HOW TO USE THIS HANDBOOK - Macquarie University Handbooks

How to Use this Handbook 

The Handbook of Undergraduate Studies contains the 2010 Macquarie University undergraduate teaching program and 

will provide you with a guide and reference throughout your studies at Macquarie. 

It is your responsibility to read the Handbook and to familiarise yourself with the requirements of your degree and 

Macquarie’s formal administrative procedures. 

This Handbook should be your first source of information if you have any queries concerning your course, enrolment 

or studies. The Handbook is published each year as a paper copy and subsequently maintained as an up-to-date 

online resource. While the information in this Handbook is correct at the time of printing, you should be aware that 

the information in the online Handbook is updated as changes occur throughout the year, and that it supersedes the 

information in the printed Handbook. You can find the online Handbook at www.handbook.mq.edu.au 

This section and the glossary on page 15 contain information you will need to understand and interpret the Handbook 

content. Close examination of these two sections will make using the Handbook straightforward. 

Quick guide to planning your study 

Most aspects of undergraduate courses at Macquarie are governed by the Undergraduate Rules, found on page 477 of 

this Handbook. The University also has policies and procedures which direct the day-to-day implementation of these 

rules. A brief summary of the areas covered by these policies can be found in the Student Information section of this 

Handbook, or online at www.mq.edu.au/policy/. 

In the Handbook the Schedule of Programs Currently Open for New Admissions, Schedule of Majors, Schedule of 

Undergraduate Units and the Schedule of People and Planet Units contain all the components of your degree. Consult 

these sections in order to plan and successfully complete your degree. 

Handbook of Undergraduate Studies: Step by Step 

Find your program in the Schedule of Programs of Study Currently Open for 

New Admissions which starts on page 22. 

If your program is structured 

on majors, 

If your program is not 

structured on majors, 

Check the Schedule of 

Majors, and 

Check the Schedule of Units, 

the Schedule of People and 

Planet Units, and the Unit 

Descriptions. 

Check the Schedule of Units, 

the Schedule of People and 

Planet Units, and the Unit 

Descriptions. 

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Handbook of Undergraduate Studies—2010 

Step 1: Find your program 

Schedule of Programs of Study Currently Open for New Admissions 

This schedule lists all available programs as well as the general and specific minimum requirements which must be met 

to be eligible to graduate. 

The programs for Bachelor degrees are listed first, followed by programs for Certificates, Diplomas, Graduate 

Certificates, Graduate Diplomas and then Honours degrees. Within each of these categories the programs are listed 

alphabetically. 

Often there is more than one combination of units (or study path) which will satisfy the requirements of the program. 

Each program gives a sum of the minimum credit points needed to meet all requirements. Depending on the path your 

studies take, you may need to complete more credit points/units to meet the requirements of your program. 

The balance of credit points required is the difference between the total credit points required for the program and the 

minimum credit points needed to meet the specific minimum requirements; it represents the extra room in your program 

to meet general requirements or for electives. 

How to use the Schedule of Programs of Study 

Program name 

Program code 

Bachelor of Actuarial Studies 

Faculty: 

Faculty of Business and Economics 

Award: 

Bachelor of Actuarial Studies (BActStud) 

ACTS01 

General requirements: Minimum number of credit points for the degree 68 

Minimum number of credit points at 200 level or above 38 

Minimum number of credit points at 300 level or above 18 

Completion of a designated People unit 

Completion of a designated Planet unit 

Completion of other specific minimum requirements as set out below 

See the Schedule of People and 

Planet Units for a list of these units 

In order to graduate students must ensure that they have satisfied all of the general requirements 

of the degree: see the general requirements listed above. 

Unit codes 

Specific minimum requirements: 

100 level Credit points 

Required ACST101 Techniques and Elements of Finance 3 

Required ACST152 Introduction to Actuarial Studies 3 

Required MATH133 Mathematics IB (Advanced) 3 

Required STAT171 Statistical Data Analysis 3 

Required either MATH132 Mathematics IA (Advanced) 

or MATH135 Mathematics IA 3 

200 level 

Required ACST202 Mathematics of Finance 3 

100 level is generally first year. 

Required ACST212 Combinatorial Probability 3 

Use Required these levels as a guide ACST255 for Contingent Payments 1 3 

enrolment. 

Required STAT271 Statistics I 3 

Required STAT272 Probability 3 

300 level 

Capstone ACST302 Actuarial Capstone 4 

Required ACST354 Survival Models 4 

Required 7cp from ACST units at 300 level 7 

In some programs you may need to 

Balance of credit points required: 

Electives choose electives that count towards 23 

your general requirements 

Unit names 

TOTAL CREDIT POINTS REQUIRED FOR THIS PROGRAM 68 

Any additional information about the program will appear here 

6 

2


The balance of credit points will vary depending on the path you take to meet the specific minimum requirements of 

your program. In Bachelor degrees, you will need to use this balance to meet some of the general requirements—such 

as People and Planet units—or you may also be able to use this balance for electives. 

