Faculty of Science and Engineering,Flinders University

Bachelor of Science (BSc)

COMMENCING STUDENTS - 2010

Induction Program

BSc Information Session (3 alternatives)Wednesday, 27 January 2010, 9.30am, SILC BuildingFriday, 29 January 2010, 9.30am, SILC Building

(video-recorded and will be available on the internet – enquire at the Faculty Office)

Thursday, 18 February 2010, 9.30am, SILC Building

‘Current Students’ Websitehttp://www.flinders.edu.au/current-students/current-students_home.cfm

Use this web page to surf the University’s website for information relevant to students

Individual Counselling AppointmentYour instructions were to telephone 8201-2632 in the period 20 –

21 January for an appointment in the period 27 – 29 January

If you have yet to do so, then make an appointment asap

For February enrolment, the appointment period is yet to be advised

Individual 15-minute counselling session

EnrolmentYou enrol in your topics and register in your classes on-line

Science Orientation ProgramMonday, 22 February 2010 8:30am – 4:00pm

Lunch will be provided

Academic Structure of Flinders University

The University is divided into four academic groupings called FACULTIES:– Education, Humanities, Law and Theology– Health Sciences– Science and Engineering– Social Sciences

Faculties are further divided into SCHOOLS

Academic Structure of Science and Engineering

• School of Biological Sciences

• School of Chemistry, Physics & Earth Sciences

• School of Computer Science, Engineering & Mathematics

Some Terminology

COURSE– what you apply through SATAC to get into

TOPIC– Flinders-speak for “subject”– academic material is taught and assessed in chunks

called Topics

How many topics?

• Topics have a unit weighting based on their workload

• Normal annual load is 36 units for a full-time student– total typical time commitment 36 hours per week

(contact and non-contact time)

How many topics?

• You are classed as a full-time student in any given semester if you take 13.5 or more units in that semester

• A part-time student may take as little as one topic in one semester to be classed as an active student for that academic year

• All first-year topics are one semester in length and weighted at 4.5 units

Structure of the BSc

• The BSc has a flexible, modular structure allowing the student to build a study package to suit their interests and aspirations

Structure of the BSc

There is the stand-alone BSc and also double and combined degrees:Education: BEd / BSc – Junior Primary/Primary, Middle

School or Secondary

Engineering: BEng / BSc – Biomedical, Computer Systems, Electronics, Robotics or Software

Laws and Legal Practice: LLB/LP / BScLaws: LLB / BSc

Course Changes in 2011• In 2011 the University is intending to restructure

all courses to ensure they are based on a consistent structure of four topics per semester for a full-time student

• At the same time, the University is reviewing the curriculum in all courses to better prepare graduates for professional employment in a rapidly changing world

What does this mean for you?

• Your course rule currently shows topics at second year level and above that will change in 2011

• As a 2010 commencing student you will enrol into the existing course structure

• Arrangements will be in place to ensure a smooth transition into the restructured courses for 2011

• Further information will be available in mid-2010

Structure of the BSc

There is a range of

• Majors

• Extended Majors

• Minors

Structure of the BSc

The Honours Program

A student who has completed all the requirements of the Bachelor of

Science may be accepted for admission to a one-year full-time

equivalent honours program in the discipline area of their major or

extended major, provided a sufficiently high standard has been

achieved in fulfilling the requirements of the bachelors degree

The Stand-alone BSc

What follows is a schematic representation of the degree structure

Majors(36 units at upper level)

Biological Sciences not available in the stand-alone BSc

ChemistryComputer ScienceEarth Sciences not available in the stand-alone BSc

Ecology, Behaviour and EvolutionEngineering ScienceEnvironmental Hydrology and Water ResourcesInformation SystemsMathematicsMicrobiologyMolecular BiologyOcean and Climate SciencesPhysics

Extended Majors(48 units at upper level)

Bioinformatics

Biological Chemistry

Biological Sciences

Chemistry

Computer Science

Information Systems

Mathematics

Physics

Minors(12 units at upper level)

