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Author Topic: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings  (Read 829223 times)  Share 

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b^3

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #60 on: November 15, 2012, 12:40:58 am »
+6
Subject Code/Name: MAE1042 - Introduction to Aircraft Structures and Dynamics

Workload:  1x2 hr + 1x1 hr lectures + 2 hr tutorial (not compulsorily, carries no marks) per week
 
Assessment:  10% on Field Trip Questionaire, 10% Midsem, 80% Exam

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture

Past exams available:  Yes, Only 1, with 1 set of solutions

Textbook Recommendation:  Same Textbook as MAE1041, but to be honest, it isn't needed at all either.

Topics
  • History
  • Loads
  • Basic Mechanics and Analysis
  • Beams
  • Dynamics
  • Fatigue
  • Orbital Mechanics

Lecturer(s): Professor Brian G. Falzon

Year & Semester of completion: 2012 Semester 2

Rating: 4.5 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 93 HD

Comments: I enjoyed most of this unit, particularly the Orbital Mechanics section towards the end of the semester. The crack propagation and beams sections were a little dry, while the mechanical vibrations had a lot of overlap with what we were covering in the Engineering Physics elective unit. The unit was fairly well delivered by Brian Falzon, and he tried to keep us interested at times when the material we were learning wasn't that interesting. The Field Trip was to the RAAF base at Point Cook, where we had a talk by a current employeed aerospace engineer, while the assesment for the day was a multiple choice question sheet on the displays at the museum, followed by an aerial display (which wasn't too interesting). With the mid semester, a fair few people found it hard, while a few of us scored well on it, although we were the ones that acutally went to the tutorials. They aren't compulsory, but helped quite a bit in learning the material, and I would say it would be best to go to them. The exam was worth 80% of the unit, which is a hell of a lot, but doing the tute questions prepared us well for the exam, and well since there was only one past exam, the tute questions were the major thing to focus on in SWOTVAC. So in conclusion, go to the tutes and actually do questions, as that is what will get you somewhere in this unit.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:21:40 pm by b^3 »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #61 on: November 15, 2012, 01:07:41 am »
+6
Subject Code/Name: ENG1081 - Physics for Engineering

Workload:  3x1 hr lectures +1x3 hr Laboratory per week

Assessment:  8% Midsem, 4x1.25% Online Mastering Physics Assigments, 5% Team Poster at the end of semester, 17% on labs, 5% on a formal report, 60% Exam
 
Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available:  Yes, 8 past exams, 3 with solutions

Textbook Recommendation:  Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Randall D. Knight (2nd edition, Pearson 2008) - Was good for questions and to go over a bit of theory, you didn't 'need' it but it helped.

Topics
  • Newtonian Mechanics
  • Waves
  • Quantum Physics

Lecturer(s): Newtonian Mechanics - Dr Mikhail Egorov, Waves - Mr Ali Moghimi, Quantum Physics - Dr Tim Petersen

Year & Semester of completion: 2012 Semester 2

Rating: 2 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 90 HD

Comments: I'm going to be honest, I didn't enjoy this unit (and kind feel like as others on here have said, that physics really is cursed). I don't really want to pay out the lecturers here but, there was more than a few occasions where I felt that I would have spent my time better learning it at home out of the textbook, than to waste the hour in the lecture learning nothing. The labs were quite annoying too, with you ending up being left to do all the work on your own when your team members had no idea what they were doing, although they were rotated each 3-4 weeks or so. The formal report was a bit of a mess too, as we found out we had to write it on a lab that we'd completed 4 weeks ago, which most of us had forgotten the key ideas and points about. The team poster was also another mess, as we were only allowed one slide, with a minimum text size of 16 pt, not much information could be fit onto the 'poster', which left a wordy presentation of it, not the most efficient method of doing it. We all did horribly on the mid semester, with not many people passing, as a result, they scaled it which made most people only just pass, although for some of use it meant a 30% increase in our mark, and those who had gotten 70%, ended up with scores of over 100% that counted as more than 100%. The exam itself wasn't easy, with somethings I had to kinda guess and prove it to myself that it fitted the situation on the spot, with the quantum mechanics section being the hardest, and well difficult to get your head around, although in the lectures it was presented at a higher level than the other two sections.

So in short, this wasn't a great unit, but we had to put up with it. Although for those doing aero (and possible mech-dynamics?) there was some overlap with mechanical vibrations (waves in physics) and orbital mechanics, which at some points, I was using what I'd learnt in physics and using it in the aero unit, while using what I'd learnt in aero and using it in physics. So the overlap did help a bit.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:21:30 pm by b^3 »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #62 on: November 16, 2012, 07:57:59 pm »
+8
Subject Code/Name: MED1022 - Medicine 2

Workload: per week: 9 x 1hr lectures + 3 x 2 hr prac + 2 x 2 hr tutorials + 3.5 hr CBL (Cased Based Learning tutorial) + occasional site visit

Assessment: For the semester - 18.75% Mid-Semester Test, 6.35% Rural Assignment, 12.5% Evaluating Popular Information Assignment, 37.5% End of Semester Exam (hurdle), 25% OSCE (hurdle), 0% Human Life-Span and Development Assignment (hurdle only) (formative assignments include practical write-ups, weekly quizzes, and the Injecting Competence Test). In terms of the year - 15% Mid-Semester Test, 5% Rural Assignment, 10% Evaluating Popular Information Assignment, 30% End of Semester Exam, 20% OSCE.