Be sure to re-check the general requirements for your program before deciding on your electives. 

You should consult the requirements of your program every time you enrol, discontinue or withdraw from units of 

study. It is important to track your progress against your program to make sure you satisfy all requirements. 

Step 2: Check whether your program is structured on majors 

If it is, check the Schedule of Majors before you go to step 3. If not, go directly to step 3. 

Schedule of Majors 

The Schedule of Majors lists all available majors, sorted alphabetically, and their requirements. 

If your program requires that you complete a major, then check the Schedule of Majors—you must make sure that you 

meet all the requirements for that major as listed in the Schedule of Majors. 

Should you wish to complete an additional major, you will need to consult the Schedule of Majors to understand the 

requirements of the second major, and how (and if) you can fit it in with the requirements of your program. 

If your program does not require that you complete a major, then you cannot qualify for any major within the program— 

you should consult the Schedule of Undergraduate Units in conjunction with your program of study. 

How to use the Schedule of Majors 

Major name 

Major code 

Linguistics 

Faculty: 

Department: 

Faculty of Human Sciences 

Department of Linguistics 

LIN01 

This major must be completed as part of a degree. The general requirements for the degree must 

be satisfied in order to graduate. 

Unit codes 

Requirements for the Major: 

Completion of a minimum of 24 credit points including the following prescribed units: 

100 level Credit points 

Required LING110 Language: Its Structure and Use 3 

100 or 200 level 

Required 3cp from 100 level LING unit or Unit LING names 210-240 3 

200 level 

Required 6cp from LING210 - LING240 6 

300 level 

Capstone LING399 Language as Evidence 3 

Required 9cp from 300 level units from LING, SPH units 9 

TOTAL CREDIT POINTS REQUIRED TO SATISFY THIS MAJOR 24 

Any additional information about the major will appear here 

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Step 3: Check the details of each unit 

Schedule of Undergraduate Units, Unit Descriptions and Schedule of People and Planet Units 

Use these sections to check the details of each unit. 

The Schedule of Undergraduate Units lists the availability of each unit, its prerequisites, corequisites and contact hours. 

Units within the Schedule have been ordered alphabetically according to unit code. 

Every unit on offer has been assigned a name and alpha numeric identification code. The code is three or four letters 

to represent the subject area of the unit; followed by one digit to represent the level of the unit (1 = 100 level, 2 = 200 

level, 3= 300 level, 4 = 400 level, 5= 500 level) and two further digits to distinguish the particular unit. A full list of the 

identification codes can be found on page 11. 

When choosing units, it is important to understand their availability so that you can plan ahead. The ‘When Offered’ 

column of the Schedule of Units will help you to plan your year of study. 

Note: this section does not contain the timetable for scheduling of individual classes; that information is available 

from the timetables page at www.timetables.mq.edu.au or your eStudent account. 

Prefixes 

D 

indicates Day, classes begin before 6pm 

E 

indicates Evening, classes begin after 6pm 

NHS2 indicates that the unit is offered in Northern Hemisphere Study Period 2 

Summer Session indicates Offered in January–February 2009 as part of the Summer School program. 

TBD 

indicates that the offering is to be determined 

V2 indicates Vacation study: December 2009 – February 2010 

WV 

indicates Winter vacation session 

X 

indicates External study 

Xc 

indicates Composite mode. 

Suffixes 

1 Offered in the first half-year 

2 Offered in the second half-year 

3 Offered over the full year 

On campus sessions 

Some units require you to attend an on campus session; voluntary attendance is indicated by (V), field work by (F). 

Please see the glossary for explanations of prerequisite, corequisite, NCCW and designation. 

The Schedule of People and Planet Units lists all units which have been designated as either a People or Planet unit. 

People units focus on the challenges of contemporary society and on what it means to be ethical, local and global 

citizens. Planet units help students to understand the nature of science and the challenges and issues facing the planet, 

with a particular focus on sustainability. 

Consult the Schedule of People and Planet units in conjunction with your program and, if relevant, major. You need to 

complete a People unit and a Planet unit to meet the requirements of your program. One of these units needs to be a 

unit offered outside of your Department and the other outside of your Faculty. Your Department is either the department 

responsible for your qualifying major or, in the case you do not have a qualifying major, the department responsible 

for your degree. 

The Unit Descriptions give a brief overview of the content of each unit as well as the academic member of staff who is 

the contact for the unit. This section includes the staff contact, class contact hours and the department offering each unit. 

