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
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:

The basic requirements for the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) in Dual mode (96 UOC) are:

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:

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 5 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.

Participation and Enrolment Requirements

National Literacy & Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE)

Well trained, skilled and knowledgeable teachers provide the foundation for a high quality education system in which every Australian student receives excellent teaching. The National Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students is designed to assess initial teacher education students’ personal literacy and numeracy skills to ensure teachers are well equipped to meet the demands of teaching and assist higher education providers, teacher employers and the general public to have increased confidence in the skills of graduating teachers.

The test has been introduced to assess those aspects of initial teacher education students’ personal literacy and numeracy skills that can be measured through an online assessment tool. All students enrolled in an initial teacher education course (either undergraduate or postgraduate) will be expected to sit and pass the test prior to graduation. At UNSW, you must complete the LANTITE test prior to starting your first teaching placement in EDST6760 Professional Experience 1.

In 2017 during the transition you have to be registered to take the LANTITE test before going on placement. As of Semester 2 2017 you will have taken and passed the LANTITE test before going out on your placement. The Professional Experience Handbook 2017 states that you are eligible to take EDST6760 if you have had a pass in the National Literacy and Numeracy test. You are supplied with information for the tests though Moodle and the link is provided at https://teacheredtest.acer.edu.au

Working with Children Check

The Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998 introduced mandatory requirements for background checking of people working with children. All Teacher Education Students must complete a Volunteer Working With Children Check having listened to a child protection lecture online and successfully completed a quiz.

Anaphylaxis Training & Certification

NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and the Department of Education and Communities (DEC) require that all initial Teacher Education Students have training in managing anaphylaxis. The Director-General, DEC, has mandated the completion of anaphylaxis e-training for all permanent, temporary and casual employees who work in schools. Subsequently, all Teacher Education Students must complete the anaphylaxis e-training module provided by the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) in conjunction with practice using an adrenaline autoinjector training device prior to commencing any student placement in schools.

The e-training is a free, online module available at http://etraining.allergy.org.au/. On successful completion of the online module, participants will receive a certificate of completion which should be printed immediately. Students will then need to arrange with the Professional Experience Office practice using the adrenaline auto-injector training device and have this component of the training signed off before they commence their placement. Students are then required to upload this signed certificate to the OPS. NESA and the DEC require that students also present a copy of their certificate of completion to principals at the commencement of their professional experience placements. Students should also retain a copy of the certificate for future use within the two years of the certificate’s currency.

The NSW DEC advises that student teachers who do not successfully complete this training, as verified by the university and the principal of their placement school, will not be able to undertake professional experience activities in NSW public schools. The training is required to be successfully undertaken every two years. This is the only training that will be accepted by the DEC to meet the requirement of anaphylaxis training for initial Teacher Education Student

Award with Distinction

You are eligible for the award of your Pass Degree "with Distinction" if you achieve a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of at least 75 in all courses and complete at least 50% of the requirements of your award at UNSW.

After completion of 144 UOC including all of the requirements of the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) dual degree, high achieving students may apply for admission to the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) (Honours) program 4509. A minimum WAM of 70 in the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) component of the dual degree is required for entry into Honours.

Bachelor of Education (Secondary) (Honours) program 4509

To qualify for the award of the degree at Pass level, a student must:

When taken concurrently a Bachelor of Science is comprised of 96 units of credit which includes:-

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 relating to the Bachelor of Science in Dual mode are as follows:

Students who intend to complete a double major or a major combined with a minor in the Bachelor of Science when taken as part of a dual degree should be aware that it may be difficult to complete these combinations within 96 UoC. This may involve extra time and cost to complete, and may have visa implications for international students.

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.

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.

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 2 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 2. However, it is strongly recommended that students use their open science electives to complete a further 2 x level 2 courses in the second science area to provide a better preparation to teach Stage 6 students in this area.

Mathematics Teachers
Students wishing to become Mathematics teachers will be required to complete:

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

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

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.

Contact the UNSW 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