Science, Technology and Engineering

Bachelor of Medical Science

Department of Biochemistry

Overview

This course provides a multi-disciplinary education in medical sciences to equip graduates to enter biomedical research fields, postgraduate studies in the medical sciences, or graduate entry to medicine. The course provides a foundation year in science, a choice of core biomedical subjects in second year, and a specialised course in Medical Science in third year. Major areas include chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, microbiology, immunology and genetics. This is a three year full-time course and the honours program requires a further year of study. Part-time study is available. Graduates will be well prepared for: employment in the biomedical research field such as pharmaceutical companies, biomedical scientific instrument suppliers, medical research institutes, hospitals and public service departments dealing with health care, postgraduate studies in the medical sciences, or graduate entry into medicine.

Course Structure

The course is of three years full-time or equivalent part-time duration and requires the completion of 360 credit points. The course structure is outlined below. Electives are normally selected from the list of recommended subjects provided for each year level, but other subjects may be taken with the approval of the course adviser. Students may enrol in up to 130 credit points per year without special permission from the course adviser. As a guide, useful electives for those aiming at graduate entry to medicine are:

In the first year:
PSY11BNA (Introduction to Behavioural Neuroscience A)
PSY12BNB (Introduction to Behavioural Neuroscience B)
STA11L/STA12LS (Statistics for Life Sciences),

At second year: 120 credit points from biochemistry, human anatomy, human physiology, genetics, immunology, or microbiology.

For those considering a career in medical biotechnology, useful second-year subjects include biochemistry, chemistry, genetics, immunology and microbiology. Students should be careful in selecting second-year subjects to ensure that the appropriate prerequisites have been met for the intended program of study at the third year and at honours level.

Selection Criteria

As a guide to the selection process, the "clearly in" ENTER for entry in recent years has been 82 - 85. Prerequisites: VCE Units 3 & 4: a study score of at least 25 in each of English and Chemistry. Middle-Band Selection: Applicants who have successfully completed the following studies will be deemed to have an ENTER 1.5 percentage points higher for each study up to a maximum of two studies: Specialist Mathematics, Mathematical Methods, Physics. In the second and third years of the course, some positions will be available to those completing appropriate subjects in the previous year(s). For example, lateral entry to the second year of the course is most suited to students who have completed a full year of study in a BSc course (or equivalent) and who have : a) completed a full year of study in Chemistry b) completed BIO 11OF and BIO 12GEN c) obtained high marks in all subjects.

Contact Information

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE IMMUNOLOGY COURSE CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE FOLLOWING :

Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering Office
La Trobe University, Bundoora, Vic, 3086.
Phone: 9479 2828

Professor Don Phillips
Medical Science Course Adviser,
Department of Biochemistry,
La Trobe University
Phone : 9479 2182, Fax: 9479 2467
Email: D.Phillips@latrobe.edu.au