Bachelor of Medical and Health Sciences (Honours)

at University of Wollongong - Wollongong Campus Australia

Join one of humanity’s greatest collective endeavours when you study a degree in STEM at UOW. You will work with interdisciplinary teams to explore creative solutions for our world's biggest issues, and will learn about the physical interconnections and principles that underpin and advance societies globally.

The Nuclear and Space Radiation Technology major will teach you the fundamental skills and knowledge necessary for a successful career in the either the nuclear radiation or space radiation employment sectors emerging in Australia. Fundamental physics, leading to applications in science, engineering and technology industries. A focus is given to radiation effects on humans and electronics in space or on Earth. Employment areas include health physicists, radiation protection officer and radiation safety expert, nuclear experts, single event effect scientist/engineer. With the expansion in Australian Space industries, rare-Earth element and mineral mining and radioactive storage facilities, there is a need for graduates with specific knowledge and expertise across a range of fields related to nuclear science and Space radiation technologies.

This course builds on the expertise of the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics in dosimetry and radiation safety as well as nuclear technology and radiation waste monitoring and storage. You will benefit from our close industry ties with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), with many subjects including on-site visits and guest lecturers, as well as optional research internships allowing you significant industry exposure and networking opportunities.

Your subjects include major practical components to complement and reinforce what you learn in lectures, and ensure you gain hands-on skills that prepare for real-world activities in your future careers. You will learn from academics that are internationally recognised in many fields of physics research including space and medical radiation physics, space and nuclear radiation effects, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, nuclear detection and remote sensing.

The Bachelor of Medical and Radiation Physics Advanced (Honours) degree is designed to produce graduates with the specialist skills necessary to find employment in hospital radiation oncology and nuclear medicine departments, in academic institutions or industry.

Advanced Medical and Radiation Physics degree graduates have a very strong background in physics as well as specialist theoretical, practical and programming skills in radiation medicine that are necessary to find employment in hospitals, research laboratories or related industries. There is also an additional focus on cutting-edge research and development opportunities throughout the degree.

Professional medical physicists from major hospitals in NSW will deliver key lectures and practical work as well as co-supervising thesis work. Students will find that they will move easily into employment and/or postgraduate work in this specialised area.

This degree
The Honours year is entirely devoted to Medical Physics topics. It has a substantial 24-credit point research component, which is carried out in collaboration with community, local, state or federal organisations. This research project is supported by three special subjects that deal with the major activities of a Medical Radiation Physicist: Medical Imaging; Nuclear Medicine; Radiobiology and Radiation Protection.

The course is underpinned by the success of the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics within the Faculty's School of Physics. You will benefit from the strong collaborative links in research and development that staff have with local and international companies and leading medical radiation physics institutions.

These include:

• USA: Brookhaven National Laboratory, MIT, Harvard School of Medicine Francis H .Burr Proton Therapy Beam Centre (MGH), Loma Linda University Medical Centre, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, Stanford University (SLAC), Montefiore Medical Centre Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECM).
• Japan: KEK, Tsukuba Proton Therapy Centre, NIRS, Hitachi
• Europe: SPA 'BIT', Institute for Scintillating Materials (Ukraine), SINTEF (Norway), CERN, (Swit-zerland), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, (France), PTB, Heidelberg Heavy Ion Therapy and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Germany)
• Australia: ANSTO, CSIRO, Optical Fibre CRC, Insight Oceania Pty Ltd, Hitachi Australia, Siemens, Varian.

What you will study
You will study radiation interactions, dosimetry, detectors and instrument design related to medical physics, health physics, nuclear physics, radiation safety, and accelerator and reactor physics. Computer programming related to cancer treatment planning, particle transport and medical imaging.

If you continue your studies to an Honours or Master degree, you will learn about Nuclear Medicine, Radiobiology and Radiation Protection in hospitals.

Civil engineers build and maintain the infrastructure of advanced modern living. They plan, design, construct, operate and maintain everything from buildings to bridges, tunnels and dams, highways and airports, power plants, water and sewerage systems.

Using computer technologies and advanced materials, Civil engineers design structures that meet the needs of a growing population while protecting the environment, reducing the dangers from natural phenomena and considering the future needs of the community.

This degree
You will study a common first year allowing you to learn more about engineering and its different fields before deciding which discipline to study. The common first year provides you with sound fundamentals in mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, computing, engineering science and communication, mechanics, materials and fluids. You then focus on your chosen major study from second year.

Your degree includes a 12-week hands-on industry placement. You may gain credit for relevant work experience, either in Australia or overseas, by participating in our Professional Options Program.