Remember if you have read through this Handbook and are still unsure about your program of study—or simply want 

to make sure that you have understood all of your options—then please seek academic advice. 

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How to use the Schedule of Units 

Session Dates 

Credit 

Points Unit Designation Prerequisites Corequisites NCCW When 

Offered 

Code Name 

D2 

AHIS222 Byzantium, East and West 4 12cp AHIS322, AHST235, 

AHST335 

X2 8 October 

ASTR377 Astrophysics I 3 Science PHYS201(P) and PHYS202(P) MATH235 PHYS377 D1 

3 Science PHYS202(P) and MATH235(P) PHYS378 D2 

ASTR378 General Relativity and 

Cosmology 

BBA102 Principles of Management 3 Commerce; 

D1 

Economics 

This column lists the dates of any lecture, tutorial, block practical session or 

fieldwork for the unit. 

Eg: AHIS222 has an on campus session on 8 October. 

This column lists when classes for the unit are available. 

Eg: AHIS222 is run in the second half-year during day classes and externally. 

D2 

E1 

E2 

Summer 

Session 

BBA111 Organisational Behaviour 3 D1 

D2 

D1 

ECON111 or BBA103 ECON215, ECON200, 

ECON203 

BBA204 Applied Microeconomics 3 Commerce; 

Economics 

D2 

ECON110 or ECON111 or BBA103 ECON214, ECON201, 

ECON204 

BBA214 Applied Macroeconomics 3 Commerce; 

Economics 

BBA316 D2 

(Admission to BBA or BeBus or BCom or 

BCom-Mktg) and 24cp 

BBA216 Business Communications 3 Commerce; 

Economics 

BBA102 D1 

3 Commerce; 

Economics 

BBA280 Business Models and 

Organisation Structure 

36cp and (STAT170 or STAT171) ECON361 D1 

BBA315 Business Forecasting 3 Commerce; 

Economics 

D2 

Summer 

Session 

This column lists any units you may not count towards your degree 

with the unit. 

Eg: if you study ASTR377 you may not also count PHYS377 towards 

your degree. 

This column lists any units you may not count towards your degree with 

the unit. 

Eg: if you study ASTR377 you may not also count PHYS377 towards your 

degree. 

This column lists any units or requirements you must complete before you 

may enrol in the unit. 

Eg: ‘12 cp’ means that you must have completed at least 12 credit points before 

enrolling; PHYS201(P) and PHYS202(P) means you must have received at least a 

pass in PHYS201 and PHYS202 before enrolling. 

This column lists the unit’s designation/s. 

Eg: ASTR377 is a science unit. 

This column lists the credit point value of the unit. 

This column lists the unit name. 

ECON110 or ECON111 or BBA103 ECON392 D2 

BBA320 Asian Business Environment 3 Commerce; 

Economics 

This column lists the unit’s alphanumeric code: three or four letters followed 

by three digits. The letters represent the subject area, and numbers the level. 

Eg: AHIS222 is an Ancient History unit at 200 level. 

 

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Unit Identification codes 

Abbreviation Identification Code Name Faculty Department 

ABEC Aboriginal Early Childhood Faculty of Human Sciences Institute of Early Childhood 

ABEP Aboriginal Educational Practice Faculty of Human Sciences Institute of Early Childhood 

ABFS Aboriginal Foundation Studies Faculty of Arts Department of Indigenous 

Studies—Warawara 

ABSP Aboriginal Studies Perspectives Faculty of Arts Department of Indigenous 


ABST Aboriginal Studies Faculty of Arts Department of Indigenous 


ACBE 

Academic Communication in 

Business and Economics 

Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Linguistics 

ACCG 

Accounting and Financial 

Management 

Faculty of Business and 

Economics 

Department of Accounting and 

Finance 

ACSC 

Academic Communication in 

Science 



ACSH 

ACST 

Academic Communication in the 

Social Sciences and Humanities 

Actuarial Studies 



Economics 


Department of Actuarial Studies 

AHIS Ancient History Faculty of Arts Department of Ancient History 

AHMG Ancient History Modern Greek Faculty of Arts Department of Ancient History 

ANTH Anthropology Faculty of Arts Department of Anthropology 

ASN Asian Studies Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

ASTR Astronomy Faculty of Science Department of Physics and 

Engineering 

BBA Business Administration Faculty of Business and Department of Business 

Economics 

BBE Brain, Behaviour and Evolution Faculty of Science Department of Brain, Behaviour 

and Evolution 

BCM 

Bachelor of Community 

Management 

Faculty of Arts 

Department of Indigenous 


BIOL Biology Faculty of Science Department of Biological Sciences 

BUS Business Faculty of Business and 

Economics 

BUSL Business Law Faculty of Business and 

Economics 

CBMS Chemistry Biomolecular Sciences Faculty of Science 

Department of Business 

Department of Business Law 

Department of Chemistry and 

Biomolecular Sciences 

CHIR Chiropractic Faculty of Science Department of Chiropractic 

CHN Chinese Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

COMP Computing Faculty of Science Department of Computing 

CRO Croatian Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

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CUL Critical and Cultural Studies Faculty of Arts 

