Studying Engineering in 2010 and Beyond
"The University of Melbourne has led engineering education since establishing Australia’s first School of Engineering in 1862.
Over the years, the School has refined its degrees regularly, to keep pace with developments in the profession and economy globally.
I am pleased to announce the latest phase in that evolution, to strengthen engineering education at Melbourne.
These changes will help us to achieve our vision - to be one of the great engineering schools in the world - and ensure that we continue to produce some of the world’s best engineers.
They enable us to produce a new generation of engineers, with strong technical and problem solving skills, combined with creativity, ingenuity and leadership, to meet the challenges facing the world today."
- Iven Mareels, Dean of Engineering
What changes are being introduced?
Why are the changes being introduced?
What changes are being introduced?
1. For Undergraduates:
- Effective from semester 2, 2010, it will no longer be possible to commence our four year Bachelor of Engineering as a first year student. Lateral transfer into subsequent years of the Bachelor of Engineering will remain possible until the degree is taught out.
- From this time onwards, all students are encouraged to study engineering via the Melbourne Model. This means taking a major or sequence in engineering systems in a pathway degree to engineering and continuing to a professional-entry Master of Engineering. The Melbourne Model pathways degrees leading to the Master of Engineering are the Bachelor of Commerce, Science, Environments or Biomedicine.
- By studying engineering via the Melbourne Model, students get all the benefits of a double degree, but graduate with a Bachelors and a Masters, recognised internationally.
- From 2009, guaranteed Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) will be offered in the Master of Engineering to local students with an ENTER of 95 or above, who satisfactorily complete a Melbourne Model pathway degree with a major or sequence in engineering (achieving an average of 65% in their final two years).
- Overall, 50% of places for local students in the Master of Engineering will be Commonwealth supported.
- Guaranteed fee-based places in the Master of Engineering will be available to local students who meet the entry requirements for a pathway degree to engineering and achieve a good pass (at least 65%) in the final two years of their degree
- International students, who meet the entrance requirements for Melbourne Model pathway degrees and identify their interest in progressing to the Master of Engineering, will be offered a place in both the pathway degree and the Master of Engineering to assist in securing a visa for the duration of their studies at Melbourne. Students must attain an average of 65% in the final two years of their undergraduate degree and notify the School they wish to proceed to the Masters.
- From 2011, 50 full-fee scholarships will be available for high performing local students entering the professional entry Masters of Engineering with outstanding results in the final two years of their Melbourne Model degree and a major or sequence in engineering.
2. For Graduates
- Melbourne is announcing a new opportunity for graduates to become engineers.
- From 2010 in respect of Software Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Structural Engineering, and 2011, for all other engineering disciplines, we will introduce a new Master of Engineering of up to three years duration, for which we will seek accreditation by Engineers Australia.
- If accredited, this new Masters would make it possible for those with prior studies in engineering from non-Washington Accord member countries to gain an internationally-recognised engineering qualification.
- If accredited, the new Masters would also mean that those without prior studies in engineering could gain a professionally accredited graduate degree in engineering from Melbourne.
- The duration of graduate studies would vary according to the extent of relevant studies completed at undergraduate level.
- 50% of local places in the Master of Engineering will be Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP).
Why are the changes being introduced?
There are compelling reasons for offering a five year engineering education.
- Leading engineering professionals and educators have been discussing the merits of a five year engineering qualification for several years.
- The five year degree enables us to ensure students have a firm foundation in maths and sciences from which to build their technical expertise;
- It permits us to cover more subjects and in greater depth, to keep pace with advances in engineering and technology and provide students with the depth of technical skills needed to analyse and understand sophisticated engineering problems;
- It delivers graduates with the combination of skills employers want most.
- Employers have told us that while graduates still require a deep understanding of their discipline, they must also appreciate the broader context in which their skills will be employed and be ready to apply their knowledge to an increasingly wide range of situations. By studying engineering through degrees like the Bachelor of Commerce or Science, our students get to tap into other bodies of knowledge and methods of enquiry to develop the breadth of personal and professional skills to make a ready transition to work.
- Then at graduate level, they get to deepen the engineering skills they’ve developed in their undergraduate degree, to really advance their technical abilities.
