Undergraduate Programs Committee

1. Breadth Requirements:

All six of the new generation undergraduate degrees incorporate a breadth component whereby:

• Students undertake a minimum of 75 points (six subjects) of breadth study;
• Breadth studies are usually undertaken in each of the three years of a course;
• Normally 25 points (two subjects) of breadth studies are taken at each year level;
• Normally no more than 37.5 points (three subjects) are permitted at first year level;

and;

• At least 12.5 points (one subject) must be taken at third year level.

Subjects available for breadth study are the multi-disciplinary University Breadth Subjects (UBS) that are not core to any degree; subjects that are core in at least one of the new generation undergraduate degrees *; and subjects that are not core in any of the new generation undergraduate degrees.

Definition of the three types of subjects available as breadth:

• University Breadth Subjects (UBS) are specially designed subjects that include a multi-disciplinary approach to foundational knowledge from across the humanities, social sciences and sciences.
  To qualify as a UBS, a subject must include teaching and learning from the sciences , the humanities and the social sciences with at least one third of the teaching (including curriculum design, face to face teaching and assessment design) undertaken by other than the ‘home’ of the subject co-ordinator. These subjects examine a particular topic or issue from different disciplinary perspectives.
  Each UBS must be endorsed by the Melbourne Model Committee as appropriate to be made available to students in all of the new generation undergraduate degrees.
• Core subjects taken as breadth are subjects that are a part of the core program in any one or more of the new generation undergraduate degrees that have been approved for breadth study by all or some of the Course Standing Committees of the other degrees for which they are not a part of the core.
• Non-core subjects taken as breadth are subjects that are not a core requirement in any of the new generation undergraduate degrees but have been approved by all or some of the Course Standing Committees as appropriate to be available as breadth study in the relevant degree.

2. The principles of breadth:

The breadth component of the new generation undergraduate degrees is intended to provide University of Melbourne students with the opportunity to develop an understanding and appreciation of fields of study and disciplines that contrast with, yet complement, their core disciplinary studies and majors. The breadth component allows students to be exposed to and to learn about other domains of knowledge, different methods of enquiry and different ways of learning and ‘knowing’. Academic breadth in the undergraduate curriculum will ensure that Melbourne graduates are informed, well-rounded people who have knowledge, skills and approaches to learning that equip them for lives and careers in which knowledge boundaries are more permeable. The issues of professional practice often require interdisciplinary understanding, and knowledge is rapidly renewed.

The breadth component of the new generation degrees should, like the core component, provide for a rich and distinctive educational experience in three ways, through:

• the academic content;
• the learning and teaching methods; and
• the learning outcomes.

The learning outcomes for the breadth component should be closely aligned with the University of Melbourne’s Graduate Attributes and the University’s priorities for knowledge transfer, research and research training.

The goal of academic breadth will be achieved not only through distinctive content and methods of learning and teaching, but also through the degree of contrast and complementarity between the breadth study that students undertake and their core disciplinary studies and majors.

The central principle defining breadth is that students will take at least 75 points (one-quarter of their degree) from disciplines which are not normally available to them as major studies within their particular degree program.¹

The preferred structure for breadth study is that students are able to choose from a range of subjects and sequences or clusters of subjects approved by the Course Standing Committee for each of the degrees as adding strength and/or diversity to the degree.

3. Breadth Sequences and Clusters:

 A breadth sequence of subjects is defined as a number of subjects where the learning is incremental and successful completion of the first year level subject(s) is required before moving on to the second year and similarly successful completion of the second year subject(s) is required before moving to the third year level.

A breadth cluster of subjects is defined as a group of similarly themed subjects that form a logical body of related knowledge when taken together but completion of one subject is not a requirement for the other subjects.

It is expected that students undertaking 200 level(second year level) or 300 level (third year level) subjects that do not have prerequisite studies, will have attained the necessary maturity and study experience to be able to cope successfully with study at this level.

Intellectual coherence will be balanced against flexibility of student choice: a student might undertake 75 points of breadth study from a single discipline eg: all 75 points might be in one particular language and fulfil the requirements of a minor. A student might take several shorter sequences or clusters of subjects eg: a first, second and third year informatics sequence and another first, second and third year sequence of law subjects. Students might choose a cluster of subjects on the theme of Food, Water and Wine eg: the first year subject Food for a Healthy Planet; followed by the second year subject Water for a Sustainable Planet; and the third year subject Wines of the World. The content of the subjects in this cluster is related but the teaching and learning is not necessarily cumulative or sequential so none of the subjects require prerequisite studies.

The learning objectives for breadth studies will vary. It is expected that some subjects available as breadth will focus on specific sets of generic skills, some will be interdisciplinary in character and draw on diverse perspectives (UBS), and others will provide the opportunity for sustained, specialised study in a field unrelated to a student’s core program, such as the study of a language and culture by a Science student or the study by an Environments student of a number of music subjects.

In recognition of the importance of the transition to university, some subjects offered as breadth study in first year may include a general orientation to university study. Some of the breadth options will expose students to research issues and research methods, with a focus on future pathways into research higher degrees.

Subjects available as breadth and sequences and clusters of such subjects must be structured so that it is possible for at least one 300 level subject to be taken. One structure which would facilitate development of both breadth of knowledge and intellectual coherence would be for 25 of the 75 points required to be taken in each of the three years. Such a structure is not proposed as a generic characteristic of the new degrees, but it must be possible to pursue the breadth component across three years.

Subjects studied as breadth and breadth sequences and clusters will be identified as such in handbooks. Students will be provided with information on all of the subjects, sequences and clusters that are available to them as breadth in all new generation undergraduate degrees. Many subjects available as breadth in first year will not have prerequisites but some will require particular VCE (or equivalent) preparation. Later-year subjects available as breadth may require the successful completion of prerequisite subjects undertaken in earlier years.

The breadth component of new generation undergraduate degrees might include, for example:

• An Arts student taking a sequence of three existing music subjects and the three new undergraduate subjects from Law.
• A Biomedicine student taking four environmental studies subjects and two politics and philosophy subjects.
• A Commerce student taking a sequence of UBS – eg: Introduction to Climate Change, Climate Change ,2 and Climate Change 3 and a cluster of existing and new history and politics subjects.
• An Environments student taking a sequence of six existing subjects in genetics and biochemistry.
• A Music student taking a sequence of six subjects in a language and cultural studies.
• A Science student taking a sequence of four existing economics subjects together with a UBS eg: Australian Indigenous Studies, and a non core subject offered as breadth by Education eg: Sports Coaching – Theory and Practice.

Detailed sample course plans are available in each of the Undergraduate Course Information brochures are available online.

* Note for Environments students breadth requirements can be met by taking some subjects offered within the core of that degree.

1. It is recognised that there is a small number of undergraduate majors or equivalent where stringent professional accreditation requirements mean that some of the 75 points will have to be exempted. At present, such disciplines are Actuarial Studies, Accounting and Psychology.
It is also recognised that for Environments students breadth requirements can be met by taking some subjects offered within the core of that degree.