Program

Science/Education (Secondary) - 4076

Program Summary

Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Contact: School of Education

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Typical Duration: 4 Years

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 6

Max UOC Per Semester: 27

Min UOC For Award: 192

UAC Code: 422110

Domestic Entry Cut-off: 84.00  

International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements

Award(s):

Bachelor of Education (Secondary)

Bachelor of Science

View program information for previous years

Program Description


This program only applies to students commencing 2012 onwards.
Students who commenced their program before 2012 should refer to the 4075 B Science/B Education 2011 Online Handbook


The Dual degree of Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Education (Secondary) is a four-year program (full-time) for intending secondary school teachers. Students combine studies in Science or Mathematics with both theoretical and practical aspects of education. In the final two years of the program, students develop skills in classroom competence and spend 80 days on supervised teaching practice in allocated secondary schools.


Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

Program Objectives
Please refer to the program objectives as listed for the Bachelor of Science program 3970.

The aim of the UNSW BEd (Secondary) is to prepare its graduates for careers as secondary school teachers. It seeks to do this by providing instruction and experience in the areas of educational theory, pedagogy, planning, diversity and management.

Graduate Attributes
Please refer to the Graduate Attributes as listed for the Bachelor of Science program 3970.

The Graduate Attributes for the UNSW BEd (Secondary) are as follows:
  1. Know students and how they learn
  2. Know the content and how to teach it
  3. Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
  4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
  5. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
  6. Engage in professional learning
  7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) in Dual Mode

Program Structure

The basic requirements for the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) in Dual mode (96 UOC) are:
  1. Education Core (60 UOC)
  2. Prescribed Education method electives (24 UOC)
  3. Prescribed Education electives (12 UOC)

Education Core

Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4

Professional Experience

EDST2002, EDST6760 and EDST6761 provide students with a total of 80 days of professional experience in secondary schools and other educational settings.

Prescribed Education Methods

Students complete 24 UOC in one of the following teaching specialisations:
  • Science
  • Mathematics

Prescribed Education Electives

A Prescribed Education Elective is any course chosen by the student from the offerings of the School of Education.

English Proficiency

Proficiency in English is essential in all Education courses.
It is expected that all applicants will have a Higher School Certificate minimum Band 4 in Standard English, English as a Second Language or Advanced English, or an overall IELTS score of 7.5, with a minimum of 8.0 in Speaking and Listening and a minimum of 7.0 in Reading and Writing, or the equivalent.

Award with Distinction

High achieving students who secure a WAM of 75 in each program and who have completed at least 48 UOC in each program at UNSW are eligible for the award of their Pass Degree "with Distinction".

Honours

High achieving Bachelor of Education (Secondary) students who have successfully completed all program requirements may apply for admission to honours in the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) (Honours) program 4509. A minimum WAM of 70 is required for entry into Honours.

Bachelor of Education (Secondary) (Honours) program 4509

Academic Rules

To qualify for the award of the degree at Pass level, a student must:
  1. enrol in the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) in Dual mode and complete 96 UOC;
  2. complete the method requirements for one or two areas of teaching specialisation
  3. complete at least 30 UOC of Level 1 courses before enrolling in Level 2 courses
  4. complete at least 30 UOC of Level 2 courses before enrolling in Level 3 courses


Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Dual Mode

Program Structure

When taken concurrently a Bachelor of Science is comprised of 96 units of credit which includes:-
  1. An approved major from the Bachelor of Science program; and
  2. Science elective courses.
Note: not all of the majors in the Bachelor of Science are available to students in the BSc/BEd program. Only those majors listed in the table below from the Bachelor of Science are available.

