Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) (Honours)/Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery

Let's go through what each of these requirements means in turn.

What are credit points?

• Students doing an Arts (Advanced) (Honours) degree are able to choose to study in a wide range of subject areas - for example, History, Japanese, Philosophy, Art History & Theory, Biology, etc.
• A semester-length component in a particular subject area is called a 'unit of study'.
• Each unit of study is worth a certain number of 'credit points'. Most units of study taught at the University of Sydney are worth 6 credit points each.

How do I get 336 credit points?

• Most people studying full time take 7 years to complete this combined degree program.
• Full-time students usually earn their 336 credit points by taking units of study worth a total of 48 credit points per year (usually 24 credit points per semester) over seven years of their degree, that is:

48 credit points x 7 years = 336 credit points!

What are SMTP units of study?

• SMTP units are specifically designed for the Arts to Medicine transition program. They will assist you in the transition from the Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) (Honours) to the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery.

Which units should I complete?
There are three compulsory SMTP units of study

• SMTP1000 Communicating Effectively in Teams
• SMTP2000 Introduction to Clinical Research Ethics
• SMTP3007 SMTP Elective 1

How do I get 144 credit points for the BA (Advanced) (Honours)?

• Full-time students usually earn their 144 credit points by taking units of study worth a total of 48 credit points per year (usually 24 credit points per semester) over the first three years of their degree, that is:

48 credit points x 3 years = 144 credit points!

What are junior credit points?

• You start your degree by taking 'junior' units of study. They form a foundation for more advanced 'intermediate' and 'senior' units. Junior units of study are worth 3 or 6 junior credit points each, most commonly 6. They are sometimes referred to as 1000 level units because their unit of study codes all have the form 1XXX, e.g. JPNS1111, CHEM1001, GEOG1002, etc.

Which are the designated Science subject areas?

• You must complete junior credit points in Chemistry, Physics and Biology or Molecular Biology.

Which units can I complete?

• You must complete six junior credit points in Chemistry, six junior credit points in Physics and six junior credit points in either Biology or Microbiology. You can choose any of the units available in these subject areas in the Faculty of Science handbook or the Faculty of Arts handbook (Part B of the Table of Units of Study).

What are 'senior' credit points?

• 'Senior' units of study build on the foundation of learning established by junior units in a particular subject area. All senior units of study in the Faculty of Arts are worth 6 senior credit points each.
• Senior units in Arts are sometimes called 2000 and 3000 level units because their unit of study codes all have the form 2XXX or 3XXX, e.g. SPAN2601, ARBC3601 etc.

What's a major in a Faculty of Arts subject area?

• To earn a major in a subject area (from Part A) in the Faculty of Arts, students will normally complete 36 senior credit points in THAT subject area. Remember that senior units of study in Arts have 2XXX or 3XXX codes. Of course you may need to have the appropriate junior (1XXX) prerequisites in place before you can do these senior units of study.

What are 4000-level units of study?

• These are units of study with generic codes that you enrol in for your Honours year, eg. ANHS4011 Ancient History Honours A. Being generic, their unit of study names do not reflect the nature of the coursework that you may undertake.

• You can complete an Honours year in any subject area for which you meet the prerequisites. Most Honours programs require the 36 senior credit points needed for a major, plus a further 12 senior credit points (two senior units of study) in that subject area. Some departments may specify which two additional senior units you must do; in others, it’s your choice.

• In your senior years, you can't do more than 60 credit points from any one subject area. This means, for example, you can't do two majors in the one subject area.

• Part B units come from subject areas taught in the Faculties of Science, Economics & Business, and Education & Social Work.
• You may have up to 36 credit points from units of study from Part B of the Arts Table of Units of Study. This allows you to do one major from a subject area taught in another Faculty. Of course, this is totally optional.
• If you do wish to major in a subject area from Part B, think carefully before choosing your junior units - make sure you have any necessary Part B junior prerequisite units.

How do I know which units I need?

• You will be given information by the Faculty of Medicine once you have completed the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) (Honours).

Here is an example of how you might put together your Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) (Honours)/Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery:

Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) (Honours)/Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery Degree Overview page