Biological SciencesBotanyChemistryComputer ScienceEarth Sciences not available in the stand-alone BSc

Engineering ScienceEnvironmental Hydrology and Water ResourcesInformaticsInformation SystemsMathematicsMicrobiologyPhysicsZoology

The double degrees BEd / BSc

• Entry to this suite of double degrees is via separate SATAC codes

• There are three BEd degrees:• Junior Primary / Primary• Middle School• Secondary

The double degrees BEd / BSc

The BSc component is ~2 years equivalent full-time study (75/69/75 units):

Option A –First-year Science topics (27 units = 6 topics)

Major (36 units at upper year level)

Minor (12 units at upper year level)

The double degrees BEd / BSc

Option B –First-year Science topics (27 units = 6 topics)

(Diminished) Major (30 units at upper year level)

Minor (12 units at upper year level)

Option C –First-year Science topics (27 units = 6 topics)

Teaching Major 1 (24 units at upper year level)

Teaching Major 2 (24 units at upper year level)

The double degrees BEd / BSc

Eligibilty for Honours:• In order to be eligible for consideration for BSc(Hons)

students must take Option A• In order to be eligible for consideration for the

accelerated BEd(Hons) students must take Option B with the eleventh 6-unit Education topic being a compulsory pre-honours topic

• Students not wishing to be considered for Honours in either award may choose any option

The double degrees BEd / BSc

These studies are usually spread out over the 4-year combined program (see schematic)

Year

FirstFirst Year Science Year

Topics EducationTopics

SecondScience Major Science Major Yearor Minor topics or Minor topics Education

Topics

Science Major Science Majoror Minor topics or Minor topics

Science Major Option A or or Minor topics Option B

First

Sem 1

Sem 2

Fourth

Third

Second

Sem 1

Sem 2

Sem 1

Sem 2

Majors(36 units at upper level)

Biological SciencesChemistryComputer ScienceEarth SciencesEcology, Behaviour and EvolutionEngineering Science not available in the BEd/BSc

Environmental Hydrology and Water ResourcesInformation SystemsMathematicsMicrobiologyMolecular BiologyOcean and Climate SciencesPhysics

Minors(12 units at upper level)

Biological SciencesBotanyChemistryComputer ScienceEarth SciencesEngineering Science not available in the BEd/BSc

Environmental Hydrology and Water ResourcesInformatics not available in the BEd/BSc

Information SystemsMathematicsMicrobiologyPhysicsZoology

Teaching Majors(24 units at upper level)

Biological Sciences

Chemistry

Computer Science

Earth Sciences

Mathematics

Physics

Teaching Areas

You will need to be mindful of the Teaching Areas requirements of the Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS)

You are required to have two distinct Teaching Areas

Information for BEd(Secondary) students …• A Major or a Teaching Major permits you to teach in South Australia to Year 12 in

the corresponding Teaching Area• A Minor permits you to teach in South Australia to Year 10 in the corresponding

Teaching Area

Teaching Areas

It is for these reasons that Extended Majors and certain Majors and Minors are NOT available to students in the BEd / BSc• Extended Majors only give you one Teaching Area; some Majors and

Minors are not recognised Teaching Areas

It is also for these reasons that Teaching Majors are available to students in the BEd / BSc• but NOT in other forms of the BSc

Teaching Areas

The Teaching Area to which each Major / Teaching Major / Minor belongs differs for Junior Primary/Primary, Middle School and Secondary teaching

Advice about selecting majors and minors is contained in the Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Science handbook which will be made available to all commencing students, and to which it is recommended that students refer before making a choice

The combined degrees BEng / BSc

• Entry to this suite of combined degrees is via separate SATAC codes

• There are five BEng degrees that can be combined with the BSc:• Biomedical• Computer Systems• Electronics• Robotics• Software

The combined degrees BEng / BSc

• Each of these is a 5-year combined program

• There are restricted choices of Majors, Extended Majors and Minors in order to accommodate a 5-year combined program

• There are separate suggested study plans for each of these 5-year combined programs to permit completion in 5 calendar years

