Undergraduate courses offered by the Faculty
Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry (SBMC) – Melbourne (Bundoora)
Medicinal chemistry is a strongly growing area within pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research organisations such as the CSIRO. It is well known that companies are moving to exploit emerging technologies in this post-genomic era and opportunities for employment are expanding rapidly as biotechnology and drug design-based companies begin to proliferate.
Graduates of the Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry will graduate with majors in chemistry and biochemistry or chemistry and microbiology with an additional area of specialisation in drug design. With a cross-disciplinary background and enhanced skills at the boundaries of these traditional disciplines, graduates will be particularly sought after by the biotechnology industry.
Course structure
The course is of three years full-time or equivalent part-time duration and requires the completion of 360 credit points. Students complete subjects to the value of 120 credit points at each year level.
First year (120 credit points)
Core subjects (60 credit points)
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Organisation and Function of Cells and Organisms | BIO1OF | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | General Principles of Chemistry | CHE1GEN | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Genetics, Human Biology and Evolution | BIO1GEN | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Applications of Chemistry | CHE1APL | 15 |
Electives (60 credit points)
The remaining 60 credit points may be chosen from first year level subjects offered by any department.
Recommended subject options are:
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Calculus and Number Systems | MAT1CNS | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Infections and Epidemics | MIC1IEP | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Physics for Life Sciences A | PHY1LSA | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Principles of Physics A | PHY1SCA | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 | Statistical Science | STA1SS | 15 |
| TE-SEM-1 or TE-SEM-2 | Statistics for Life Sciences1 | STA1LS | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Calculus and Linear Algebra | MAT1CLA | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Mathematical Applications in Biology | MAT1MAB | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Physics for Life Sciences B | PHY1LSB | 15 |
| TE-SEM-2 | Principles of Physics B | PHY1SCB | 15 |
Second year (120 credit points)
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code | Credit Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Fundamentals of Chemistry | CHE2FND | 20 | |
| TE-SEM-1 | Human Physiology | HBS2HPA | 20 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Medicinal Chemistry | CHE2MEC | 20 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Pharmacology for Medicinal Chemists | HBS2PMC | 20 | |
| And choose either 2 Biochemistry subjects or 2 Microbiology subjects: | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology A | BCH2BMA | 20 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology B | BCH2BMB | 20 | |
| Or | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | Introductory Microbiology | MIC2IM | 20 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Medical and Veterinary Microbiology | MIC2MVM | 20 | |
Third year (120 credit points)
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code | Credit Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Medicinal Chemistry C | CHE3MCC | 30 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Medicinal Chemistry D | CHE3MCD | 30 | |
| And choose either 2 Biochemistry subjects or 2 Microbiology subjects: | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 3A | BCH3BMA | 30 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Biochemistry andd Molecular Biology 3B | BCH3BMB | 30 | |
| Or | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | Advanced Medical and Veterinary Microbiology | MIC3AMM | 30 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Advanced Microbiology | MIC3AM | 30 | |
Honours
The Honours program will be taken in one of the Departments, Chemistry, Biochemistry or Microbiology. The rules and organisation for Honours studies will be as for that department’s Honours program. Honours degree students are selected based on their performance in the final year of the pass degree course. Students must obtain a minimum average of 60% across all of their third year subjects and obtain at least 65% in subjects germane to their Honours discipline to the value of 60 credit points. Students can alternatively choose to study for a Master of Chemical Science (coursework) degree. Interested students should talk to the course adviser (Dr Andrew Hughes).
Fourth (Honours) year (120 credit points)
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code | Credit Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Honours Chemistry | CHE4HNA | 60 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Honours Chemistry | CHE4HNB | 60 | |
| Or | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | Honours in Biochemistry | BCH4HNA | 60 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Honours in Biochemistry | BCH4HNB | 60 | |
| Or | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | Honours in Microbiology | MIC4HNA | 60 | |
| TE-SEM-2 | Honours in Microbiology | MIC4HNB | 60 | |
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.