WSU Chatter Thread (1 Viewer)

[jimmysmith560]

Would you be interested in establishing a link between your studies of biology and chemistry, and anthropology? I am specifically referring to HUMN 1026 Global Structures, Local Cultures. The subject itself appears to be relatively benign in the sense that the assignments within this subject are not likely to affect your studies of your more important subjects. I believe this would be a good way to gain, through an elective subject, a basic understanding of the field of anthropology, which, when combined with a strong background in biology and chemistry, can enable you to discover and identify connections between your own scientific background (particularly biology) and anthropology, possibly allowing you to use those to your advantage.

In my first year, I took BUSM 1026 Organisational Behaviour, which was my first elective subject. While this is a business-related subject (from the Management major to be precise), it included an anthropology component, which is how I was introduced to anthropology. I personally found the anthropology component (and the subject as a whole) fairly interesting.

Another subject I would like to suggest, which you should consider as an option for Autumn semesters (that is, in the event that you are seeking an elective subject) is NATS 1009 Human Anatomy and Physiology 1. Given that you took NATS 1019 Scientific Literacy this semester, expanding your knowledge within the Other Natural and Physical Sci (NATS) category by taking another NATS subject (such as the one I mentioned) may be beneficial. NATS 1009 may be related to your studies of biology in some sort, which is also something to consider.

Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that elective subjects do not necessarily have to align with your major(s) or your overall field(s) of study. You may wish to explore your interests in other areas of study, which may be completely unrelated to your own. Not only is the diversity aspect a nice addition to your degree, but it may also allow for a more fun experience alongside your important subjects, not to mention the possibility of supporting your GPA through favourable performance in such subjects, which is always a good thing.

I hope this helps!

 

[jimmysmith560]

My medical science friends take anatomy so I know what’s in it and it’s not to my liking. Ideally I’d want all my subjects to help with becoming a teacher, I already choose quantitative thinking for that GPA boost.

You reckon I should just go with another level 2 chem course as that’s really the only thing I see right know, and if so which one should I choose. Since we already agreed I should choose inorganic chem

In that case, you may be looking at one of the following level 2 subjects from the Chemistry major:

• CHEM 2001 Analytical Chemistry
• CHEM 2008 Organic Chemistry
• CHEM 2010 Physical Chemistry

The problem with CHEM 2001 and CHEM 2008 is that they are both only offered in Autumn, leaving you with CHEM 2010. This subject requires that you have completed CHEM 1003 OR CHEM 1008 AND CHEM 1005. You took CHEM 1008 this semester so there are no issues there. However, the fact that you will be taking CHEM 1005 Essential Chemistry 2 next semester means that the other prerequisite for CHEM 2010 Physical Chemistry is not met. To confirm whether this is the case or whether you may be able to take CHEM 2010 having completed CHEM 1008, you should contact the subject coordinator.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider taking BIOS 2006 Comparative Physiology (which is part of the Biology major) next semester instead of taking it in the Spring semester of your second year. This subject requires prior completion of any of the following subjects:

• BIOS 2014 Functional Proteins and Genes
• AGRI 1003 Animal Science
• BIOS 1012 Cell Biology
• BIOS 1001 Biodiversity (You took this subject this semester, therefore meeting the prerequisite for BIOS 2006 )

Doing so will allow you to complete a subject from the Biology major earlier than expected while allowing you to instead take CHEM 2010 as an elective subject in the Spring semester of your second year. This will also ensure that all prerequisites for CHEM 2010 are met by that time, given that you would take CHEM 1005 next semester.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Oh dang i didn't consider this

Yes!! we both came to the same conclusion.

Here is my plan for my course. have a look at it and tell me if there's anything wrong or needs changing with prerequisite stuff etc.. and if it's good for becoming a chemistry and biology teacher

Year 1:

Autumn session:

BIOS 1001 Biodiversity

NATS 1019 Scientific Literacy

CHEM 1008 Introductory Chemistry

MATH 1026 Quantitative Thinking


Spring session:

CHEM 1005 Essential Chemistry 2

BIOS 1012 Cell Biology

CHEM 2006 Inorganic Chemistry

(4th subject unknown need help with that, I’m thinking of doing BIOS 2006 Comparative Physiology, as it a subject I’m suppose to be doing in my second year of my course in the spring session, but I can do it now instead…)


Year 2:

Autumn session:

BIOS 2022 Microbiology 1

BIOS 2042 Biochemistry

BIOS 2018 Genetics

(4th subject will most likely be another level 2 chem course, possibly CHEM 2001 Analytical Chemistry)


Spring session:

BIOS 3027 Molecular Biology of the Cell

(2nd subject was supposed to be BIOS 2006 Comparative Physiology, but if I do that early on in the spring session, this will be another free elective. Most likely another level 2 chem course, possibly physical chemistry or I might even do a level 3 chemistry course)

