Faculty of Science Department of Zoology

Undergraduate Subjects - Continuing Degree

First Year Subjects

At first year level, you will need to undertake the following two core subjects in order to be able to undertake second or third year subjects in Zoology, and to complete a Zoology related major such as Marine Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Science or Zoology.

In addition, first year studies in Chemistry are recommended but not required. This means that a grounding in first-year Chemistry will be extremely helpful, but is not essential for later study in Zoology.

For students wishing to specialise in Zoology, the additional first-year Biology subject is highly recommended

Elective options include selected subjects offered by Earth Sciences, Geography, History & Philosophy of Science, Mathematics & Statistics, Optometry, Physics and Psychology.

All first year practical classes and tutorials for our first year subjects are conducted within the Biology Laboratory. For more information about Biology at the University of Melbourne including the laboratory facilities click here.

Second Year Subjects

In second year, we offer three core subjects:

Semester 1

Semester 2

Students wishing to progress to 3rd year subjects in Zoology must have completed these three core subjects. In addition, they must undertake ONE of the two subjects below:

In addition, we offer an elective specialist interest subject in Semester 1:

Third Year Subjects

The following subjects are coordinated by the Department of Zoology:

Summer Semester

Semester 1

Semester 2

The following subjects are taught in collaboration with other departments:

Majors in Zoology

All students who have enrolled in the BSc, BASc or BSc combined courses are required to complete 50 points of a prescribed science major at the third (300) year level. Students who have an interest in 300-level Zoology subjects can major in one of several majors (listed below), and take additional subjects taught by this or other teaching departments. Each major prescribes a plan of subjects that take into account any pre-requisites.

Choosing a major can be daunting if you are not entirely sure what you want to do. We recommend the Zoology major if you have broad interests, since this major provides the most flexible option for zoological subjects.

It is worth remembering...

A major specifies no more than half the maximum number of points you can undertake in any year. This means that the remaining points can be made up from a combination of other subjects of your choice. It is possible, but not a requirement, to do more than one major, or to co-major in Biotechnology, Environmental Science or History and Philosophy of Science. The Faculty of Science entry in the Undergraduate Handbook provides more details about Majors.

The Department of Zoology has a primary teaching role in the following majors. Click on the zoology major of interest for a subject course plan.

If you are interested in undertaking further studies in Zoology, our department has an active research programme in the following areas:

Research may be concerned with animals in their natural environments, in the laboratory, or a combination of the two. Modern biology uses molecular techniques, sophisticated instrumentation and information technology to study all levels of organisation, from the cell through to animal populations and communities. We also emphasise an objective and quantitative experimental approach, so the use of modern analytical and statistical techniques form an important aspect of zoological research training.

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