Need some uni degree advice (1 Viewer)

[ExtremelyBoredUser]

The advanced science one often has a higher ATAR entry. In terms of the difference in the degree, you have to do the higher level subjects when there are options. For example, in first year chemistry, it was a requirement of my degree that I had to higher chemistry 1A and higher chemistry 1B. While in the bachelor of science degree you can choose to either to do the easier version or the harder version of the course.

The honours year is integrated into the degree in advanced science, while for bachelor of science you have to apply for it.

The honours is the 4th year of the degree and you have to apply for it during the 3rd year because you have to meet with potential supervisors and it's not like first come / first served. Higher your mark is the greater priority you get in being to get your first preference of a supervisor. You can't like come back to uni after the degree is over and then apply to do honours

Quick question, if you do honours, can you automatically do a PhD? or would you in most cases have to go through masters to PhD but you have the opportunity to go directly to PhD because you did a thesis..?

 

[jazz519]

Quick question, if you do honours, can you automatically do a PhD? or would you in most cases have to go through masters to PhD but you have the opportunity to go directly to PhD because you did a thesis..?

Yes but it's based on some conditions as there is application process and mark requirements.

In my case I had to apply for PhD like you are applying for a job. Had to submit a resume, research proposal, outline past research experience, supervisor recommendation, referees etc.

I'm not sure about other degrees, but in science in Australia if you do an honours year you can get entry directly from undergraduate to PhD. The main reason you can't do so just with a normal bachelors degree is because you will have little to no research experience and so your application won't get past the screening process. In that case then yeah you will need to do the masters before it. However, the PhD direct entry from undergraduate is quite competitive in that you need to first gain entry through the uni application screening process and then also get the marks required for a government scholarship (because the fees are way too high then to do it without this). The fee is something like 50k a year for the tuition fees and then you still need to pay your own living expenses. With the scholarship that tuition fee is waived (so 0 dollars) and you get like a 30k a year for living expenses like rent, groceries etc.

The marks needed for the government scholarship is a first class honours degree (which means an 85+) and so you really need to be a high performing student to get into a PhD

 

[ExtremelyBoredUser]

Yes but it's based on some conditions as there is application process and mark requirements.

In my case I had to apply for PhD like you are applying for a job. Had to submit a resume, research proposal, outline past research experience, supervisor recommendation, referees etc.

I'm not sure about other degrees, but in science in Australia if you do an honours year you can get entry directly from undergraduate to PhD. The main reason you can't do so just with a normal bachelors degree is because you will have little to no research experience and so your application won't get past the screening process. In that case then yeah you will need to do the masters before it. However, the PhD direct entry from undergraduate is quite competitive in that you need to first gain entry through the uni application screening process and then also get the marks required for a government scholarship (because the fees are way too high then to do it without this). The fee is something like 50k a year for the tuition fees and then you still need to pay your own living expenses. With the scholarship that tuition fee is waived (so 0 dollars) and you get like a 30k a year for living expenses like rent, groceries etc.

The marks needed for the government scholarship is a first class honours degree (which means an 85+) and so you really need to be a high performing student to get into a PhD

How much hours roughly did you study per day to maintain such a WAM/performance? Did you find it challenging to fit in other activities during your BSC for example internship or relaxing etc... and is there any real benefits to doing honours besides the PhD?

 

[jazz519]

How much hours roughly did you study per day to maintain such a WAM/performance? Did you find it challenging to fit in other activities during your BSC for example internship or relaxing etc... and is there any real benefits to doing honours besides the PhD?

Slightly more than the average student for hours. It's not really like a consistent amount each day/week, because uni is different not every assessed thing is an exam. So for things like lab reports and hand in assignments, that just depends on how long they are. Only really studied closer to the exam period (like 2 weeks before) for final exam practice, where basically studying all day. However, I'm very talented in the sciences and maths, so I was easily able to grasp the concepts and so getting high marks like 95 for me didn't require as much study time as you think it would for a normal person.

I was basically busy the whole degree, because I was not only studying but working around 25 hours a week. Internships is not the same kind of thing in science because you can't just go work in a company or something unless you have the qualifications. Internship equivalent for a science degree is like doing a research project with a supervisor by contacting them or getting a scholarship to do one. I did those projects during my 2nd and 3rd year with a supervisor I found during the holiday times. Since it was basically uni during the term and doing that research stuff during the holidays I didn't have a proper break.

For sure it takes a toll on things like sleep and stress, however I had a very clear goal to be the best in my degree and get entry into the PhD as I want to be an academic researcher, so I was willing to make that sacrifice of less relaxing time, less time to socialise etc. For the long term benefit of my career in the future

Getting the high marks for me was quite important because I won some awards during my 2nd year of my degree for ranking top in the subjects, which helped me to have a strong application for the research scholarships that I did during the holidays.

