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
Bachelor of Science (Major)
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 units of credit is comprised of an approved Bachelor of Science major, science elective courses, directed Faculty electives, free electives and general education as shown below:
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 of the university.
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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 with another UNSW undergraduate degree, students must complete a minimum of 96 units of credit comprised of an approved Bachelor of Science major and science elective courses as shown below:
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 program are:
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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 108 units of credit.
Majors in the Bachelor of Science range from 54 units of credit to 96 units of credit, and therefore students will need to take 12 to 54 units of credit of additional 'science' courses depending on the major chosen. Some of these additional science courses may need to be at Level I depending on whether a major meets rule 5 below. When a student chooses to complete a double major, provided that the sum of the courses required for the two majors is greater than 108 units of credit, this requirement is met.
'Science' courses are courses offered by the following Schools. The course prefixes that are associated with each School are in bold:
Table 1: Definition of 'Science' courses
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 |
Most majors in the Bachelor of Science already satisfy this requirement, for example, the Molecular and Cell Biology major requires BIOT1011, BABS1201, CHEM1011, CHEM1021, MATH1031 and MATH1041. This is a total of 36 units of credit of 'science' Level I courses, therefore, no more Level I science courses are required. When 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, PSYC1011 and PSYC1111, therefore, students will need to choose an additional 6 units of credit of science Level I courses. These science Level I courses count towards the 108 units of credit requirement at rule number 4.
6. 12 units of credit of general education must be taken and these may be taken at any stage in a student's 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, including any GENS courses. Any exceptions to these rules must be approved by the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) or nominee.
7. A maximum of 72 units of credit of Level I courses can be taken throughout this entire program, which includes any GEN*#### course or mainstream Level I course taken to fulfil the 12 UOC general education requirement (see rule number 6 regarding general education).
8. No student may commence Level II courses until 30 units of credit of Level I courses have been successfully completed.
9. Students may commence Level III courses upon successful completion of 72 units of credit.
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 the relevant rules as listed above for the single degree program for information on approved majors and declaring a major);
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 (see the relevant rules as listed above for the single degree program for information on 'science' courses);
4. Students must complete at least 24 units of credit of science Level I courses (see the relevant rule as listed above for the single degree program for further information);
5. No student may commence Level II courses until 30 units of credit of Level I courses have been successfully completed;
6. Students may commence Level III courses upon successful completion of 72 units of credit;
Students wishing to complete a double major in the Bachelor of Science when taken as part of a dual degree 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.
Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Education dual degree
Students wishing to become a Science teacher cannot take a major in Materials Science, Food Science, Neuroscience, Psychology, or Vision Science as part of the Bachelor of Science as these majors are not suitable for registration as a Teacher with the NSW Institute of Teachers. Students interested in becoming a Mathematics teacher will need to take the major "Mathematics for Education" and not a major in Mathematics or Statistics. Furthermore, there are additional requirements students must complete to satisfy registration as a Teacher with the New South Wales Institute of Teachers, details of which can be found on the 4076 Bachelor of Science/ Bachelor of Education page. For further information regarding these requirements, students should speak to staff in the School of Education as early as possible in their enrolment.
Bachelor of Engineering / Bachelor of Science dual degree
All combinations of Engineering program and Science majors are possible in 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:
- 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.
- 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 where MATH1131 Mathematics 1A, MATH1231 Mathematics 1B, and a relevant second year statistics courses has been completed as part of the Bachelor of Engineering. For further information regarding this, please see the Science Student Centre.
- Students undertaking a major in Physical Science 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 see the School of Physics.
- 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 units of credit to complete the requirements for the Engineering degree and Biotechnology or Neuroscience major. This could involve an extra semester of study, extra cost and would 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.
- Students are not permitted to declare a Bioinformatics major in the Bachelor of Science when taken as part of the Bioinformatics/Science dual degree (program 3755).
Honours
Students who wish to undertake Honours in Food Science will be required to graduate from the Bachelor of Science and apply for admission into program 3065 Food Science (Honours) through the School of Chemical Engineering.
Academic Rules
Fees
Choosing Electives
Double Major
Award with Distinction
Sample Programs
To access the program guide for your major, visit www.science.unsw.edu.au/current-students/undergraduate-program-guides.
Area(s) of Specialisation
- Anatomy
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Bioinformatics
- Biological Science
- Biotechnology
- Chemistry
- 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