Science

High school students & teachers

UNSW Science provides a range of inspiring activities and useful resources all year round to support school students and teachers. Explore your passion for science through our upcoming events and get a head start on preparing for university life.

School students looking through glass

Are you a school student, teacher or career adviser? At UNSW Science, we offer a range of on-campus events and activities throughout the year for primary and secondary schools. You can also take advantage of interactive science and STEM-focused activities in your school or online, presented by our staff and students.  

We run many exciting events open to the general public too. Explore our events calendars to discover what’s coming up: 
UNSW events
UNSW Science events

We hope to see you soon on campus or online.

  • Moving from high school to university is an exciting and challenging time. UNSW Science aims to make this transition as smooth as possible for all students. 

    Find the right area of science for you 

    Explore the wide variety of degree options and science subjects available at UNSW. Not sure which area of science you want to study? We recommend the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours). You’ll be able to study a diverse range of science subjects in these degrees and try out different areas that interest you before you need to settle on your specialisation/s. 
     

    Learn more about our undergraduate courses

     

    Life on campus 

    We encourage students to get involved with a range of extra-curricular activities.  Arc, our student organisation that manages the clubs and societies program, is a great place to start, along with the student life information on the UNSW website.  

    If you are considering living on campus in student accommodation, learn more about our residential communities. 

     Find information on degrees and how to apply to UNSW

  • School of Materials Science and Engineering

    School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences 

    School of Chemistry 

    School of Mathematics and Statistics

    School of Physics 

  • The following terms will become very familiar to you when studying at UNSW. 

    Program 

    A program at UNSW is your degree and will have a four-digit program code (for example, 3970 Bachelor of Science). 

    Major 

    A major is a defined sequence of study within a program (for example, Bachelor of Science with a Major in Chemistry). In some programs, it's possible to do more than one major. 

    Course 

    All programs and majors at UNSW are made up of courses. Courses are like subjects at school. Each course has an 8-digit course code (for example, CHEM1011) and usually involves lectures, tutorials and labs. In science there are various types of courses: 

    • Core courses are compulsory courses that must be taken for a program or major. 
    • Science electives are any courses from a science school. 
    • Free electives are courses that may be taken from anywhere across the university; either from science or another faculty. 
    • General education courses are courses that must be taken from outside the Faculty of Science. 

    Each course is made up of lectures (large classes with a formal presentation from a lecturer) and tutorials (smaller, interactive classes led by a tutor) or labs (hand-on classes in a laboratory). Full-time students generally complete four courses each term. 

    Units of credit 

    Courses, majors and programs at UNSW are measured in Units of Credit (UoC). A standard study load is 8 courses, or 48 Units of Credit (UoC), per year spread over three terms. 

    Undergraduate vs postgraduate 

    • Undergraduate degrees are generally a student's first degree at university and are typically called bachelor degrees. This may also include an additional honours year, which is a year of research that extends a student's learning and research skills in a given area. 
    • Postgraduate studies are for people who wish to expand on their previous studies or working experience with further coursework study or research. They include graduate certificates, graduate diplomas, masters degrees and doctorates. 

    Faculty 

    A large academic department focused on a broad area. At UNSW there are six faculties (Arts, Design & Architecture; Business; Engineering; Law & Justice; Medicine & Health; and Science). 

    School 

    A smaller academic department that sits within a faculty and focuses on a more specific subject area. Within each faculty are a number of schools who teach the courses in their area of expertise. In science, there are eight schools: Aviation; Biological; Earth & Environmental Sciences (BEES); Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences (BABS); Chemistry; Materials Science & Engineering; Mathematics & Statistics, Physics; and Psychology. 

  • UNSW Science works closely with career advisers to provide advice on our study options and potential science careers. 

    Visit our careers advisers resources website to access additional resources, including ordering publications for your students and booking in school visits and campus tours.  
     

    Careers advisers resources

SciX@UNSW Science Extension Program
A research mentoring program that connects Year 12 high school science extension students with UNSW's Science researchers and facilities.

Girls Do the Maths
An annual series of free, one-day workshops for female students in Years 10-12. The workshops encourage female students to consider mathematics as a career.
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Contact us

For general enquiries and questions, contact UNSW Science: 

T: 02 9385 7788 
E: science@unsw.edu.au 

Campus tours

Discover all that UNSW has to offer with a campus tour guided by experienced student ambassadors. Our tours give you a real understanding of the student experience and facilities.

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