Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours)

The Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours) is a one-year program for students who have achieved academic excellence and wish to build upon their undergraduate degree. It is a pathway to further studies in graduate research such as a PhD.

Integrate what you learned in your undergraduate degree with advanced studies in a specialised field while working on an exciting piece of original research.

The degree will enhance your ability to acquire advanced research and analytical skills to develop and test original ideas. You can specialise in one area of study (pure honours) or two (combined honours) depending on your specialisation.

This extra year of study on top of your three-year Bachelor of Science degree is designed to qualify you for graduate research degrees (Doctor of Philosophy or Master of Philosophy). Honours gives you advanced research, analytical and communications skills, plus greater experience working on independent projects. It can also reduce the length of time by up to a year for some Masters degrees offered at the University of Melbourne.

This degree is available to students who have completed a Bachelor of Science degree within the last ten years.

Why study Honours?

• Adds value to your Bachelor of Science degree with an advanced undergraduate year
• Sets you apart as a student with experience of research methodology and practical research
• Provides a possible pathway directly into a Doctor of Philosophy – Science or other graduate research program
• Can be credited towards the first year of a Masters by Coursework degree, providing your research is in a related discipline

Honours involves both coursework and supervised independent research. It is very different from earlier undergraduate years, with a greater degree of independence and flexibility. This will help you develop the maturity and skills for a transition to employment in a range of occupations, or to a higher degree.

In the advanced coursework component, you will have the opportunity to gain further in-depth knowledge in your chosen discipline. It also expands on the theoretical basis on which your research work will be based.

By completing the research component, you will acquire advanced analysis skills, develop original ideas, and apply innovative solutions to complex problems. You will also develop valuable transferrable skills in project implementation and communicating research outcomes.

More information

View the Handbook entry

Upcoming information session

Honours (Biomedical & Health Sciences) Information Session: 2024 & 2025 Intakes

When: Monday 27 May 2024, 12.30-2.00pm AEST

Join us at the Honours (Biomedical & Health Sciences) information session webinar where you'll have the opportunity to hear from the Honours Program Director, Associate Professor Chris French, current Honours students and alumni as well as our dedicated Honours team who will discuss the exciting opportunities that come with undertaking an Honours year, such as potential employment prospects and graduate pathways to courses such as the Doctor of Medicine.

Register here

Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours) graduates:

• Demonstrate an advanced knowledge and understanding of one or more selected fields of study in core disciplines in the biological, chemical, environmental and medical sciences;
• Demonstrate high level research skills appropriate to one or more core disciplines in the biological, chemical, environmental and medical sciences;
• Access and comprehend national and international debates in their specialised area(s) of study;
• Demonstrate an independent approach to knowledge that uses rigorous methods of inquiry and appropriate theories and methodologies that are applied with intellectual honesty and a respect for ethical values;
• Apply critical and analytical skills and methods to the identification and resolution of problems within complex contexts;
• Act as informed and critically discriminating participants within the community of scholars, as citizens and in the workforce.

Further Study

Coursework Masters

If you wish to continue your professional studies at postgraduate level, the studies you undertake in your major can provide a direct pathway to coursework masters degrees in a wide range of areas. Entry is based on academic merit and in most cases requires completion of a Bachelor degree or equivalent. For more information on entry into a coursework masters degree see the University Graduate coursework study web page.

Research Higher Degrees

If you wish to undertake advanced research and explore particular study areas in more depth, there will be opportunities to proceed to a range of Research Higher Degrees at masters and doctoral level, usually upon completion of an Honours degree. For more information about research higher degree study in Arts and the entry requirements, see the University Graduate research web page and the Graduate Research Hub.

To be eligible for the Bachelor of Science (Honours) you must:

• Have completed a three-year undergraduate degree with at least two years in science or technology areas of study within the last 10 years
• Have completed at least 50 points at third-year level in science or technology areas of study (or equivalent) within the last 10 years
• Have achieved a weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 65% in your undergraduate degree
• Meet the specific requirements for the discipline area or research project you apply for - see below for stream-specific requirements.

Stream-specific requirements

• Agricultural Science: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Anatomy and Physiology, and Neuroscience: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Animal Science and Management: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Biochemistry and Pharmacology: if specialisation in Pharmacology, a major in Pharmacology or in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Biosciences: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed research project
• Chemistry: a major in Chemistry. Applications from otherwise qualified graduates who have not completed a Chemistry major will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Selection Committee.
• Clinical Pathology: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed research project
• Earth Sciences: a major in Earth Sciences, or in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Ecosystem Science: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed research project
• Food Science: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Forest Science: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Geography: a major in Geography with an average of at least H2B (70%) in second and third-year subjects in Geography, or equivalent
• Human Nutrition: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Medical Biology: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Medicine (Austin Health): an undergraduate 3-year degree in a relevant experimental science discipline with an average of at least H2B (70%-74%), or equivalent.
• Medicine (Royal Melbourne Hospital): a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Medicine (St Vincent's Hospital): a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Medicine (Western Health): a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Microbiology and Immunology: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Optometry and Vision Sciences: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Oral Health Science: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Otolaryngology: a major in a discipline relevant to hearing sciences
• Paediatrics: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Pathology: a major in Pathology, or a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project together with a second year pathology or pathophysiology subject, or equivalent. Applications from otherwise qualified graduates who have not completed the above but have practical experience in another biomedical science discipline will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Selection Committee.
• Population and Global Health: a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Primary Care (General Practice): a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Psychology: an undergraduate degree that includes an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited major in Psychology with a weighted average of at least 70% (H2B) in second and third-year (Level 3) Psychology subjects is assigned twice the weight of the average of the second year (Level 2) Psychology subjects.
• Psychopharmacology (Psychiatry (Austin Health)): a major in pharmacology, psychology or chemistry
• Surgery (Austin Health): a major in a discipline relevant to the proposed project
• Veterinary Bioscience: a major in a biological sciences discipline.

About selection

• Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection
• Selection is subject to linking you with the appropriate project and supervisor to maximise your experience
• Quotas may be applied to the degree as a whole or to individual discipline streams and preference may be given to applicants with evidence of appropriate preparation or potential to undertake research
• The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of your application in accordance with the Admission and Selection into Course Policy.

IELTS: Score: 7.0, with no band less than 6.5.

TOEFL: Score: 94+, with writing 24; speaking 20; reading 19; listening 20.

PEARSON: Score: 72+, with written communicative skill of 65 and no other communicative skill below 64.

CAMBRIDGE: Score: 185+, with no skill less than 176.