Academic aims and objectives of the faculty

The Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering is committed to the attainment of excellence in all its scholastic and scientific endeavours, and to the way in which it interacts with its students and with its community.

The objectives of the Faculty include:

to produce, from a diversified intake, graduates well grounded in science, technology and engineering, capable of meeting the needs of society
to be an internationally and nationally recognised centre for quality teaching, scholarship, and research
to ensure that the quality and range of the Faculty's activities are recognised by prospective students.

Graduates of the Faculty will be expected to possess knowledge and skills in, and an understanding of, the broad conceptual and theoretical elements of their fields of specialisation. It is expected that a graduate will possess a technical competence in the application of skills required for practice in the discipline, be able to stay abreast of theoretical developments in the discipline, and have the ability to integrate theory and practice.

Admission requirements for undergraduate degrees

For full details, refer to the 2010 VTAC Guide.

Any person offered a place in an undergraduate course at La Trobe University may be required to sit an English language test. Applicants whose principal language of educational instruction was other than English must provide evidence of their proficiency in English. This is achieved by a satisfactory result in VCE English (any) or by achieving a minimum IELTS (International English language Testing System) score of 6.0 or its equivalent.

For information on admission requirements, enrolment, tuition fees and visa requirements for International Students, please see the International Students section of the Handbook.

Entry to Honours programs

For entrance to an Honours degree following a three-year pass degree, students must obtain a minimum average of 60% across all of their third year and obtain at least 65% in 60 credit points of subjects germane to the Honours discipline. Some departments may set higher entrance standards than these.

Faculty and course regulations

Completion of a subject includes attendance at such lectures and tutorial classes as are prescribed and completion of such exercises and laboratory work as shall satisfy the department concerned. Students who have not complied with the prescribed requirements may be refused admission to the annual examination in that subject. Reasonable notice of the prescribed requirements will be given.

Students should ensure that their enrolment plan meets the rules associated with their course of enrolment, particularly all the core requirements. Students must pass prerequisite subjects before being permitted to enrol in relevant subjects at the next year level. Where the prerequisite subject requires the student to demonstrate competence in a set of procedures and/or practices, the subject must have been passed no more than three years prior to enrolling in the relevant subjects at the next year level.

Academic progress rules

The Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering will consider a student's progress in a course at the end of each progression period (two progression periods within an academic period). Progress of a student enrolled in any coursework degree (undergraduate or postgraduate) at La Trobe University in a particular progression period is deemed to be unsatisfactory if the student:

fails 50% or more of the sum of the credit points for which the student is enrolled in a given course; or
fails a subject in a course for a second or subsequent time; or
fails to meet any conditions previously imposed on the student's enrolment by the Faculty Board of the Faculty administering the course or its authorised committee or officer; or
exceeds the maximum allowed period for attempting a course of study.

Language and Academic Skills assistance for all students

The Language and Academic Skills (LAS) Unit in the Faculty assists students at all levels to develop writing, reading, oral presentation and study skills. Students are encouraged to contact the unit located in the Physical Sciences 1 building, room 213, near the Faculty Office, or telephone (03) 9479 2432 to make an appointment for individual assistance or to enquire about resources.

Language and Academic Skills (English as a second language)

International students from non-English speaking backgrounds who are enrolled in courses where there are free electives and who need to further develop their English language skills in an academic context, may enrol in the subjects EDU1ESL English as a Second Language 1 (15 credit points) and EDU4ESL English as a Second Language 2 (20 credit points).

The EDU subjects above may only be credited as first year level subjects towards any degree offered by the Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering. For further information contact the Language and Academic Skills (ESL) Unit located in Building Humanities 3, Room 417, telephone (03) 9479 2788. For information on English language requirements for international students please see the International Students section of the Handbook.

Proficiency in English

In order to graduate from a degree course at the Melbourne (Bundoora) Campus all students who commenced their undergraduate degree before 2005 in the Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering are required to demonstrate proficiency in English by passing a writing test devised by the Faculty's Language and Academic Skills (LAS) unit. For students in the Bachelor of Psychological Science or an engineering, technology, computer science, information systems or a double degree (other than the Bachelor of Bioinformatics/Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Environmental Science/Bachelor of Biological Sciences), the requirement is tested within their course structure. Students must contact the Faculty Office to make an appointment. This can be done by telephone, email or in person. For students commencing their degree from 2005, the requirements have been met within the course structure.

Important reminder: students who have not met this English proficiency requirement will not qualify for their degree and will not be permitted to graduate.

Industry Cadetship Scheme

The Faculty offers students the opportunity to apply for paid training and work programs in a wide range of industries and research institutes under the auspices of the Industry Cadetship Scheme. Cadetships are advertised each April and August and students can make applications for positions of interest. The winter and summer cadetship programs are during vacation periods. The winter program is for three weeks in July and the summer program is up to twelve weeks from December to February. Students wishing to increase their industry exposure are encouraged to consider the Year-in-Industry program and, as the name suggests, would complete a twelve-month placement. Interested students should contact the coordinator, Ms Jill Mullen in Room 228 of the RL Reid Building.

Health procedures and protective clothing

For laboratory classes, all students are expected to wear laboratory coats and shoes that adequately protect their feet. In chemistry laboratories, students must wear safety glasses. Students are expected to comply with appropriate laboratory safety rules. Smoking, eating or drinking is not allowed in lecture theatres, laboratories, or computer rooms.

The University recommends that agricultural science undergraduate and postgraduate students who will have contact with animals should be immunised against the following diseases: