Academic Standing: This is a status the university assigns you, determined by your level of academic performance during your degree. Good academic standing means that you are passing all or most of your courses and your progress through your degree is deemed satisfactory. Poor academic standing is assigned to students who fail more than half of their courses in a session and thus their progress is deemed unsatisfactory. Levels of academic standing is also applied to students who need to maintain certain grade averages (such as a credit average) within particular degrees. 

 

Advanced Standing: This is credit awarded toward a student’s current degree based on study done at another tertiary institution or within another program at UNSW.

 

Compulsory course: A course which is required for completion of the degree. A compulsory course usually needs to be taken at the stage specified in the program since is often a prerequisite for more advanced courses.

 

Co-requisite: A course which must either be completed successfully before, or studied concurrently with, the course for which it is prescribed.

 

Course: This the University terminology for a “subject” (eg MATH1031, PSYC3001etc). Students normally take a number of courses in a session and these combine to give a study load.
Elective course: A course which may be chosen according to the student’s interests. However, prerequisites are required for some courses and some electives may have to be selected from a specified list.

 

Excluded course: These are courses that students are NOT permitted to take. Science students may be excluded from doing specific courses from certain faculties, schools or discipline areas. Some courses also have exclusions with other courses that are similar in content (e.g. Students who have completed Higher Mathematics are excluded from taking General Mathematics). Specific course exclusions are listed with course descriptions in printed and online handbook information.

 

Exemption: In specially considered circumstances, students may be given an exemption from completing a specific course requirement of their program. This means that a student is not required to complete the specified exempted course. All exemptions need to be applied for through, and approved by the Science Student Office.

 

General Education: These are specifically developed GEN# courses that are a requirement for all single degrees. They are selected by the student, and are required for the completion of a degree. Rules and exclusions regarding General Education requirements often change, both at a University and at a Faculty level. You should refer to your Faculty or Program Office if you are unsure of these requirements.

 

Honours: Honours is the fourth year of study that must be completed as a part of the Advanced Science degree, and is an optional extra year for other science degrees. Admission to the Honours program generally requires that a student maintain at least a credit average over their second and third years of study. In this year, students undertake advanced course work and/or a research project. They work with a research team at UNSW, to reach the forefront of knowledge in their particular area, while under the guidance of a supervisor.

 

Major: The primary discipline area chosen for a Science program degree. In the Bachelor of Science programs, students study at least one major. A major is a sequence of courses that are designed to link together to provide thorough training in one specified discipline or specialisation; usually it occupies approximately half of the total program.

 

Minor: A secondary discipline area which may be a required part of a Science program degree. A minor is the part of a program that focuses on one discipline or specialisation, but does not involve as many subjects as a major. Students can choose to study a minor in an area of science or from another Faculty within the University (combined degrees). This means that students are offered the flexibility to gain a good grounding in the sciences while continuing to pursue other areas of interest. A broad education also leads to greater employment options upon graduation.

 

Pre-requisite: A course which must be completed before enrolling in another course or the next level of courses – e.g. Completing a Level I MATH course before progressing to Level II MATH courses.

 

Program: The combination of approved courses, completion of which leads to the award of a degree or diploma.

 

Specialisation: A study area within an Environmental Science Program, similar to a major in Science or Study Plan in Advanced Science. It is comprised of compulsory courses generally required for the program and specified “specialised” courses.

 

Study load: The total number of Units of Credit taken in a term.

 

Study plan: The primary discipline area chosen for an Advanced Science program. It is similar to a major but is more structured and has more required courses. Once you specify your area of interest, the study plan outlines the courses you will study to specialise in that field. If you are interested in many areas, most study plans require similar foundation courses in Year 1, giving you flexibility to transfer between various study plans in Year 2.

 

Undeclared Plan: A temporary choice which can be selected for Level I and Level II to enable students to decide which major or study plan is most suitable

 

Units of Credit (UOC): Units (credit points) awarded for successful completion of a course. A specified number of units of credit is required for the completion of a degree.