Global Utilities

La Trobe University
University Handbook 2010

Undergraduate courses offered by the Faculty

Bachelor of Agricultural Science/Bachelor of International Development (SZASID) – Melbourne (Bundoora)

This double degree program will provide graduates with understanding in two complementary discipline areas. The first is the scientific understanding of the processes in agriculture, while the second is an understanding of the political and social requirements for international development, when developing countries grapple with political, economic, and social constraints to alleviate poverty and participate in the global economy.

These challenges are among the most important that impact on global development. Frequently it is the agricultural sector, which is best able to assist the development process in these countries, as most of the population are involved in agriculture. Graduates who are aware of the human dimensions of development, and are skilled in the principles of agricultural science, would be versatile and be well equipped to find employment in the development assistance field. Professional recognition would apply for graduates, as they are eligible to become members of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology.

Industry experience

An essential requirement of the agricultural science degree is twelve weeks of approved industry experience taken during vacations.

Course structure

This double degree program is of five and a half years’ full-time or equivalent part-time duration and requires the completion of 630 credit points overall. Students may complete the degree in five years as part of an accelerated study program.

Students will take core agricultural science subjects involving basic science subjects in first year, followed by soil, plant and animal science subjects without specialisation in any one area. Case study teaching allows for the integration of the earlier disciplinary knowledge using a problem-solving approach with real-life agricultural enterprises. The international development subjects are offered from a range of disciplines across the University, including anthropology, economics, history, linguistics, politics and sociology, with almost half of these being electives, allowing students to focus on areas of interest.

The table below summarises the credit point requirements from each faculty.

Year Level Humanities and Social Sciences Science, Technology and Engineering Total
1 90 105 195
2 80 80 160
3 100 80 180
4 0 95 95
First year (120 credit points)
Teaching period Subject name Subject code Credit Points
TE-SEM-1 Agricultural Systems AGR1SYS 15
TE-SEM-1 Culture and Globalisation: Introduction to Anthropology ANT1CAG 15
TE-SEM-1 Organisation and Function of Cells and Organisms BIO1OF 15
TE-SEM-2 Applications of Chemistry CHE1APL 15
TE-SEM-2 Economy, Environment and Human Rights: World in Transition POL1EEH 15
TE-SEM-2 Physics for Life Sciences B PHY1LSB 15
TE-SEM-2 Plant Science BIO1PS 15

Choose one first-semester chemistry subject. Students who have passed VCE Chemistry, units 3 and 4 or equivalent, must choose CHEIGEN. Either:

TE-SEM-1 Basic Chemistry CHE1BAS 15
or
TE-SEM-1 General Principles of Chemistry CHE1GEN 15
Second year (135 credit points)

Core subjects (55 credit points)

Teaching period Subject name Subject code Credit Points
TE-SEM-1 Biochemistry for Agricultural Sciences AGR2BAS 20
TE-SEM-1 Plant Molecular Biology, Physiology and Nutrition BOT2MPN 20
TE-SEM-2 Statistics for Life Sciences STA1LS 15

Electives (80 credit points)

Students choose four first year level (60cp) and one second year level (20cp) Humanities and Social Sciences subjects from the recommended list below.

Third year (120 credit points)

Core subjects (100 credit points)

Teaching period Subject name Subject code Credit Points
TE-SEM-1 Animal Health AGR3ANH 20
TE-SEM-1 Development, Globalisation and Culture ANT2DGC 20
TE-SEM-1 Introduction to Land and Soil Management AGR2ILM 20
TE-SEM-2 Animal Physiology ZOO2APH 20
TE-SEM-2 Land and Soil Management AGR3LSM 20

Electives (20 credit points)

Students choose a second year level Humanities and Social Sciences subject from the recommended list below.

Fourth year (140 credit points)

Core subjects (100 credit points)

Teaching period Subject name Subject code Credit Points
TE-SEM-1 Plant Pests and Diseases AGR3PPD 10
TE-SEM-2 Animal Nutrition AGR3ANN 20
TE-SEM-2 Development in Practice SOC3DIP 20
TE-SEM-2 Gender and Development SOC2GAD 20
TE-SEM-2 Sustainable Plant Production AGR3SPP 10

Choose one of the following subjects:

TE-SEM-1 Introduction to Social Research Methods SOC3MSR 20
TE-SEM-2 Introduction to Ethnographic Research ANT3MQA 20

Electives (40 credit points)

Students must choose two third year level Humanities and Social Sciences subjects from the recommended list below.