NATS 3044 Complex Case Studies in Science

(4th subject is an elective so most likely more level 2 or 3 chemistry, most likely CHEM 3003 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry)


Year 3:

Autumn:

BIOS 3032 Plant Science

BIOS 3033 Applied Bioinformatics

(2 electives will be from my education minor)


Spring:

BIOS 3034 Molecular Biotechnology

BIOS 3012 Conservation Biology

(2 electives will be from my education minor)

I think it is not uncommon to take a level 2 subject in your first year (you are already taking CHEM 2006 Inorganic Chemistry next semester for instance), although level 3 subjects are the subjects that should be left till your second and third years. Keep in mind that by next semester, you would have met the prerequisite for CHEM 2006, meaning that you will likely find this subject of reasonable difficulty.

Your subject combination for the Autumn semester of your second year seems good. You plan to take the subjects from the Biology major as per the sequence and also intend to take an elective from the Chemistry major to enhance your knowledge of Chemistry.

Your subject combination for the Spring semester of your second year also looks good. One thing to note is that there is a possibility that taking 4 level 3 subjects in one semester may be overwhelming. Based on this, you may wish to consider taking a level 2 subject from the Chemistry major, resulting in 3 level 3 subjects and 1 level 2 subject. Of course, abilities differ between students, and you may not necessarily find 4 level 3 units overwhelming.

Lastly, your subject combination for the Autumn and Spring semesters of your third year is consistent with the sequence. Not only will this be the culmination of your knowledge of biology, but given that you will also take 4 subjects in Education, you will gain foundational knowledge that is beneficial, especially as you complete the Bachelor of Science and commence the Master of Teaching.

oh no. someone told me this
" You cant do comparative physiology in year 1 . You need to have completed 60 credit points at level 1 and 20 credit points at level 2 "

That seems to be the case since it is mentioned on the Subject Details page. However, this does not necessarily mean that you cannot take this subject next semester. You can apply for a rule waiver given that you want to register in a subject that has requirements/rules you have not met. The university is not very stringent on rule waiver requests. This means that, if you are able to explain your situation effectively, there is a high chance that your request will be accepted, allowing you to take BIOS 2006 Comparative Physiology next semester. Favourable performance may also be a beneficial factor, as it can demonstrate your ability to take that unit next semester.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Dammit! Inorganic isn’t on in the spring semester

“ep, certainly, some extra chemistry would serve you well however please note that the handbook is incorrect with regards to inorganic chem as it is actually on this session so unfortunately there isn't any other chemistry on offer next session”

You reckon I can do just do my minor subjects now? Or I can’t yet Cus I read somewhere that
“Generally, students will start enrolling into their Minors once 120 credit points are completed. Please follow the steps below only once you have completed 120 credit points of your program.”

You can technically take a subject whenever you wish provided you meet the requirement(s) of the subject itself and provided the subject is offered in the semester that you wish to take it in. For example, a student completing a double degree program, such as a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts may choose to complete all subjects from the Bachelor of Science before completing those from the Bachelor of Arts, and vice versa. The same applies to majors and minors - if a student were majoring in Finance and Marketing, they may choose to complete all subjects from the Finance major before completing the subjects from the Marketing major, and vice versa.

However, if you wish to honour this apparent rule, you could probably take one of the units from the Education minor in such a way that you can subsequently take CHEM 2006 Inorganic Chemistry when it is actually offered. That way, you will be able to complete CHEM 2006 while having subjects from the minor that are yet to be completed, which you can take once you have completed 120 credit points (or whenever you believe is best), consequently giving you the ability to enrol into your minor, as per this rule.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Yo jimmy I have an idea!
How about summer and winter sessions? Is there anyway I can find out what courses are offered in summer

I don't believe there is a winter session given the rather short holiday between the Autumn and Spring sessions, as opposed to the longer time period between a Spring session and the Autumn session of the following year. However, Summer sessions may indeed be an option! To find out whether a subject is offered in Summer, you will need to search individual subjects, just as you would when you want to determine whether a subject is offered in Autumn and/or Spring. An example of a subject that is offered in the Summer A session is BIOS 2042 Biochemistry.

Essentially, Summer is comprised of two teaching sessions:

• Summer A - 12 weeks duration including the two-week Christmas/New Year break, stuvac and exams
• Summer B - 6 weeks duration including stuvac and exams

Given the shorter duration when compared to a regular semester's 14 weeks (which does not include stuvac and exams), it is important to keep in mind that Summer sessions follow an intensive teaching mode. However, this is likely offset by the fact that you can only take a total of two subjects in the Summer session (which can be two subjects in Summer A or two subjects in Summer B or one subject in each Summer session).

