Faculty of Science Department of Zoology

Undergraduate Subjects

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

In addition, we offer elective specialist zoology subjects:

Third Year Subjects

In third-year, there are Zoology subjects offered in all three semesters; Summer, Semester 1 and Semester 2. These are listed below:

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.

The Department of Zoology has the 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 program 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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