Questions on People and Planets unit (1 Viewer)

byebye33

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Hi Im planning to start Actuarial studies and Science this year. I heard that a lot of people recommend to have the people and planets unit done and over with in the first year and Ive tried to squeeze in p&p into my timetable but my chosen subjects tend to crash with my other lectures (some of which that i cannot change). Is it okay for me to do this in the next year or can i do p$p units in the next semester?
 

thor1990

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It's okay to do them whenever. I reckon splitting them up through the years with tougher subjects makes things a bit easier. I know some actuarial students have done this
 

BenHowe

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With the people and place units, like are they mini-internships i.e. do you have to find somewhere to take you on or can you still do it at mq?
 
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I think he's also asking about PACE units? Just cross that bridge when you come to it, there's lots of variation depending on which unit you do. The faculty will have plenty of info by the time you reach PACE units.
 

BLIT2014

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I'm entering third year and haven't done them yet.So you can do them whenever.
 

LightOfTheSeven

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Realistically, I think its much better to space them out. I don't have experience at Macquarie with People and Planet units, but my previous university I took all the core classes at once. Needless to say, it was an utter chore to go to university and my marks suffered. So maybe its best to space them out a bit, maybe one per year or something like that- if you do eight units, only one of them has to be People / Planet per year.

I get MQ's intentions in creating the criteria to do a 'People' and 'Planet' unit. I agree that it's important to have graduates who can assess the impact something might have on society and the physical world, and can approach problems in multiple ways. So I don't hate the fact I'll have to do them, but I won't lie it is frustrating. Still, lots of universities have methods (UNSW has "general education"), so its not suprising.

Note that I've been told Arts students may struggle with Planet, and Science / Engineering students may struggle with People (that doesn't mean its hopeless, or that the units can't be completed). Your first session at university should be dedicated to (and something I wish I did at Notre Dame when I was there) getting used to the university, the degree structure and your requirements. There is no shame in dedicating time to make things a bit easier and smooth for you, especially in your first semester. So doing both Planet and People in your first session doesn't seem like a good idea. Instead, pick one, and do the next one in a future session / year.

Also- subjects aren't offered each semester, and there is a maximum of 4. The two subjects that may be requirements for your degree will have to be delayed, and they aren't all offered in the summer session. Just something to think about.

Take advantage of Macquarie's flexible structure- I am going to. I am certain it will defuse some stress, and allow me to manage my time effectively. I'm sure there are people who manage to do both People and Planet in the first semester, but I just want to make it clear that you don't have to do that.
 

LightOfTheSeven

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I've heard good things about the Astronomy units in terms of ease.

'Big Ideas In Science' personally intrigues me, might do it next year. It's a pretty well established unit, and would like to hear to some perspectives about it.
 

LightOfTheSeven

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Depends on the degree. Some majors / courses have PACE units as compulsory units (for example, a major in Philosophy has a PACE unit as part of the course and it's compulsory whereas some degrees like Bachelor Of International Studies have an internship unit which you can count as your PACE unit but is not compulsory- leaving people to having to use their 15cp elective space to pick a PACE unit.

Honestly, out of People / Planet / PACE, I feel as if PACE is the weakest. Modern History PACE is such a joke because it's virtually the same as the Capstone unit yet are seperate. IMO, all Capstone units should count as PACE.

As long as you complete your degree requirements and a PACE unit, you should be fine.
 

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