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Master of Science (Earth Sciences) (MC-SCIEAR) // Course structure
About this course
- Overview
- Entry and participation requirements
- Attributes, outcomes and skills
- Course structure
- Further study
Coordinator
Assoc Prof Kevin Walsh
Email: mesc-coord@earthsci.unimelb.edu.au
Contact
Faculty of Science
Currently enrolled students:
- General information: https://ask.unimelb.edu.au
- Contact Stop 1
Future students:
- Further information: http://science.unimelb.edu.au/
Course structure
Students must complete 200 pts including:
- Discipline Core subjects (50 points);
- Discipline Elective subjects (0 - 12.5 points);
- Professional Skills subjects (12.5 - 25 points);
- Research Project (125 points).
Two streams are offered in the Master of Science (Earth Sciences program): the Atmospheric Science stream and the Geology stream.
Subject options
Discipline Core - Atmospheric Science stream
Students must take 50 points of the following:
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
ATOC90004 | Current Topics in Atmospheric Research | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ATOC90005 | Atmosphere Ocean Interaction and Climate | Not available in 2018 | 12.5 |
ATOC90006 | Climate Analysis and Modelling | Not available in 2018 | 12.5 |
ATOC90007 | Mesoscale Atmospheric Dynamics | Not available in 2018 | 12.5 |
ATOC90010 | Statistics in Climate Dynamics | Not available in 2018 | 12.5 |
ATOC90011 | Convective Clouds and Storms | Not available in 2018 | 12.5 |
ATOC90012 | Advanced Dynamical Meteorology | Not available in 2018 | 12.5 |
ATOC90013 | Atmospheric Modelling | Not available in 2018 | 12.5 |
ATOC90014 | General Circulation of the Atmosphere | July (Off Campus) |
12.5 |
ERTH90051 | Python for Earth Sciences | April (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
* Students who satisfy the mathematics prerequisites for the 3rd-year subjects of the Atmospheric Science major are permitted to substitute one 3rd-year or level 9 Atmospheric Science subject in place of any core discipline subject, after first obtaining the permission of the Masters Coordinator.
Discipline Elective - Atmospheric Science stream
Students must choose a further 12.5 points from level 9 Earth Sciences subjects, Professional Skills subjects or 300-level Science subjects. One elective from another stream within the Master of Science, Master of Environment or the Master of Energy Systems may also be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Discipline Core - Geology stream
Students must take 50 points of the following subjects, 25 points of which are required to correspond to their thesis topic:
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
ERTH90029 | Environmental Geochemistry | Not available in 2018 | 6.25 |
ERTH90030 | Mineral Exploration Through Cover | Not available in 2018 | 6.25 |
ERTH90031 | Regolith Geoscience | Not available in 2018 | 6.25 |
ERTH90032 | Interpretation of Satellite Images | Summer Term (Off Campus) |
6.25 |
ERTH90033 | Geology from Geophysics | February (Off Campus) |
6.25 |
GEOL90005 | Hydrogeology/Environmental Geochemistry | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
GEOL90027 | Advanced Structural Mapping | Not available in 2018 | 6.25 |
GEOL90028 | Geochronology and Thermochronology | March (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90029 | Geology of Gold | March (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90030 | Coastal Environmental Geomorphology | April (Off Campus) |
6.25 |
GEOL90031 | Ore Reserve Estimation | Not available in 2018 | 6.25 |
GEOL90032 | Introduction to Mineralogy | October (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90033 | Mine Safety and Engineering | July (Online) |
6.25 |
GEOL90034 | Practical Igneous Petrology | June (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90035 | Geodynamics | May (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90036 | Australian Coal Basins | Not available in 2018 | 6.25 |
GEOL90037 | Applied Structural Geology | Not available in 2018 | 6.25 |
GEOL90038 | Igneous Geodynamics and Ore Deposits | April (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90042 | Ore Textures & Breccias | Not available in 2018 | 6.25 |
GEOL90043 | Fundamentals of Geological CO2 Storage | Winter Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90044 | Ore Deposit Models | May (Off Campus) |
6.25 |
GEOL90045 | Exploration Skills Mapping | Summer Term (Off Campus) |
6.25 |
GEOL90046 | Environmental Geology Field Techniques | September (Off Campus) |
6.25 |
ERTH90051 | Python for Earth Sciences | April (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
ERTH90034 | Advanced Hydrogeology | June (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOM90044 | Geographic Information Systems | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90047 | Basin Evolution & Sequence Stratigraphy | March (Off Campus) |
6.25 |
GEOL90049 | Introduction to Structural Geology | March (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90048 | Introduction to Petroleum Geology | August (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
GEOL90050 | Field Geology of New Zealand | April (Off Campus) |
12.5 |
Discipline Elective - Geology stream
Students must also take a further 12.5 points of approved coursework subjects, selected either from the above subjects, professional skills subjects, or from 300-level geology subjects. Electives from another stream within the Master of Science, Master of Environment or Master of Energy Systems may also be approved on a case-by-case basis. Students who satisfy the prerequisites for the 3rd-year subjects of the Geology major are permitted to substitute one 3rd-year subject in place of any core discipline subject, after first obtaining the permission of the Masters Coordinator.