Department of Media, Music and 

Cultural Studies 

DANC Dancing Faculty of Arts Department of Media, Music and 


DEM Demography Faculty of Business and 

Economics 


DMTH Discrete Mathematics Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics 

ECH Early Childhood Education Faculty of Human Sciences Institute of Early Childhood 

ECHH Early Childhood Education Faculty of Human Sciences Institute of Early Childhood 

ECHL Early Childhood Education Faculty of Human Sciences Institute of Early Childhood 

ECHP Early Childhood Education Faculty of Human Sciences Institute of Early Childhood 

ECON 

Economics 


Economics 

Department of Economics 

ECST Early Childhood Studies Faculty of Human Sciences Institute of Early Childhood 

EDUC Education Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Education 

ELEC Electronics Faculty of Science 

Department of Physics and 

Engineering 

ENGG Engineering General Faculty of Science Department of Physics and 

Engineering 

ENGL English Literature Faculty of Arts Department of English 

ENV Environment and Geography Faculty of Science Department of Environment and 

Geography 

ENVE Environmental Science Faculty of Science Department of Environment and 

Geography 

ENVG Human Geography Faculty of Science Department of Environment and 

Geography 

EUL European Languages (general) Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

EXLW Exchange Law Study Abroad Faculty of Arts Macquarie Law School 

FBE 

Faculty of Business and Economics Faculty of Business and 

Economics 


FIN Applied Finance Faculty of Business and 

Economics 

FOAR Faculty of Arts Faculty of Arts 

Department of Economics 

FOBE 

Faculty of Business and Economics Faculty of Business and 

Economics 

FOHS Faculty of Human Sciences Faculty of Human Sciences 

FOSC Faculty of Science Faculty of Science 

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Unit Identification Codes 


FRN French Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

GEN Gender Studies Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology 

GEOS Earth Sciences Faculty of Science Department of Environment and 

Geography 

GMN German Faculty of Arts 

Department of International 

Studies 

HLTH Health Faculty of Science Department of Chiropractic 

HRM 

Human Resource Management 


Economics 


ICOM International Communication Faculty of Arts Department of Media, Music and 


INFO Information Technology Faculty of Science Department of Computing 

INTS International Studies Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

IPBA Education and Linguistics Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Education 

ISYS Information Systems Faculty of Science Department of Computing 

ITEC Information Technology Faculty of Science Department of Computing 

ITL Italian Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

JPS Japanese Studies Faculty of Arts 

Department of International 

Studies 

LAW Law Faculty of Arts Macquarie Law School 

LEX Law Faculty of Arts Macquarie Law School 

LING Linguistics Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Linguistics 

MAR Marine Science Faculty of Science Department of Biological Sciences 

MAS Media and Communication Studies Faculty of Arts Department of Media, Music and 


MATH Mathematics Faculty of Science Department of Mathematics 

MCD Macedonian Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

MGK Modern Greek Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

MHIS Modern History Faculty of Arts 

Department of Modern History, 

Politics, International Relations 

and Security 

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MKTG Marketing Faculty of Business and 

Economics 


MMCS Media, Music and Cultural Studies Faculty of Arts Department of Media, Music and 


MPP Education and Linguistics Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Education 

MSM Museum Studies Faculty of Science Department of Environment and 

Geography 

MUS Music Faculty of Arts Department of Media, Music and 


PHL Philosophy Faculty of Arts Department of Philosophy 

PHTN Photonics Faculty of Science Department of Physics and 

Engineering 

PHYS Physics Faculty of Science Department of Physics and 

Engineering 

PLH Polish Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

POL Politics Faculty of Arts 

Department of Modern History, 

Politics, International Relations 

and Security 

PSY Psychology Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Psychology 

RSN Russian Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

SCOM Science Communication Faculty of Science Department of Physics and 

Engineering 

SOC Sociology Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology 

SPED Special Education Faculty of Human Sciences Institute of Human Cognition and 

Brain Science 

SPH Speech and Hearing Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Linguistics 

SPN Spanish Faculty of Arts Department of International 

Studies 

SSC Social Science Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology 

STAE Statistics - (GradCert students) Faculty of Science Department of Statistics 

STAT Statistics Faculty of Science Department of Statistics 

TEP Teacher Education Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Education 

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