Handbook

Required reading

General information

Undergraduate

Postgraduate

International

Handbook sitemap

Double degrees

Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Science Education (SZSSEB) – Bendigo

This innovative double degree was developed in response to the Federal Government’s ‘Innovation Statement’ and aims to integrate full science degree studies with a complete teaching qualification, with a particular emphasis on mathematics, statistics (taught as part of mathematics in secondary schools), physics, chemistry, and/or information technology. Graduates of this double degree will develop a deep understanding of their teaching specialties and will be equipped to adapt their teaching to engage with the needs of their teaching settings, including their own students and the nature of the areas of knowledge and behaviour that constitute the discipline. In this program, emphasis is placed on the teacher’s ability to adapt teaching to continually changing circumstances while fostering deep understanding of relevant areas of scientific disciplines.

Please note: students must undertake a ‘Working with Children’ check form, available from Australia Post offices. Students must provide a certified copy of their valid ‘Working with Children’ card, prior to undertaking teaching placements in schools.

Course structure

This double degree is of four and a half years full-time or equivalent part-time duration and requires the completion of 540 credit points overall. Students may complete this double degree in four years as part of an accelerated study program.

Students will gain a foundation in science in the first year. Combined studies in science and education will commence in the second year and continue during the third year. Two science disciplines must be studied through to third year: the major discipline comprising subjects to the value of 60 credit points in the third year and the minor discipline, 30 credit points. One of the ‘major’ or ‘minor’ disciplines must be chosen from mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, or information technology. The other discipline may be chosen from any other science discipline offered by the Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering. The science disciplines are those defined for the Bachelor of Science degree. The final year will consist of full teacher training, including the practicum requirement and will include a maths or science education research project. Normally, students would be expected to have satisfactorily completed all of the requirements for the first three years before progressing to the fourth year.

Note:

• Your subject choices at first and second year must ensure that one of mathematics, physics, chemistry, statistics, or information technology can be taken as a major or minor at third year level. Physics is available as a minor discipline only at Bendigo.
• Note that students taking physics or computer science may need to transfer to the Bundoora campus for the second and third year levels of their degree.
• Note also that the major and the minor cannot be both mathematics and statistics as double mathematics method is not offered in Education.
• You will be qualified to teach subjects corresponding to your chosen major and minor disciplines but not subjects corresponding to your terminating first year science discipline. If you major or minor in physics or chemistry, you will also be qualified to teach secondary school general science. As general science also covers biology, students not planning on majoring or minoring in biology should consider taking a first year biology subject as a first year level elective, conversely students majoring in biology should consider an extra non-biology science discipline as their first year level electives.
• The research project must relate to science education or mathematics education.
• All subjects must be chosen in consultation with, and approved by, the course coordinator
• In some cases core education subjects might not be available on the Bendigo Campus. In which case, equivalent subjects will be offered.

First year (120 credit points)

Second year (130 credit points)

Third year (150 credit points)

Fourth year (140 credit points)

Elective subjects may be chosen from the newly accredited Bachelor of Education course, the Graduate Diploma of Technology Education or the Graduate Diploma of Special Education. Electives should be chosen in consultation with the appropriate course administrator in the School of Education.