Confused about my program of study... (1 Viewer)

[d.i.m.e Babii]

I am a new undergraduate student for 2007 enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts- Psychology/ Bachelor of Laws course. I am a extremely confused about my program of study for the first year.

The handbook outlines the subject requirements (for the full year) being:
LAW104
LAW114
PSY104
PSY105 and
either STAT170 OR STAT171

Each of these subjects worth 3 credit points. However I have been informed that I also need to choose 2 100-level elective units to make up 21 credit points.

I have actually purchased a copy of the handbook, but cannot find a list of the electives to choose from.

What is the minimum amount of credit points each year which I have to complete in order to fullfill the requirements of a double degree?

THANKYOU to anyone who could clarify this for me...

 

[iambored]

http://www.handbook.mq.edu.au/degree.php?edition=2007&id=21123

1. Minimum number of credit points: 116

it takes 5 years to do a double degree, therefore 10 semesters
116 / 10 = 11.6
so you'll be doing 12cp every semester

Each of these subjects worth 3 credit points. However I have been informed that I also need to choose 2 100-level elective units to make up 21 credit points.

why 21cp? to fulfill the degree requirements, you're going to have to do 12cp every semester, therefore 24cp in the year, not 21.

therefore, you'll need to pick 3 electives

there is no list of electives you can pick from as such- you can pick anything you like, provided you've done the prerequisites.


assmuing you have listed all your 100 level cores and so all three subjects you need to choose are electives, some things to consider:
1. check max number of cp at 100 level (it's 30, so you'll have no problems with doing 24, so all 3 electives can be 100 level if you like)
2. have a look at 300 level subjects. if there are any you think you'll really want to do you might want to do the prerequisite for them now.

 

[d.i.m.e Babii]

So I can choose ANY elective that I want? Even something e.g HIST which is totally irrelevant to my degree? Then what happens in the second year... do I have to continue picking subjects related to my elective which are 200- level units?

1. check max number of cp at 100 level (it's 30, so you'll have no problems with doing 24, so all 3 electives can be 100 level if you like)

I thought first year students could only do 100- level units respectively for 2nd year= 200 level.. so on.... Is that not the case?

have a look at 300 level subjects. if there are any you think you'll really want to do you might want to do the prerequisite for them now.

As in check the 300 level subjects for my electives or for my actually REQUIRED law + psych subjects?


Sorry about all the questions. Haha- I'm a typical lostie 1st yearer...

 

[MaryJane]

So I can choose ANY elective that I want? Even something e.g HIST which is totally irrelevant to my degree? Then what happens in the second year... do I have to continue picking subjects related to my elective which are 200- level units?

You're doing the same degree as me!

Basically, you only get electives in first year, from then on in your course is structured so you are completing 2 degrees in 5 years. There is no time to follow up free-for-all electives (you do, however, get electives within PSY and LAW, but thats a different story). If you were doing ONE degree (ie. BA-Psych) you would have electives that you would have to follow up. You dont have that in this degree, so just go crazy and pick any 100-level unit you like (but do check the pre-req's, like some units require enrollment in that degree... PSY units are like this).

I thought first year students could only do 100- level units respectively for 2nd year= 200 level.. so on.... Is that not the case?

As a first year, you do have to complete 100-level units. But, from second year onwards some units open up that do not have a 100-level unit as a pre-req (although most do). Alternatively, as a second, third, fourth year student you can always go back and do units that are 'lower' than the year you are currently in. So you could go back in 5th year and do a 100-level unit.

As in check the 300 level subjects for my electives or for my actually REQUIRED law + psych subjects?

IAB was referring to electives, but because you dont have any past first year, you dont have to worry about this.

Sorry about all the questions. Haha- I'm a typical lostie 1st yearer...

We were all there once Its not that scary and weird, the system does make sense... eventually

 

[Kegs]

The handbook outlines the subject requirements (for the full year) being:
LAW104
LAW114
PSY104
PSY105 and
either STAT170 OR STAT171

Dont do this subject, it really does suck hard, and the amount of work you need to put in for it isnt worht making your other units suffer, esp if you dont need it.

Each of these subjects worth 3 credit points. However I have been informed that I also need to choose 2 100-level elective units to make up 21 credit points.

Def choose 3 electives. They can be whatever you want, as was said above, but make sure that when you get to it, they will help you out later on. Like depending on what type of psych you want to do, you could focus on linguistics or anthropology of sociology. I havent really done much of this stuff, so you would need to speak to someone who knows what they are going on about. Other option is to choose fun stuff. This is very good too. I like fun stuff.
Go in to uni and ask them. They are bestest.

Have seen you posted more, so will just answer here. You can do whatever subjects you want, as long as you satisfy the requirements. If you want to, you can study HIST253, which requires 12cp and is available 2nd semester. 100, 200, 300 etc are number roughly assigned to the year they are done, but are more representitive of the difficulty and the level at which they will help you attain a degree. While there are some units that are similar at 200 and 300 level, you can only count one towards your degree. Hard to explain this point, but I hope you get the jist. Have a look at some of the HIST units, and you'll see what I mean.