Professional Skills
Students must take one to two subjects:
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
BUSA90403 | Business Tools: Money People & Processes | September (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
MAST90045 | Systems Modelling and Simulation | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
SCIE90005 | Ethics and Responsibility in Science | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
MAST90044 | Thinking and Reasoning with Data | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
MAST90007 | Statistics for Research Workers | Winter Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
SCIE90013 | Communication for Research Scientists | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
EDUC90839 | Science in Schools | Not available in 2018 | 12.5 |
SCIE90017 | Science and Technology Internship |
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
SCIE90012 | Science Communication | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
COMP90059 | Introduction to Python Programming | Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
COMP90072 | The Art of Scientific Computation |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
PHYC90045 | Introduction to Quantum Computing | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Research Project
Students enrolled in this program are required to complete a 125 point Research Project. Students will gain research experience in Earth Sciences by completing an original research project in their main field of interest. The amount of work completed in this project should be comparable to that undertaken for a published journal article, and students will be encouraged to submit their work for publication. Although the assessment weighting for the literature review may be viewed as low given the word limit, particularly when compared with the final thesis, the former is largely a ‘reading topic’, from which the student is expected to place their research project into a broader context. In contrast, and as noted above, the final thesis is expected to be a far more rigorous scientific document, showing an appropriate level of insight and scientific interpretation of results, and be of publishable quality.
Assessment is based on:
- satisfactory completion of a research presentation after completion of 50 points of the research project (3%);
- a literature review of no more than 4,000 words (5%);
- a project-related oral presentation within two months of the conclusion of the project (7%);
- a concise thesis of no more than 25,000 words (85%) due at the end of fourth study period; and
- Successful completion of research project reviews at the end of each semester (hurdle)
These assessment requirements are applicable to the entire 125 point Research Project.
The project will be taken over four consecutive semesters and will begin on the Monday of semester of entry (semesters 1 or 2) and continue for up to 88 weeks until the end of the fourth semester, minus recreation leave of between 4 and 8 weeks (22 weeks per semester over the four semesters). For how long and at what time within the enrolment the actual period of leave is to be taken needs to be negotiated with a student’s supervisor. The Research Project will be due for submission by the end of the formal examination period of the fourth semester of enrolment if an earlier date is not specified.
Research Project (125 points)
Students may enrol in a combination of research project subjects and coursework subjects over their two years of full-time study as long as once the Research Project is commenced (which may not be the first semester in the case of part-time course enrolments), the consecutive enrolment requirement is met and to ensure they have completed a total of 125 points for the research project by the end of their course. Students intending to enrol part-time should note that the research project requires at least one semester of full-time study.
Students will first enrol in Earth Sciences Research Project Pt 1, and then progress through to Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. Students may only progress through Earth Sciences Research Project subjects upon successful completion of the earlier project component.
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
ERTH90035 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt1 |
February (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
ERTH90036 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt1 |
February (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
ERTH90037 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt1 |
February (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
37.5 |
ERTH90038 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt1 |
February (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
50 |
ERTH90039 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt2 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
ERTH90040 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt2 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
ERTH90041 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt2 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
37.5 |
ERTH90042 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt2 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
50 |
ERTH90043 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt3 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
ERTH90044 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt3 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
ERTH90045 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt3 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
37.5 |
ERTH90046 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt3 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
50 |
ERTH90047 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt4 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
ERTH90048 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt4 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
ERTH90049 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt4 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
37.5 |
ERTH90050 | Earth Sciences Research Project Pt4 |
January (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
50 |
Last updated: 18 December 2020