Breadth
Did you know that your Bachelor of Biomedicine isn’t filled with just ‘Biomedicine’? Did you know you can study management, communication, language or music? This is possible through your Breadth options!
Breadth is one of the most exciting aspects of the University's undergraduate degrees. Breadth subjects allow you to gain knowledge and understanding across a broader range of disciplines, enabling you to develop insight, experience and new ways of thinking in areas distinct from the main fields of study in your degree.
Why study breadth?
The aim of breadth is not only to encourage you to expand your academic horizons, but also to enable you to bring a broader range of skills to the workplace. Breadth will offer you the flexibility to take on the many challenges of a 21st century global work environment, as well as opportunities for increased personal development.
Breadth is an opportunity to:
- learn about something you're interested in from outside the core disciplines of your degree
- challenge the ways you approach and view the world
- meet and share learning experiences with students from other parts of the University
- try subjects in different fields to see if further studies in these areas interest you
- extend skills you already have or learn new skills
- prepare for graduate pathways or career entry
How do I choose my breadth subjects?
What you choose is really up to you - there is no right or wrong ways to select your breadth subjects. Feedback from employers in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology sector indicates that they look favourably on Graduates who have strategically used their subject choices to enhance their employability. University of Melbourne students are uniquely placed to utilise their Breadth subjects to do just this.
Below are a few suggestions on how to use your Breadth subject choices to complement the content knowledge and practical scientific skills you will develop in your Bachelor of Biomedicine. Alternatively you may choose to follow a Breadth Track.
Communication and Academic English
Communication and Academic English
Excellent skills in communication are cited by employers as being essential criteria in graduate recruitment. These subjects give students a deeper understanding of the theory and practice of effective communication, particularly in the modern multicultural workplace. The Academic English subjects are recommended for students from whom English is a second language.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Academic English 1 | |
Academic English 2 | |
Intercultural Communication | |
Grammar of English | |
Analysing Professional Communication | |
Science Communication and Employability | |
Clear Speech and Communication |
Entrepreneurship
The rapidly growing commercial biomedical-biotechnology sector requires biomedical scientists with entrepreneurial business literacy. These subjects allow students to learn about the key role of marketing in entrepreneurship and provide excellent preparation for the Master of Biomedical Science (Enterprise stream).
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Principles of Management | |
Principles of Marketing | |
Business in the Global Economy | |
Organisational Behaviour | |
Managing Processes and Projects | |
Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation | |
Marketing Communications | |
Managing in Contemporary Organisations | |
Managing Entrepreneurship and Innovation | |
Managing for Competitive Advantage |
Global Development
Improving human health outcomes goes hand-in-hand with development. Students taking these breadth subjects can deepen their understanding of the interplay between health and other issues, such as poverty and inequality, globalization, industrialization, religion and conflict.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Anthropology: Studying Self and Other | |
Ethnic Nationalism and the Modern World | |
Power, Ideology and Inequality | |
Anthropology of More-Than-Human Worlds | |
The Developing World | |
Development in the 21st Century | |
Global Youth | |
Inside the City of Diversity | |
Global Inequalities In The Anthropocene | |
Sustainability in Developing Communities | |
Freedom and Equality Across Borders | |
An Ecological History of Humanity | |
Philosophy, Politics and Economics | |
Human Rights and Global Justice | |
Global Health, Security & Sustainability |
Health Sciences from a different Perspective
Health Sciences from a different Perspective
Expand your thinking by looking at Medicine and Health Science disciplines from a different perspective, from drawing the human body to how drugs impact on us as individuals and as a society or the ways that music can be used to promote physical health and healthy behaviours.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Keeping the Body in Mind | |
Links Between Health and Learning | |
Drawing with Anatomy | |
Music Psychology | |
Music and Health | |
The Philosophy of Mind | |
Genetics, Health, and Society | |
Developmental Psychology | |
Personality and Social Psychology | |
The Unconscious Mind | |
Lifespan Social & Emotional Development | |
Trends in Personality& Social Psychology | |
Seeing: The Whole Picture | |
The Secret Life of the Body 1 | |
Our Planet, Our Health | |
Drugs That Shape Society | |
Designer Humans - Prospects & Perils | |
Body, Mind and Medicine: A Dissection | |
Global Health, Security & Sustainability |
Indigenous Studies
Broaden your perspective with an understanding of how Aboriginal culture permeates the past, present and future of Australian society.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Contemporary Aboriginal Art | |
Ancient and Contemporary Indigenous Arts | |
Art and Indigenous Voice | |
Indigenous Art and Changing the Nation | |
Introduction to Indigenous Education | |
Indigenous Education in Community | |
Language in Aboriginal Australia | |
First Peoples in a Global Context | |
Australian Indigenous Politics | |
Australian Indigenous Public Policy | |
Indigenous Engineering and Design |
Languages
Studied a language at secondary school and interested in continuing? Interested in learning a second language? Through your breadth studies you could learn a language including, Arabic, Chinese, Ancient Greek, Latin, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian or Spanish.