• Consult either the Science and Engineering Faculty Office or the Director of Studies in Engineering for assistance

The combined degreesLLB/LP / BSc and LLB / BSc

• Entry to these combined degrees is via entry to Law

• The student then simply nominates for the combined degree

The combined degreesLLB/LP / BSc and LLB / BSc

The BSc component is ~2 years equivalent full-time study (75 units):First-year Science topics (27 units = 6 topics)

Major (36 units at upper year level)

Minor (12 units at upper year level)

or

First-year Science topics (27 units = 6 topics)

Extended Major (48 units at upper year level)

The combined degreesLLB/LP / BSc and LLB / BSc

These studies are usually spread out over the ~6-year combined program (for LLB/LP / BSc) and the ~5½-year combined program (for LLB / BSc)

Counsellors from Law will assist in devising your study plan

Majors(36 units at upper level)

Biological SciencesChemistryComputer ScienceEarth SciencesEcology, Behaviour and EvolutionEngineering ScienceEnvironmental Hydrology and Water ResourcesInformation SystemsMathematicsMicrobiologyMolecular BiologyOcean and Climate SciencesPhysics

Extended Majors(48 units at upper level)

Bioinformatics

Biological Chemistry

Biological Sciences

Chemistry

Computer Science

Information Systems

Mathematics

Physics

Minors(12 units at upper level)

Biological SciencesBotanyChemistryComputer ScienceEarth SciencesEngineering ScienceEnvironmental Hydrology and Water ResourcesInformaticsInformation SystemsMathematicsMicrobiologyPhysicsZoology

Selection of First Year Science Topics

Each Major, Extended Major and Minor (and for BEd/BSc students each Teaching Major) has its own set of requirements for study in the first year

In choosing your First Year Science Topics, ensure that you have covered the first year requirements of any Major, Extended Major and Minor (and for BEd/BSc students each Teaching Major) you may wish to follow

What are the main Science discipline areas?

• Biological Sciences

• Chemistry

• Computer Science

• Earth Sciences

• Mathematics

• Physics

Biological Sciences

• No previous biology study required

• Will need to do some Chemistry in first year – could be Introduction to Chemistry if no Year 12 Chemistry

Chemistry

• There is a one-year pathway into Chemistry even for those students without Year 12 Chemistry

• Will need to do some Mathematics in first year – could be Introductory Mathematics if no Year 12 Mathematics

Computer Science

• No previous computer science or information technology required

Earth Sciences

• Details depend on the exact program

• May need to do some Chemistry in first year – could be Introduction to Chemistry if no Year 12 Chemistry

• May need to do some Mathematics in first year – could be Introductory Mathematics if no Year 12 Mathematics

Mathematics

• Will need Year 12 Mathematical Studies or Mathematical Methods to finish in normal time

• For BEd/BSc students, the Teaching Major has a version that caters for students without Year 12 Mathematical Studies or Mathematical Methods

Physics• Will need Year 12 Physics to finish in normal time• Will need Year 12 Mathematical Studies or

Mathematical Methods to finish in normal time

• For BEd/BSc students, the Teaching Major has a version that caters for students without Year 12 Physics

– but Year 12 Mathematical Studies or Mathematical Methods is still required to finish in normal time

Selection of First Year Science Topics

You are required to be interviewed by a First Year Science Counsellor to discuss your choice of First Year Science Topics and your Major, Extended Major and Minor (and for BEd/BSc students each Teaching Major) selections

The First Year Science Counsellors are– Samantha De Ritter– Ken Sanderson– Maria Parappilly

Counselling after the Initial EnrolmentFor topic specific matters, contact the Topic Coordinator or relevant

School Office

For ACADEMIC enquiries regarding the BSc, each Major area has a Major Coordinator

For administrative matters regarding the BSc, consult the Faculty Office of Science and Engineering

In some instances you may be referred to the Director of Studies: First Year Science, Associate Professor Alan Branford, but this is not usually your first point of enquiry

For enquiries regarding the non-Science component of combined or double degrees, consult the relevant School in the other Faculty