Academic Rules

Academic rules relating to the Bachelor of Science in Dual mode are as follows:
  1. Students must complete a minimum of 96 units of credit for the Bachelor of Science;
  2. Students must complete at least one approved Bachelor of Science major, and this must be declared before enrolling in level II courses. Details of approved Bachelor of Science majors and how to declare a major can be found on the 3970 Bachelor of Science program page;
  3. 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 units of credit. Details of what courses constitute ‘Science’ courses can be found in Table 1 on the 3970 Bachelor of Science program page;
  4. Students must complete at least 24 units of credit of ‘science’ level I courses; Most majors in the Bachelor of Science already satisfy this requirement, for example, the Molecular Biology major requires BIOS1101, BABS1201, CHEM1011, CHEM1021 and 6 units of credit of Mathematics. This is a total of 30 units of credit of science level I courses, therefore, no more level I science courses are required. Where a major does not include at least 24 units of credit of science level I courses, students will need to choose additional level I science courses to bring the total to 24 units of credit. For example, Psychology requires PSYC1001 and PSYC1011, therefore, students will need to choose an additional 12 units of credit of science level I courses. These science level I courses also count towards the 96 units of credit requirement at rule number 3.
  5. No student may commence level II courses until 30 units of credit of level I courses have been successfully completed. (This is 30 units of credit of courses taken towards the entire Dual program and not just courses for the Science component);
  6. Students may commence Science level III courses upon successful completion of 72 units of credit (This is 72 units of credit of courses taken towards the entire Dual program and not just courses for the Science component).
Students wishing to complete a double major in the Bachelor of Science when taken concurrently with another degree program at UNSW, should be aware that it will be very difficult to complete two majors within 96 units of credit. Therefore where a Dual degree student would like to undertake a double major, they should be aware that it may involve extra time and cost to complete, and may have visa implications for international students.

Prescribed Science Electives*

  1. Students in the Biology major stream need to complete two courses (12 UOC) in one of Chemistry or Physics
  2. Students in the Chemistry major stream need to complete two courses (12 UOC) in one of Physics, Biology or Earth & Environmental Science
  3. Students in the Physics major stream need to complete two courses (12 UOC) in one of Biology, Chemistry or Earth & Environmental Science
  4. Students in the Earth & Environmental Science major stream need to complete one course (6 UOC) in Biology and two courses (12 UOC) in one of Chemistry or Physics
If the specific major's plan allows additional time for Science electives (within the allocated 96 UOC), it is recommended to diversify the selection of science electives by including courses from teaching disciplines (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, or Earth & Environmental Science) that are not represented in the major's plan.

* Students completing the Mathematics for Education major do not need to take science courses from each of the four teaching disciplines, but still need to complete the requirements for the Maths for Education major, and a minimum of 96 UoC of ‘Science’ courses. See additional notes below for students who wish to become Mathematics teachers.

Note:
Physics requirement
Physics courses which can be used to satisfy the Physics requirement in this program include: PHYS1110, PHYS1111, PHYS1121, PHYS1131, PHYS1221, PHYS123I. Please note that PHYS1121 is a pre-requisite for PHYS1221, and PHYS1131 is a pre-requisite for PHYS1231. Also note that most Physics courses have Mathematics courses as a co-requisite. Please refer to the individual handbook entry for these courses for further information.

Chemistry requirement
Students would normally choose 6-12 Units of Credit (UOC) Chemistry from CHEM1011 and CHEM1021 (or CHEM1031 and CHEM1041) to satisfy the Chemistry requirements in this program, depending on their level of assumed knowledge. Please refer to the individual handbook entries for these courses for more information on assumed knowledge. Students, who have not completed Year 11 Chemistry or equivalent, should consider doing CHEM1001 first followed by CHEM1011 (and then CHEM1021 where a student is electing to complete 12 UOC of Chemistry.

Earth and Environmental Science Requirement
Courses that can be used to satisfy the Earth and Environmental Science requirement include: BIOS1301, GEOS1111, GEOS1211 and GEOS1701.

Major Streams

Note: not all of the majors in the Bachelor of Science are available to students in the BSc/BEd program. Only those majors listed in the table below from the Bachelor of Science are available.

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Earth & Environmental Science

Anatomy

Chemistry

Physical Science

Ecology

Biology

Earth Science

Biotechnology

Geography

Ecology

Marine Science

Genetics

 

Physical Oceanography

Microbiology

 

 

Molecular and Cell Biology

 

 

Pathology

 

 

Pharmacology

 

 

Physiology

 

 

Note: Please refer to the bottom of this page for the specific requirements for streams.

Note: In New South Wales high schools teachers typically teach general science (all four sciences) from years 7-10 and specialise in one of the sciences at Senior level (Year 11-12). All major streams listed above qualify students to teach a least one science at senior level. Some major streams qualify students to specialise in more than one science. If students wish to qualify in an additional specialisation they should complete at least 4 courses in that science. For example, students who complete a major stream in Chemistry can also be qualified in Biology if they complete at least 4 Biology courses. Open electives can be used to achieve this goal.