Engineers work in a variety of industries, for example, construction, mining, resources, aeronautical, electronics, engineering management, telecommunications, power generation and distribution, renewable energy, aerospace, water resource management, robotics and manufacturing, railroad and shipbuilding.

What you will study
As an engineering student at UOW, you will have access to fully-equipped laboratories and the latest computer-aided software that is used in modern industrial workplaces. Our lecturers encourage you to approach them and get involved in industry projects and learning opportunities so you get the most out of your university education. Our engineering students are trained through practical learning experiences including:

• Laboratory experiments
• Problem-based learning
• Computer simulations
• Teamwork assignments
• Industrial case studies
• Project management
• Site visits to industry

The later years of the Civil Engineering degree cover areas including structural engineering, water engineering, geomechanics, engineering management, engineering applications and design, materials and transport, and surveying.

Applied mathematics is the basis for successful decision-making and problem solving independent of sector or industry; it can provide new insights into nature, technology and business and create a pathway for innovative solutions. Applied mathematics underpins a wide range of scientific and commercial enterprises, providing extensive career options. Just about every industry depends at some point on handling and interpreting data, and on predicting and modelling outcomes. Mathematical results drive policy and innovation.

Pure mathematics is concerned with exploring patterns and solving problems; it can provide new insights into nature, technology and business and create a pathway for innovative solutions. Pure mathematics focuses on developing and analysing unifying mathematical concepts and principles through deductive reasoning. A focus on pure mathematics is ideal for students who enjoy developing creative solutions to subtle problems and wish to explore the abstract and logical aspects of the discipline.

Statistics is the study of the collection, organisation, analysis and interpretation of data. Applied statistics use mathematical concepts and methods to develop, design and analyse scientific experiments, sample surveys, medical clinical trials, environmental studies, and industrial and business big data systems. It uses mathematical models of variation to enable analysis and forecasting in many industries. It is the basis for successful decision-making and problem-solving in government, business, science, engineering, agriculture and industry.

This degree
The Bachelor of Mathematics Advanced is available to students who have achieved outstanding results at the highest level of mathematics in high school, or have the equivalent level of knowledge on entry to UOW. This elite degree offers an accelerated program of studies to high achieving students with a passion for mathematics. A unique feature of our advanced program is the undergraduate research projects, which allow students to undertake an investigation into a specific area of mathematics and statistics under the supervision of a member of staff from the School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics.

There are opportunities for scholarships from corporate partners, summer research scholarships and access to programs from the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) and inter-university courses via our Access Grid RoomAn alternative path for entry to the advanced program is by invitation for students in the Bachelor of Mathematics degree who achieve outstanding results in their first year of study in mathematics subjects.

What you will study
This degree offers a flexible structure allowing you to take one intensive first-year subject, and accelerate your studies by taking second-year subjects in your first year. You will undertake research projects in your second and third years. These projects will enable you to work closely with active academic researchers to develop your independent learning and critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

An Honours Advanced Mathematics degree is available to candidates who have achieved an average of 80% or better in the Bachelor of Mathematics Advanced.

The Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology will allow you to upgrade your undergraduate exercise science qualifications so that you can work with individuals with disease and injury in the broader community. Clinical exercise physiology is an area of allied health that is specifically concerned with using exercise to restore good health and physical capability to people after illness or injury, or to improve the quality of life and manage physical function in people with chronic disease and physical disabilities.

This degree includes advanced clinical training for work as an exercise physiologist. As part of the course you will undertake 360 hours of clinical workplace experience. Completion of these hours is required in order to graduate. This experience is an essential part of the learning process and will allow you to put into practice what you've learned in the course to ensure that you will be work-ready for industry practice in both public and private facilities with a clinical focus.

This degree is for high achieving students who have completed the three-year Bachelor of Public Health. This Honours program is an additional fourth year of study and is designed to provide students with the skills needed to demonstrate a clear understanding of research questions, an ability to investigate them and excellence in research practice.

This degree
This Honours degree will allow you to further develop your knowledge and skills in the field of Public Health, and make you more competitive in the workforce. It is a research training degree that provides training in in-depth enquiry, specialised development of research skills, project management and communicating findings.

What you will study

In this program you will:

• Design, plan and implement a substantial piece of research
• Develop a research proposal, including a hypothesis, and submit an ethics application when and if needed
• Critically evaluate the relevant literature and exercise creative intellectual enquiry
• Contribute professionally in a research environment and, when necessary, work as part of a team to collaborate and exchange ideas with colleagues and peers.
• Present the research as verbal and written thesis/journal articles in an appropriate format.