- The move to the Melbourne Model has given us the opportunity to reinvigorate our teaching. Students across the School, in all our degrees, benefit from this renewal. Our students are excited about engineering, they are working in teams, learning about engineering problem solving and being creative. We give them lots of opportunity to learn by doing. In first year, for example, students make giant slingshots, do a series of fluid mechanics experiments, program Lego Mindstorm robots to negotiate an obstacle course, and get to build and analyse structures they design themselves.
- Our new approach enables students gain insight into the different disciplines within engineering before they have to choose the kind of engineer they’d like to become. They can make an informed choice, after they’ve experienced what’s involved in each of the fields of engineering.
- Our new approach to teaching is reflected in the redesign of our learning spaces. We have groups of three and six students working together, just as they might do if they were in an modern work environment.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What does this mean for...
Year 11 & 12 students and their parents?
- For those in Years 11 and 12, the choice remains the same as it has been this year – that is, they can take either the Bachelor of Engineering (4 years) or study engineering via the Melbourne Model and finish with a Bachelor and a Masters in 5 years.
- International students, who meet the entrance requirements for Melbourne Model pathway degrees and identify their interest in progressing to the Master of Engineering, will be offered a place in both the pathway degree and the Master of Engineering to assist in securing a visa for the duration of their studies at Melbourne. Students must attain an average of 65% in the final two years of their undergraduate degree and notify the School they wish to proceed to the Masters.
- And for local students, there is the benefit of guaranteed entry to the Master of Engineering for those with ENTER scores of 95 and above, who satisfactorily complete one of the pathway degrees with an engineering systems sequence or major, with an average of at least 65% in the final two years of their degree.
- High performing local students will also be able to apply for one of the 50 scholarships for the Master of Engineering.
- They also have the comfort of knowing that knowing that 50% of domestic places in Masters of Engineering will be CSP-supported.
Year 10 students and their parents?
- Students in Year 10 benefit from the pedagogical and competitive advantages of the Melbourne Model approach to engineering education, mentioned above.
- They will take a major or sequence in engineering studies in a Bachelor of Commerce, Science, Environments or Biomedicine, and continue to a Master of Engineering.
- If they are choosing subjects now, they need to be aware of the entry requirements for these Bachelors degrees, and consider the benefits of studying Specialist Maths in Years 11 and 12.
- Overseas Year 10 students benefit from guaranteed entry to the Masters if they meet the requirements for the pathway degrees with engineering systems sequences or majors, achieve a 65% average in the final two years of that degree and notify the School of their intention to proceed to the Masters. This enables them to secure a visa for five years, the duration of their studies at Melbourne.
Prospective graduate students?
- We currently offer a range of Advanced Masters in fields such as Telecommunications Engineering, Information Technology and Engineering Management, for those seeking to deepen their expertise in a specialist area of engineering or change direction to advance their career.
- From 2010 in respect of Software Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Structural Engineering, and 2011, for all other engineering disciplines, we will introduce a new Master of Engineering of up to three years duration, for which we will seek accreditation by Engineers Australia.
- If accredited, this new Masters would make it possible for those with prior studies in engineering from non-Washington Accord member countries to gain an internationally-recognised engineering qualification.
- If accredited, the new Masters would also mean that those without prior studies in engineering could gain a professionally accredited graduate degree in engineering from Melbourne.
- The duration of graduate studies would vary according to the extent of relevant studies completed at undergraduate level.
- 50% of local places in the Master of Engineering will be Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP).
Agents & Student Advisors
- Agents and Student Advisors can advise interested students that from now until first semester 2010, there continues to be two ways to study undergraduate engineering at Melbourne – the four year Bachelor of Engineering, or via the Melbourne Model.
- From 2009, international students, who meet the entrance requirements for Melbourne Model pathway degrees and identify their interest in progressing to the Master of Engineering, will be offered a place in both the pathway degree and the Master of Engineering to assist in securing a visa for the duration of their studies at Melbourne. Students must attain an average of 65% in the final two years of their undergraduate degree and notify the School they wish to proceed to the Masters.
- From semester two, 2010, entry to the Bachelor of Engineering will no longer be possible, except for those seeking lateral entry, and as of that time, all students seeking to study engineering at Melbourne are encouraged to do so via the Melbourne Model.
