Melbourne Model courses set a new HEd gold standard
[ UniNews Vol. 15, No. 12
10 - 24 July 2006 ] By Christina Buckridge
Six ‘new generation’ undergraduate degrees will be offered at the University of Melbourne in 2008 as part of the move to the University’s Melbourne Model.
The names for the new degrees – approved by the University’s Academic Board last month – are:
• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Bioscience
In 2008, they will replace current undergraduate programs in Arts, Science, Commerce, and Music.
A decision on a Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) degree will be made later this year. The name of the ‘new generation’ Bachelor of Music degree will be reviewed when Victorian College of the Arts courses are able to move to the Melbourne Model.
All current undergraduate programs will be offered in 2007.
Introduction of the first new professional graduate degrees will come in 2008, including Law, Nursing, Public Policy and Management and Forest Science and Education (with streams in Primary, Early Childhood and Secondary).
Early Childhood and Primary Education will also be available as Bachelors programs in 2008.
Professionally accredited programs in disciplines such as Architecture and Urban Planning will now be offered at Masters level with recommended pathways through undergraduate degrees. There will also be pathways for graduates of other degrees. Additional bridging study will be required where a major sequence of subjects in Architecture, for example, has not been taken.
Other professional programs, including Engineering, Medicine, Dental Science and Veterinary Science, will continue to be offered at undergraduate level in 2008. Other professional graduate programs will be introduced by the University over five years from 2008.
Students undertaking ‘new generation’ undergraduate degrees from 2008 will be required to take part of the course from a program or programs outside their ‘core’ course, choosing from a range of ‘breadth’ subjects approved by the ‘core’ degree program as adding strength to the degree.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Peter McPhee says the new courses will be both high-quality ‘stand-alone’ degrees and sound preparation for graduate programs.
“They will be designed to provide sufficient disciplinary rigour as well as providing the intellectual breadth that differentiates them from current academic programs,” he says.
Detailed curriculum design for these courses is now underway. Prerequisites and guaranteed entry pathways will be discussed at the July meeting of the Academic Board.
Information on arrangements for entry in 2008 to ‘new generation’ degrees will be available for prospective students and their parents on Open Day (Sunday 20 August).
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