Fifth year (115 credit points)

Core subjects (95 credit points)

Teaching period Subject name Subject code Credit Points
TE-SEM-1 Agricultural Case Studies AGR4ACS 20
TE-SEM-1 Communication and Critical Analysis AGR4CCA 15
TE-SEM-2 Research Project AGR4RPR 60

Electives (20 credit points)

Students must choose one third year level Humanities and Social Sciences subject from the recommended list below.

Recommended subjects

Recommended elective subject options for first year are:

Students should check subject listings for availability of the following subjects.

Subject name Subject code Credit Points
Introduction to Asia: Japan and Indonesia AST1IJI 15
Introduction to Aboriginal Australia ANT1IIA 15
Law and Legal Consciousness LST1LAS 15
Migration Stories in a Global Context HIS1GMS 15
Self and Community: Introduction to Sociology SOC1SAC 15
Sex, Gender and Identity GSD1SGI 15
Australia and Beyond: Introduction to Sociology SOC1AAB 15
Our Global Village: Introduction to Anthropology ANT1FET 15
Professional Writing: Words in Action HUS1PWR 15
Introduction to Asia: China and India AST1ICI 15
Sex, Gender and Diversity GSD1SGD 15
First year Spanish
First year Chinese
First year Indonesian/Malay

Recommended elective subject options for second and third year are:

Students should check subject listings for availability of the following subjects.

Subject name Subject code Credit Points
Applied Anthropology1 ANT2APA/ANT3APA 20
Childhood Youth and Culture1 ANT2CAC/ANT3CAC 20
Community Studies1 SOC2CMS/SOC3CMS 20
Crises in South Asia: Weapons, Women, Well-Being POL2CSA/POL3CSA 20
Contesting Social Policy SOC2CSP/SOC3CSP 20
Intercultural Communication1 LIN2CCC/LIN3CCC 20
Economic Growth and Development ECO2EGD 15
Gender and Sexuality: Contemporary Debates SOC2GES/SOC3GES 20
Global Environmental Issues ECO2GEI 15
International Law and International Organisation POL2ILO/POL3ILO 20
International Relations: The Cold War and the Great Powers POL2INR/POL3INR 20
Regional Economic Development ECO3RED 15
Sociology and Everyday Life SOC2SEL/SOC3SEL 20
Nature, Conservation & Society: The Human Impact SOC2SOE/SOC3SOE 20
Aboriginal Australia ANT2ABA/ANT3ABA 20
Australian Aboriginal History HIS2AAH/HIS3AAH 20
Culture, Race and Difference ANT2CRD/ANT3CRD 20
Ecological Philosophies1 PHI2ECP/PHI3ECP 20
Ethnicity and Identity: Social and Political Approaches1 SOC2EAI/SOC3EAI 20
Language in Asia1 LIN2LIA/LIN3LIA 20
Modern World Economy ECO2MWE 15
Peace and Change POL2PAC/POL3PAC 20
Politics and the Economy1 POL2PAE/POL3PAE 20
Politics of Non violent Activism POL2PNV/POL3PNV 20
Anthropology of Popular Culture ANT2PCP/ANT3PCP 20
Social Policy, Welfare and the State1 SOC2SWS/SOC3SWS 20
Society and State in Japan and China AST2EAS/AST3EAS 20
South-East Asian Politics: Change and Conflict POL2SEA/POL3SEA 20
The Politics of Economic Regions1 POL2PER/POL3PER 20
Charting the Colonial Pacific HIS2CCP 15
Displacement, Flight and Refuge ANT2DFR 20
Living with Colonialism: Resistance and Accommodation HIS2LWC 20
Radio/Sound Production MST2RSP 20
The World since 1945: Historical Justice in the Modern World HIS2WOR 20
Migration, Transnationalism and Diaspora1 SOC2TDM 20
Worlds of Exclusion: Global Social Inequalities SOC2WOE 20
Second/Third year Chinese
Second/Third year Indonesian/Malay
Second/Third year Portuguese
Second/Third year Spanish

Key: 1 Subject not available in 2010.

Honours

An Honours degree in International Development / Development Studies is available to suitably qualified students and will require an additional year of full-time study. Honours subjects are part of the Bachelor of Agricultural Science program and those students achieving a sufficient standard in these subjects will be awarded the degree with Honours. It is anticipated that in either case students may incorporate some material from the other area of study.

For a full description of subjects, including the subject name, subject code, credit points, campus/location, subject coordinator, class requirements, assessment, prerequisites and readings, students should access the Subject Database at www.latrobe.edu.au/udb_public.