Language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence of units. Entry and exit points are determined by the student's background in the language, placement testing, prerequisites, or at the discretion of the language program Convenor.
Placement Testing Information for French, German Italian, Spanish and Russian
Placement Testing Information for Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean
Use the Handbook Breadth Search function to find all language subjects available to you as a Biomedicine student.
Law
The Law surrounds us and governs virtually all our actions and interactions. Become a more active citizen by understanding our freedoms and constraints within the law.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Principles of Business Law | |
Free Speech and Media Law | |
Corporate Law | |
Regulating Digital Platforms | |
Taxation Law I | |
Taxation Law II | |
Criminal Law and Political Justice | |
Comparative Legal Traditions | |
Legal Language | |
Sport and the Law | |
Public Trials | |
Employment Law | |
Human Rights and Global Justice |
Leadership
Equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to be a leader in your community and future profession.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Youth Leading Change | |
Positive Leadership and Careers | |
Principles of Management |
Public Policy
These subjects allow students with an interest in Public Health to develop their understanding of how health policy fits within the wider socio-political and public policy frameworks. Students have the option to develop an Australian or International focus.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
International Politics | |
Australian Politics | |
Introduction to Political Ideas | |
Contemporary Political Theory | |
Public Policy Making | |
Science, Technology and Public Policy |
Science from a different Perspective
Science from a different Perspective
Expand your thinking by looking at Science and Veterinary Science disciplines from a different perspective, from climate change to human-animal interactions or study the philosophical thinking about science.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Animals in Society 1: Introduction | |
Animals and Society 2: Humans & Animals | |
Science and Pseudoscience | |
Debating Science in Society | |
Science and Society | |
The Dynamics of Scientific Change | |
Science Communication and Employability | |
Science, Reason and Reality | |
Critical Thinking With Data | |
Introduction to Climate Change | |
Food for a Healthy Planet | |
Climate Change ll |
Self-Development and Wellbeing
Self-Development and Wellbeing
Understanding how humans think, learn and are motivated can help you in your studies and future career.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Understanding Knowing and Learning | |
Wellbeing, Motivation and Performance | |
Performance, Potential and Development | |
Knowledge, Learning and Culture | |
Positive Communities and Organisations | |
Arts Internship: Not for Profit | |
Community Volunteering - Global | |
Arts Internship: Not for Profit | |
Community Volunteering - Global |
Sport/Exercise
Combine your deep scientific understanding of human structure and function with the theory and practice of sports coaching and outdoor education.
Subject Code | Subject Title |
Sports Coaching: Theory and Practice | |
Sport, Education and the Media | |
Learning via Sport and Outdoor Education | |
Applying Coaching Science | |
Sport, Leadership and the Community |
Alternatively you may choose to follow a Breadth Track. A breadth track is a grouping of three or more subjects that will allow you to progressively develop knowledge and skills in a study area. Breadth tracks are optional and subjects in a track need to be added to the breadth component of your study plan individually. Breadth tracks will not appear as specialisations on your academic transcript.
These are only some of the subjects you can choose to meet the Breadth requirements of your course.There are many reasons why you might decide to study a particular subject or subjects through breadth, for example, for interest, to achieve prerequisites for graduate studies, or to complement your core studies. There are hundreds of options for your degree!
More information on choosing breadth subjects
Learn more about Breadth Tracks
What are the Rules?
- Bachelor of Biomedicine students complete a breadth component of 50 points (four subjects), with another 25 points (two subjects) of free (that is, breadth or science selective) subjects.
- At least 12.5 points (1 subject) of breadth must be taken at Level 2 or 3 (and no more than 37.5 points (3 subjects) at Level 1.
Subjects that may contribute to a student's Bachelor of Biomedicine breadth component will be subjects that contrast with science, technology and Engineering Systems, or integrate these studies with humanities and social sciences so that the subject encompasses a much broader arena of knowledge and skills (e.g. University Breadth Subjects).
Will my breadth studies affect my average (WAM/GPA) or application for graduate study?
When selecting you for a graduate course, some faculties will consider the studies you have completed that are directly relevant to the study area, while some may calculate your average using all of your studies. As these practices vary, you should check with the selecting faculty whether or not breadth will be considered during the selection process.