To sum up:
1. Choose anything, electives are electives for a reason.
2. Dont be restricted by the unit code/name. The pre-req is what you focus on.
3. Look at what you need to do, and what you want to do and map it out. If you want to do HIST359, then you will probably need to do HIST115 in first year (bad example, 115 aint on this year). If you follow the programme, then it will be mapped out for you, as long as you follow it properly, you'll have no probs. Foucs on electives, cause this is where you can really let loos and do anything, from Ukranian to Geology or Creative Writing.

Any more questions, post away.

Edit: Ignore most of what i said, it is no longer relevant thanks to MaryJane and her all-too-quick posting. Except the stuff about STAT171. That is still way relevant. Dont do it.

 

[iambored]

i only read the first and last lines of the above but i will support kegs and also tell you - do not do stat171, stat170 is good enough so there is no need to do the harder version of it (which is stat171)

 

[MaryJane]

i only read the first and last lines of the above but i will support kegs and also tell you - do not do stat171, stat170 is good enough so there is no need to do the harder version of it (which is stat171)

Thirded.

 

[AsyLum]

I'll play devil's advocate:

DO STAT171!!!!!!!one

 

[d.i.m.e Babii]

THANKS HEAPS for the replies guys!!

Dont do this subject, it really does suck hard, and the amount of work you need to put in for it isnt worht making your other units suffer, esp if you dont need it.

I looked up STAT 171 in the handbook and was like **whoA Step Back*
So it definitely looks like STAT 170 all the way 4 me...... lol

so just go crazy and pick any 100-level unit you like

Haha- isn't it a bit random of the degree to get students to choose any electives for first year but not follow them up?

AnywhoO~ I chose SOC 175 SOC180 and PHIL 137... but when I tried to enrol in estudent with these units, the course program only allows for 5cp of electives...
I am so lost about how to use estudent to enrol. Would it be a good idea for me to phone the psychology department and book an appointment for academic advising? Do the advisers teach you how to use it?

 

[iambored]

AnywhoO~ I chose SOC 175 SOC180 and PHIL 137... but when I tried to enrol in estudent with these units, the course program only allows for 5cp of electives...

yeah i'm guessing you're already enrolled in 3 cores for seemster 1, which is 9cp. therefore you only need to do 1 elective in first semester to stay on track for qualifying for your degree (that will bring you to 12cp). it's recommended that you do 12cp in a semester, so you should think about only doing 1 of the semester 1 electives that you have chosen and choosing another for semester 2.

anyway, the max cp you can do in a semester without needing approval from the dean of division is 14 cp (so 2 more than 3cp of elective 1, therefore it's telling you that you can only have 5cp of electives for semester 1)

if you really really want to do that elective and therefore do an extra subject in semester 1 (and maybe only 9cp in semester 2, unless you want to still do 12cp in semester 2 and therefore do a subject that you do not need to do which is a bit of a waste of time) you should talk to the dean of division (or course coordinator, i can't remember). they need to give approval for you to study over 14cp. however, being first year they may not do that as they do not know your capabilities.

I am so lost about how to use estudent to enrol. Would it be a good idea for me to phone the psychology department and book an appointment for academic advising? Do the advisers teach you how to use it?

probably not? if you're having problems with estudent itself you can keep asking questions here. or contact estudent support maybe but if the questions are easy enough for us to answer then ask here.

 

[GoodToGo]

Haha- isn't it a bit random of the degree to get students to choose any electives for first year but not follow them up?

Short answer, no.

Longer answer: It may seem random for unis with less open programs, such as UTS, but interdisciplinary freedom is what Macq was founded on.

They could have made you do dumbed down gen-ed filler like New South, but that stuff is a load of bollocks if you ask me. Anyway, there's no guarantee that you won't follow them up. Many a student (esp in Arts) begin with an idea on what they wanna focus on and end up graduating in something completely different.

AnywhoO~ I chose SOC 175 SOC180 and PHIL 137

ANTH is another popular option. And there's no reason why you have to be restricted to humanites/media-soc units either. You can take marketing, or better yet actuarial 101 (mwhahah).

 

[MaryJane]

Good choice with SOC180 (although I did it before they changed it last year, so I'm not sure whether its really the same unit still).

Like G2G said, ANTH is very popular... I did ANTH106 (Drugs Across Culture) and cannot recommend it enough to students wanting to either pursue Anthropology, or just want an elective to make up. It was just amazing; I really loved it. But they didnt go deep enough into the biology of drug use in my opinion.

As IAB said, the psych academic advisors cant help you with eStudent... But at the enrollment day there will be people floating around (my boy will be one of them) helping new students with eStudent enrollment issues (but they dont do your timetable for you).