Plan your First Year Subjects

Congratulations on joining the Biomedicine cohort!
For help with your course planning decisions for the first year of your course.

Bachelor of Biomedicine - First Year

In your first year you generally will complete 4 core subjects, 2 foundation elective subjects and 2 breadth subjects. Many subjects are offered in both semesters to allow flexibility in your study plan. All subjects will have similar academic expectations therefore there is no difference between taking 1, 2 or 3 core subjects in a single semester.

Core Subjects

BIOM10001 Discovering Biomedicine (Semester 1 or Semester 2)
BIOM10002 Exploring Biomedicine (Semester 2)
BIOL10002  Biomolecules and Cells (Semester 1)
CHEM10006  Chemistry for Biomedicine (Semester 1 or Semester 2)

While BIOM10001 Discovering Biomedicine is offered in both semesters you are required to complete it in your first semester as it is a foundation subject and will provide commencing Bachelor of Biomedicine students an opportunity to discover and engage with the complex societal and environmental contexts of health and well-being and be inspired by it, whilst also welcoming and orientating them within their degree and at the University.

How do I choose my Foundation Elective?

Students have a choice of foundation elective subjects they can choose from in first year.
The full list can be found at the Bachelor of Biomedicine Handbook page.

Please note that MAST10024 Mathematics & Statistics for Biomedicine and PHYC10007 Physics for Biomedicine were specifically designed for Biomedicine students, therefore we highly recommend you complete at least one of these subjects as a foundation elective. Those of you who have completed VCE Physics with a study score of 25 or more will not be eligible to complete PHYC10007, but you can choose an alternative Physics subject.

Those of you that may be thinking about taking the Biomedical Engineering Systems or Psychology major see recommended subjects below to meet the first year requisite requirements of these majors.

Biomedical Engineering Systems

Students who want to keep the Biomedical Engineering Systems major as an option need to select:

ONE of:
MAST10006 Calculus 2 AND MAST10007 Linear Algebra
Or
MAST10008 Accelerated Mathematics AND MAST10009 Accelerated Mathematics 2
Or
MAST10021 Calculus 2: Advanced AND MAST10022 Linear Algebra: Advanced

This choice is dependent on your VCE Specialist Mathematics score. If you did not complete Specialist Mathematics (or equivalent) or scored below 29 then you will also need to complete MAST10005 Calculus. Check out the entry requirements for each subject in the University Handbook.

You are also highly recommended to use  your Breadth/Elective choices to complete:

  • ENGR10004 Engineering Technology and Society (Semester 1) and
  • ENGR10006 Engineering Modelling and Design (Semester 2)

Note: if completing MAST10005 you do not have room on your study plan to complete both of the recommended ENGR subjects.

You will then complete your 4 breadth subjects in Years 2 and 3.

Psychology

Students who want to keep the accredited Psychology major as an option need to select:
PSYC10003 Mind, Brain and Behaviour 1 AND PSYC10004 Mind, Brain and Behaviour 2

Breadth Subjects

Students  will generally take 2 breadth subjects in their first year, one in Semester 1 and the other in Semester 2. The Biomedicine Breadth page will provide more information regarding what breadth is, and how to choose what breadth subjects you take.

FAQs

Whole Course planning

Bachelor of Biomedicine Handbook

  • What do points/credit points mean?

    All subjects are given a point value. A standard subject is 12.5 points. (Exception is the two second year core subjects which are 25 points each). A full year load is 100 points, making up 300 points across three years of full time study in the Bachelor of Biomedicine. Generally students take 8 standard subjects or 100 points each year.

  • How much do I need to enrol into now?

    You only need to enrol into subjects one calendar year at a time. To assist the university in planning the timetable it is recommended you enrol into both Semester 1 and 2 subjects. Generally you can change subjects up until week 2 of semester.

  • What if I want to complete more than 2 foundation electives?

    You can use the 3 additional elective subjects to complete more foundation elective subjects if you wish. Please remember that there is a maximum of 10 Level 1 subjects (125 points) that you can take during your course.

  • When do I choose my Major?

    You do not need to formally choose your major until you are re-enrolling into your third year. The only consideration you need to make when enrolling into your first year is whether you may like to take Biomedical Engineering Systems or Psychology. If this is you then you should enrol into the Foundation elective subjects as advised above.

  • When do I get my timetable?

    After enrolling into subjects, you will need to build your timetable for the coming semester in your my.unimelb account. The University of Melbourne uses a preference-based timetabling process and system, called MyTimetable that involves three steps:

    • Plan
    • Enter preferences
    • Review & Adjust

    Please refer to the MyTimetable page for further information, and key dates for each of the steps.