Biomedical Engineering is a multi-disciplinary field that enables engineers to combine engineering principles with biological and medical sciences. Developments in biomedical engineering provide vital skills and knowledge to enable change to the national health system and improve people’s lives, for example, developments in imaging, instrumentation, robotics, scaffolding, materials engineering, computer science and prosthetics. Students will study areas related to mechanical, electrical, artificial intelligence (e.g. evolutionary computation, neural network, fuzzy logic, machine learning) and aspects of modern biomedical systems. Graduates will develop a solid understanding of critical issues involved in developing biomedical systems in a global economy and make significant technological contributions to biomedical systems, both in Australia and abroad.

This degree
You will study a common first year allowing you to learn more about engineering and its different fields before deciding which discipline to study. The common first year provides you with sound fundamentals in mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, computing, engineering science and communication, mechanics, materials and fluids. You then focus on your chosen major study from second year. Your degree includes a 12-week hands-on industry placement. You may gain credit for relevant work experience, either in Australia or overseas, by participating in our Professional Options Program.

Engineers work in a variety of industries, for example: construction, mining, resources, aeronautical, electronics, engineering management, telecommunications, power generation and distribution, renewable energy, aerospace, water resource management, robotics and manufacturing, railroad and shipbuilding.

What you will study
As an engineering student at UOW you will have access to fully-equipped laboratories and the latest computer-aided software that is used in modern industrial workplaces. Our lecturers encourage you to approach them and get involved in industry projects and learning opportunities so you get the most out of your university education.Our engineering students are trained through practical learning experiences including:

• Laboratory experiments
• Problem based learning
• Computer simulations
• Teamwork assignments
• Industrial case studies
• Project management
• Site visits to industry

After completing the common first year you will study specific subjects in the areas of:

Anatomy and Physiology, Biomedical Instrumentation and Design, Biomedical Physics, Sensors and Actuators, Biomechanical Basis for Human Movement, Mechanical Design of Biomedical Devices, Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Artificial Organs and Implants, Ethics and Practices, among others.

Chemistry is the central science that enables us to understand our world at the molecular level. The ability to understand the relationship between structure and function of molecules is critical to understanding the processes of life, of the natural world and of the industrial world.

The Bachelor of Science major in Chemistry will give you the knowledge and skills to apply chemistry across the full range of technically-based disciplines including physics, molecular biology, life sciences, geochemistry, environmental science, engineering, and health sciences. These skills include both analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as expertise in using sophisticated laboratory instrumentation, all of which are highly valued by employers in all sectors of the economy.

Sociology is the study of society. It examines social life, cultural and social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behaviour. Sociology involves asking questions about human life and society, developing understandings of our diverse and rapidly changing world, and identifying the causes of'and solutions to social problems.

This degree
The UOW Bachelor of Social Science (Sociology) will give you an understanding of cultural diversity and an awareness of injustices and inequality. It involves a common foundation of compulsory social science subjects in the first session of study, followed by a major in Sociology. In third year you'll complete a real-world capstone project that draws together the strands of the degree.

You will have the opportunity to complement your degree with a minor study area or elective subjects from any field in the University offering cross-faculty enrolment. You can also study electives abroad, or stay local and undertake activities to build your cross-cultural communication skills.

What you will study
Foundational subjects in social science include human geography, sociology, interdisciplinary competencies, and career ready learning.

During your second and third year you'll study theory and social research methods, social policy and the state, gender, sexuality and the body, crime and punishment, race and ethnicity, social class, families and intimacy, social interaction, social movements, globalisation, development, and social change, and media and popular culture. You will also analyse a wide variety of social processes, causes of social change, and the structures of groups and societies.

If you are doing, or have done particularly well in your Bachelor of Communication and Media degree, you should consider an Honours year. Your Bachelor of Communication and Media degree will have introduced you to a wide range of topics and problems, and an Honours project will enable you to explore these ideas in much greater depth. Honours research topics are various and negotiable. If you are really interested in a topic and want to find answers, you'll be encouraged and supported.

From a potential employer's perspective, your ability to achieve a complex goal, meet deadlines, investigate independently, use resources effectively and write coherently are highly valued attributes.

The Honours year has a number of functions at UOW; as an in-depth project at the end of undergraduate study, and as a bridge between undergraduate study and advanced research.  It may also afford you the opportunity to explore future career options. Studying Honours teaches you: training in research skills and in information systems (archives, the Library, databases and electronic research networks);  opportunity to practise articulating complex ideas orally and in writing; experience in working closely with a supervisor on a project and in preparing a major project to meet a deadline; and experience in devising, researching and writing up an individual topic of study in an extended argument or thesis.