics
Students are not permitted to declare a Bioinformatics major in the Bachelor of Science if they are completing the Bioinformatics stream as part of the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours).
Honours
Students who wish to undertake Honours in Food Science are required to apply for admission into program 3065 Food Science (Honours) through the School of Chemical Engineering.
Students who wish to undertake Honours in Bioinformatics may either apply for the Bioinformatics stream in program 4500, or the Computational Biology stream in program 4515 Computer Science (Honours).
Academic Rules
Fees
Double Major
Award with Distinction
Talented Students' Program and Accelerated Progression
Invitation to participate in the TSP is made by the Dean of Science on the basis of superior secondary education performance (ATAR or equivalent), all incoming students are assessed for eligibility including non-high school leavers. High performing current UNSW Science students, in the BSc or BSc (Advanced), will be invited to join at the end of their first year. Contact the Science Student Centre website for more details.
Sample Programs
To access the program guide for your major, visit Undergraduate Program Guides.
Faculty of Science Rules
Area(s) of Specialisation
Area(s) of Specialisation
- Anatomy
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Bioinformatics
- Biological Science
- Biotechnology
- Chemistry
- Climate Science
- Food Science and Technology
- Genetics
- Geography
- Geology
- Marine Science
- Materials Science
- Mathematics
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Neuroscience
- Oceanography
- Pathology
- Pharmacology
- Physics
- Physiology
- Psychology
- Statistics
- Vision Science