Yes there are lots of benefits. Because during the first 3 years of undergrad you don't really gain any practical lab skills. Following a method for an experiment is not the same as designing methods and troubleshooting in your own research without guidance. Also you get familiar with lab techniques that are used in actual research or industry labs and so if you are applying for a job with just the undergraduate degree, it will help your application a lot. It shows you are already proficient in the main techniques you need to be able to perform, the safety practices, working in a research group or group of people, adjusting your method based on the results and how to analyse data you obtain. Also learn skills such as how to write a thesis which develops how you write scientifically


In terms of the honours year for the hours, it's basically like doing a full time. You have to be on campus every week day because that's where you will perform your experiments, so the level of hours and commitment increases a lot compared to the first three years. It's also like you have to self direct your effort and learning. If you don't do work no one other than your supervisor is going to say anything. So your level of motivation will basically dictate if you are going to produce a high quality thesis or lower quality one.

 

[jazz519]

Generally speaking though getting an 85+ in subjects (i.e. a high distinction) takes a decent amount of work. It varies in each degree how many people get high distinctions, however in my degree on average for subjects probably less than 5% of people get that. A low 90 is usually a first place so it's different from HSC where an 85 would be seen as a decent mark but not like the top. In uni that will actually be a mark that is very high compared to HSC. That's because there is no alignment, what you get is your raw mark in most cases

 

[ExtremelyBoredUser]

Slightly more than the average student for hours. It's not really like a consistent amount each day/week, because uni is different not every assessed thing is an exam. So for things like lab reports and hand in assignments, that just depends on how long they are. Only really studied closer to the exam period (like 2 weeks before) for final exam practice, where basically studying all day. However, I'm very talented in the sciences and maths, so I was easily able to grasp the concepts and so getting high marks like 95 for me didn't require as much study time as you think it would for a normal person.

I was basically busy the whole degree, because I was not only studying but working around 25 hours a week. Internships is not the same kind of thing in science because you can't just go work in a company or something unless you have the qualifications. Internship equivalent for a science degree is like doing a research project with a supervisor by contacting them or getting a scholarship to do one. I did those projects during my 2nd and 3rd year with a supervisor I found during the holiday times. Since it was basically uni during the term and doing that research stuff during the holidays I didn't have a proper break.

For sure it takes a toll on things like sleep and stress, however I had a very clear goal to be the best in my degree and get entry into the PhD as I want to be an academic researcher, so I was willing to make that sacrifice of less relaxing time, less time to socialise etc. For the long term benefit of my career in the future

Getting the high marks for me was quite important because I won some awards during my 2nd year of my degree for ranking top in the subjects, which helped me to have a strong application for the research scholarships that I did during the holidays.

Yes there are lots of benefits. Because during the first 3 years of undergrad you don't really gain any practical lab skills. Following a method for an experiment is not the same as designing methods and troubleshooting in your own research without guidance. Also you get familiar with lab techniques that are used in actual research or industry labs and so if you are applying for a job with just the undergraduate degree, it will help your application a lot. It shows you are already proficient in the main techniques you need to be able to perform, the safety practices, working in a research group or group of people, adjusting your method based on the results and how to analyse data you obtain. Also learn skills such as how to write a thesis which develops how you write scientifically


In terms of the honours year for the hours, it's basically like doing a full time. You have to be on campus every week day because that's where you will perform your experiments, so the level of hours and commitment increases a lot compared to the first three years. It's also like you have to self direct your effort and learning. If you don't do work no one other than your supervisor is going to say anything. So your level of motivation will basically dictate if you are going to produce a high quality thesis or lower quality one.

Thank you very much, this cleared some doubts. I presume the structure of honours would be different for other degrees but the ethic is mostly similar. I'll keep that in mind.

 

[jazz519]

Thank you very much, this cleared some doubts. I presume the structure of honours would be different for other degrees but the ethic is mostly similar. I'll keep that in mind.

It's fairly similar in terms of what you do, you have to do some kind of big project with the direction of a supervisor who will help you deciding the topic and guiding you along the way. My friend did a computer science honours year and he also had to do like a project and another did one for architecure with also having to do a overall project. However, difference was they are allowed to work in a pair with another student, while in science the honours is all like individual

 

[Minari243]

I liked the idea of learning skills, rather than just content. I felt like that would be more useful in research. Also engineering was a backup if med didn't work out.

If I took a 5 years double degree with Bachelor of engineering (Biomedical)/Bachelor of science, would I be able to drop to just a Bachelor of Science? If so can I drop to a bachelor of science if I end up getting into medicine?

 

[nzexperiment]

If I took a 5 years double degree with Bachelor of engineering (Biomedical)/Bachelor of science, would I be able to drop to just a Bachelor of Science? If so can I drop to a bachelor of science if I end up getting into medicine?

yes but that means you have spent time on b eng and may not have yet done all the credits for bsci

 

[jazz519]

If I took a 5 years double degree with Bachelor of engineering (Biomedical)/Bachelor of science, would I be able to drop to just a Bachelor of Science? If so can I drop to a bachelor of science if I end up getting into medicine?

Yes you can change degrees at uni. There is an internal program transfer a few times a year