If you believe that you can effectively adjust to a different mode of teaching and provided that the subject(s) that you wish to take is/are offered during the Summer session, then you should probably give it a try.

 

[jimmysmith560]

@jimmysmith560 could you find me some notes on biodiversity in wsu. Bios1001

Attached are two sets of notes targeting BIOS 1001 Biodiversity, each taking a different approach. They are as follows:

• BIOS 1001 - Definitions and Concepts: this set of notes provides definitions and explanations of concepts covered each week, which are also organised by week. It includes diagrams and other visual representations where applicable.
• BIOS 1001 - Notes: This is a more comprehensive set of notes that extends beyond definitions and explanations. It is organised by lecture and also includes diagrams and other visual representations where applicable.

I hope this helps!

 

[cossine]

So one of my mates told me the spring subjects have opened up and i didn't even know, we didn't get any email or anything. Does anyone know when the deadline is?
@jimmysmith560

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/dates/dates/census_dates

generally I think it is after the census date you are no longer allowed enroll in other subjects. That being said you can drop subjects after the census date, however, you will still incur the fee for enrolling.

However some assignments, lectures may get covered before the census date, as result if you don't enroll before classes start you might miss out on stuff.

 

[jimmysmith560]

As far as I am aware, subject registration is almost always open. This means that you can enrol in subjects for the next semester (and potentially subsequent semesters) at any time as long as you do so before the last day to self enrol in subjects for the upcoming semester. In the case of next semester, the last day to self enrol in subjects is Friday 5 August 2022. Because there is technically no opening date to register in subjects (only a closing date), students are not notified about this, although students are definitely reminded to check their enrolment before census date (see cossine's post).

However, subject registration is different from tutorial registration. Subject registration is self-explanatory, i.e. you are essentially just enrolling into particular subjects. At this stage, no specific time allocations have been made into aspects such as lectures, tutorials, practicals/workshops and/or seminars. This is where students are notified by the Student Services Hub of opening and closing dates for tutorial registrations. After students select their preferences and tutorial registration closes, student timetables will be released.

If you would like to access all important dates for the academic year at any time, you can do so using the link below:

Important Dates | Western Sydney University

Important date information can be found in the various Academic Year views.

www.westernsydney.edu.au

Here, tutorial registration is referred to as "Preference Selection".

I hope this helps!

 

[jimmysmith560]

Yea the reason I posted this is Cus my professor said I should contact him once my autumn results are out to see if I can get that rule waiver and choose my subjects. But
It says here (image below) that Autumn results are released after the deadline for spring subject selection. Hementioned that I should contact him for my spring subjects once autumn results are released, but it says here that they are released after the spring subject selection deadline?
View attachment 35835

If you are confident that you will pass the subject(s) in question, you should let your professor know of your situation. Perhaps he can accommodate you. As I mentioned, "Preference Selection" is not referring to your ability to select a subject, but rather tutorial/workshop/practical registration (i.e. day and time of your classes), which is done through Allocate+ after you select the subjects that you wish to study in the Spring semester. The subject selection deadline is Friday 5 August 2022. This means that, if you enrol in a subject after Preference Selection closes (assuming there are places remaining), you will likely be automatically allocated to a particular class day and time. If this ends up being the case, and in the event that the automatic allocation does not fit into your schedule, you should be able to request to be moved to a different class day and/or time.

 

[jimmysmith560]

ah great.
another cool thing i found is this. i can use this to see all subjects offered at semester 2. so it turns out that sadly inorangic chemistry isn't being offered this semester. so now i have 2 free electives.
View attachment 35836

You should consider taking POLI 1007 World Politics and International Relations as an elective. My friend and I will be taking this subject next semester (which will be our final semester) online. It seems like a rather easy subject that will hopefully relieve some of the pressure from our other subjects and it would be good to have you along.

 

[jimmysmith560]

@jimmysmith560 how do electives work

A degree has a number of units that must be taken in order to complete the required number of credit points for the degree. Most of those units would be related to the degree/major(s) being studied, although some may not be. The latter include elective units, which are units that contribute to the total required but do not necessarily have to be related to the degree or chosen major(s). For example, a student studying engineering may be interested in taking a unit in business/commerce. This unit would be an elective unit.

I remember taking an elective unit in the second semester of my third year from a politics discipline.

 

[jimmysmith560]

does that apply to every visa tho? ik some ppl on a visa that are counted as domestic students bc they've been in aus for so many yrs but still haven't managed to become a resident for their own reasons... what happens there? is this something that uac is in charge of?

UAC can only view and use student information for the purposes of tertiary admissions. They are not responsible for matters relating to residency status. For matters such as residency status (including visas/citizenship), it would be best to contact the Department of Home Affairs.