- Agents and Student Advisors may also advise students that from 2010, the University of Melbourne will begin to introduce a professional-entry Master of Engineering of up to three years duration, for which it will seek accreditation by Engineers Australia. If accredited, this degree may be of interest to engineering graduates from non-Washington Accord member countries. It may also be of interest to graduates of any discipline. The exact duration of this new Masters will vary according to the extent of an applicant’s relevant prior studies.
Sponsors
- Sponsors may note there continues to be two ways to study undergraduate engineering at Melbourne – the four-year Bachelor of Engineering, or via the Melbourne Model. Both avenues remain available until semester 1, 2010. After this time students are encouraged to study engineering via the Melbourne Model, as entry to the Bachelor of Engineering will cease for all but lateral transfer students.
- They may also note that as of 2009, international students who meet the entrance requirements for Melbourne Model pathway degrees and identify their interest in progressing to the Master of Engineering, will be offered a place in both the pathway degree and the Master of Engineering to assist in securing a visa for the duration of their studies at Melbourne. Students must attain an average of 65% in the final two years of their undergraduate degree and notify the School they wish to proceed to the Masters.
- Sponsors may wish to review the references to discussion in academic and professional engineering circles internationally about the merits of a five year engineering education.
- They may also note the reasons outlined above for the University of Melbourne’s move to the five year model of engineering education, the renewal of engineering teaching at Melbourne, the endorsement for the model received from Engineers Australia and leading employers and Melbourne’s achievements in engineering education and research.
Employers
- Our graduates are the greatest contribution the Melbourne School of Engineering makes to the community.
- Our new model of engineering education delivers talented potential recruits to employers at several points: after 3, 4 or 5 years of engineering and related studies. If approved by Engineers Australia, the introduction of a professional Master of Engineering for graduates, of up to three years duration, would provide a new avenue for existing graduates to gain engineering qualifications, expanding the pool of skilled engineers currently available to industry in less time that currently possible.
- Employers can gain early access to graduates of a Melbourne Model degree with a major or sequence in engineering systems and potentially support them through graduate studies in engineering. These recruits will have the foundations of engineering skills and be able to make an immediate contribution to a workplace or business.
- Graduates of our four year Bachelor of Engineering have a long history of making outstanding contributions to industry and society. Contemporary graduates have greater breadth in their degree as a result of its recent revision and are among the best internationally.
- And graduates of the professional-entry Master of Engineering will have the combination of strong technical skills and breadth of knowledge to enable them to meet the challenges of the our world today.
- Employers will have the opportunity to be directly involved in the Melbourne School of Engineering’s education program. This can be achieved by involvement in our curriculum, through guest or contextual lectures, during which firms have the opportunity to present a ‘live’ problem to students.
- We encourage students to gain exposure industry and community activities to ensure they gain a well-rounded educational experience. To assist, employers are encouraged to become part of the Melbourne School of Engineering’s internship program. This and other activity enables employers to become directly involved with high achieving students with a view to future recruitment; to access academic staff and leading engineering research; and contribute to the development of one of the world’s leading schools of engineering.
Alumni
- The University of Melbourne has led engineering education since establishing Australia’s first School of Engineering in 1862. Over the years, the School has refined its degrees regularly, to keep pace with developments in the profession and economy globally. The Melbourne Model represents our continuing commitment to excellence in Engineering Education.
- Alumni will benefit from the prestige associated with an engineering degree from Melbourne, enhanced by the University’s reputation for excellence in engineering and the heightened recognition of Melbourne resulting from the introduction of the Melbourne Model.
Current Students
- Current undergraduate students studying engineering at Melbourne benefit from the reinvigoration of our teaching, the renewal of the Melbourne experience with improved student services, facilities, industry involvement and opportunities for international exchange. They continue to benefit from the prestige associated with an engineering degree from Melbourne, enhanced by the University’s reputation for excellence in engineering and the heightened recognition of Melbourne resulting from the introduction of the Melbourne Model.
YOUR FEEDBACK
We welcome your feedback about the changes we are introducing. You can contact us by e-mailing eng-info@unimelb.edu.au