Bachelor of Science - Victoria University of Wellington

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Please note: Information on this page relates to the 2008 academic year, unless otherwise specified.

The Bachelor of Science

Science is an adventure. Its discoveries and innovations offer solutions to life’s most pressing problems, and give insight into the fundamental structures of the world. Scientists are explorers, looking into the unknown, from the depths of the Antarctic ice sheet to the workings of the human brain.

The Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree is your entry point to the international scientific community. As well as having general and specialised subject knowledge, Science graduates are expert in problem solving, teamwork, and communication. Comfortable with the latest technology, graduates are ideally suited to the knowledge economy.

Victoria’s scientists are international leaders in areas such as biodiversity, materials science, pure mathematics, marine biology, forensic psychology, seismology, and climate change. Much of this groundbreaking research is carried out in the University’s laboratories and in the field. The Science Faculty has produced many successful graduates, including Professor Alan MacDiarmid, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2002. Wellington’s high concentration of science organisations and research institutes provides valuable work experience and summer programmes for Victoria students.

Wellington has the highest concentration in New Zealand of scientists and science organisations such as the Crown Research Institutes, Te Papa Tongarewa, Ministries and Government offices and agencies like Weta Digital. These organisations provide valuable work experience and summer internships for Victoria’s science students.

A BSc degree leads to further study at Victoria at Honours and Masters levels. It is the ideal grounding for a career in any area of science, from biotechnology to theoretical physics.

Some students choose to combine a BSc with another degree. Because a number of courses can be credited to both degrees, it is possible for able students to complete two three-year degrees in four to five years. Other science options at Victoria are the conjoint Bachelor of Commerce and Administration and Bachelor of Science programme and the conjoint Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Teaching programme. See also information on the Bachelor of Science and Technology, the Bachelor of Engineering, the Bachelor of Information Technology, and the Bachelor of Biomedical Science.

A Bachelor of Science degree requires three years of full-time study. 360 points are required. At least 180 points must be above 100 level. Of these, 120 points must be in Science courses, and 72 points must be in Science courses at 300 level. Up to 90 points in a BSc may be from non-Science courses. See the Course Catalogue to find out the points value of courses.

To enrol in a BSc you need a university entrance qualification. It is useful to have studied some sciences. Many 100-level Science courses require little or no science background though some do have specified entry criteria: see the listings for individual subjects.

Four factors will determine the courses chosen by first-year BSc students:

Major: BSc students choose to major in one or two subjects, and each major requires you to take certain courses. See the Subjects section for details of these major requirements.

Advanced Courses: most advanced courses require you to take certain 100- or 200-level courses as preparation. See the Subjects section for details of these prerequisites.

Workload: many Science courses require you to attend laboratories. These hands-on classes are generally two or three hours per week. You should keep in mind the number of hours needed for laboratories when planning your programme.

Interest: you may choose to take Science courses in which you are interested, even if they are not relevant to your major. These can be taken from any area. Such courses include BIOL 132 Biodiversity and Conservation, ESCI 132 Antarctica, and PHYS 132 Introductory Astronomy.

BSc Majors