Mathematics Teachers
Students wishing to become Mathematics teachers will be required to complete:
  • 66 UOC in Mathematics. These Mathematics courses must be chosen so as to fulfill the requirements for a Mathematics for Education major stream in the BSc program (3970), and include the courses MATH3560 'History of mathematics' and MATH3570 'Foundations of calculus.' Refer to Mathematics for Education in Program 3970.
  • The balance of 96UOC in Science courses should be taken from recommended Science electives, including at least 6 UOC of computing courses (e.g., COMP1911, COMP1400, or ENGG1811) and 6 UOC of Physics (e.g. PHYS1111, PHYS1121, or PHYS1131), which can be taken from a variety of Schools, including Mathematics and Statistics

Sample Program

Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Education (Secondary) - Sample Program Biology Major Streams
  Semester 1Semester 2UOC 
Level 1Biology Level 1 (6)

Chemistry Level 1 (6)

Mathematics Level 1 (6)

EDST1101 Educational Psychology 1 (6)
Biology Level 1 (6)

Chemistry Level 1 (6)

Prescribed Science Elective (6)

EDST1104 Social Perspectives in Education (6)
 48
Level 2Biology Level 2 (6)

Biology Level 2 (6)

Prescribed Science Elective (6)

EDST2003 Learning and Teaching Introductory Perspectives (6)
Biology Level 2 (6)

Biology Level 2 (6)

EDST2002 Professional Engagement (6)

Prescribed Education Elective (6)
 48
Level 3EDST4084 Managing the Classroom (6)

EDST6760 Professional Experience 1 (6)

EDST6713 Science Double Method 1 (12)
Biology Level 3 (6)

Biology Level 3 (6)

Prescribed Science Elective (6)

EDST4080 Special Education: Inclusive Strategies (6)
 48
Level 4Biology Level 3 (6)

Biology Level 3 (6)

Prescribed Education Elective (6)

EDST4096 Gifted and Talented
Students
(6)
EDST4081 Professional Issues in
Teaching
(6)

EDST6761 Professional Experience 2 (6)

EDST6743 Science Double Method 2 (12)
 48
Total UOC192


Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Education (Secondary) - Sample Program Mathematics Major Stream
  Semester 1Semester 2UOC 
Level 1MATH1131 Mathematics 1A (6)

Prescribed Science Elective Level 1 (6)

Prescribed Science Elective Level 1 (6)

EDST1101 Educational Psychology 1 (6)
MATH1231 Mathematics 1B (6)

MATH1081 Discrete Mathematics (6)

Prescribed Science Elective Level 1 (6)

EDST1104 Social Perspectives in Education (6)
 48
Level 2Mathematics Core Course Level 2 (6)

Mathematics Core Course Level 2 (6)

Mathematics Core Course Level 2 (6)

EDST2003 Learning and Teaching Introductory Perspectives (6)
Mathematics Core Course Level 2 (6)

Mathematics Core Course Level 2 (6)

EDST2002 Professional Engagement (6)

Prescribed Education Elective (6)
 48
Level 3EDST4084 Managing the Classroom (6)

EDST6760 Professional Experience 1 (6)

EDST6725 Mathematics Method 1 (6)

EDST6726 Extension Mathematics Method 1 (6)
Mathematics Core Course Level 3 (6)

Mathematics Core Course Level 3 (6)

Prescribed Science Elective (6)

EDST4080 Special Education: Inclusive Strategies (6)
 48
Level 4Mathematics Core Course Level 3 (6)

Prescribed Education Elective (6)

Prescribed Science Elective (6)

EDST4096 Gifted and Talented
Students
(6)
EDST4081 Professional Issues in
Teaching
(6)

EDST6761 Professional Experience 2 (6)

EDST6755 Mathematics Method 2 (6)

EDST6756 Extension Mathematics Method 2 (6)
 48
Total UOC192

Sample programs for all majors can be found at the School of Education website.


Fees

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html

Important Information

The Academic Rules for the UNSW BSc BEd (Secondary) and the online enrolment facility provide students with a wide range of course choices. The online enrolment facility checks that students meet the enrolment requirements for individual courses but not that a course complies with Program Rules. Students are responsible for ensuring they are enrolling in accordance with the Academic Rules outlined above. Students should not assume that because they have enrolled in a course online that the course is automatically credited to their degree program.

Further Information

Contact the Arts and Social Sciences Student Centre for advice.
Tel: + 61 2 9385 2289
Email: arts@unsw.edu.au
Location: Room G1 Ground Floor, Morven Brown building (C20)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Frequently asked questions

Glossary of Terms

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Programs Glossary of Terms - Click here

Area(s) of Specialisation