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture that includes lectures notes being written on

Past exams available: Yes, although the official ones are quite old, however past questions can be found in exam format through student compilations

Textbook Recommendation:
  • Basic Epidemiology 2nd - Beaglehole, Bonita and Kjellstrom*
  • Clinical Examination A Systematic Guide 6th - O'Connor and Talley*
  • Clinically Oriented Anatomy 6th - Agur, Dalley and Moore*
  • Langman's Medical Embryology 11th - Sadler
  • Grant's Atlas of Anatomy 13th - Agur and Dalley^
  • Gray's Anatomy for Students 2nd - Drake, Mitchell and Vogl^
  • Mim's Medical Microbiology 4th - Dockrell, Goering, Mims, Roitt, Wakelin and Zuckerman
  • Netter's Clinical Anatomy 2nd - Hansen^
  • Neuroscience Exploring the Brain 3rd - Bear, Connors and Pradiso
  • Rang and Dale's Pharmacology 7th - Dale, Flower, Henderson, Rang and Ritter*
  • Textbook of Medical Physiology 12th - Guyton and Hall*
  • Thieme Atlas and Textbook of Anatomy General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System 1st - Schuenke, Schulte and Schumaker^
* means essential
^ means choose one of these based on personal preference (personally I used "Thieme Atlas and Textbook of Anatomy General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System 1st - Schuenke, et al.")

Lecturer(s): Many, depending on the series of lecture (cancer, pharmacology, pathology, upper limb, lower limb, cardiology, neurology, etc.)

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2012

Rating: 5/5

Comments:
The major difference between this unit and the previous one is the amount of content covered (despite there being less contact hours!). The Faculty really steps it up and personally, I found the semester alone more difficult than my whole VCE.

As with the rest of the course, the unit is divided into four parts (or themes of study):
Theme I: Personal and Professional Development
Theme II: Population, Society, Health and Illness
Theme III: Foundations of Medicine
Theme IV: Clinical Skills

Similarly with Semester 1's MED1011, of the four themes, I (and the vast majority of the cohort) found themes III and IV to be the most enjoyable because they focus on knowledge and skills that have a direct and practical use in future life as a clinician. Themes I and II, again, contain a lot of theory, a lot of which is very logical and dry. Unfortunately, a fair portion of the exam tests these Themes I and II.

Having said that, the semester is much more interesting. There is a large focus on gross anatomy, clinical anatomy and relevant physiology, this is not only reflected in the tutorials but also in our new lab sessions: cadaver dissections and radiology sessions. This new aspect of the course made all the work worthwhile. Despite initially being a somewhat daunting and queasy moment, dissections were definitely the highlight of my academic week. These sessions are complemented by anatomy tutorials, lecture series, and radiology tutorials.

Furthermore, OSCE preparation becomes more intense in clinical skills tutes, with the clinical systems covered being: upper-limb musculoskeletal (shoulder, elbow and wrist), lower-limb musculoskeletal (hip, knee, ankle), upper-limb neurological, lower-limb neurological, and cardio. Group and team work becomes vital in these tutes and participation is the key to preparation for the eventual OSCE.

However, not all is well. Epidemiology is introduced, a subject which I can safely say was the bane of my semester. The tutes were dull and far from engaging (I honestly fell asleep thrice) and seemed to largely be repetitions of the lecture content. The exact content of the tutes was, however, useful and will become important as you learn to read academic journals or when/if you conduct your own research.

In terms of the lectures throughout the semester, again, they are at a high standard, still captivating and interactive. As last semester, questions are allowed to be asked before, during and after the lectures, and all lecturers are more than happy to respond to emails afterwards. The lecture notes/slides given are also of a decent standard and it is possible to pass the unit solely using these. There is no attendance requirement for this unit, however it is expected that students attend all lectures (most lectures are nearly full, so that shows the quality of what is given).

External site visits also take a step-up in this unit, further giving this unit extra depth and enjoyment. During the unit, each student is able to have two hospital site visits, and will get the opportunity to test their musculoskeletal and neurological exams on real patients, as well as practice their clinical deduction skills for the first time in a clinical environment. A good taste for the clinical years of the MBBS.

In terms of the hurdle requirements, there are three (compared to none from the previous semester): the HLSD assignment, the OSCE and the End of Year Exam. The HLSD is fairly easily marked, so no worries there, however the other two are of concern as they are tough assessments. Passing these are compulsory to passing the unit (and hence the year) and failure to do so will result in your repeating of the year. However there are a few students who are on the borderline who are given the opportunity to sit Supplementary Exams (~20 students in total) to redeem themselves to the Faculty and progress to Year II.

On the whole though, a very intense unit in terms of workload, but again,a unit that is extremely enjoyable and rewarding :)
« Last Edit: November 13, 2013, 03:28:20 pm by qt3.14 »

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #63 on: November 21, 2012, 10:52:51 am »
+4
Subject Code/Name: AFF1300 - Money and Capital Markets

Workload: One two-hour lecture and one one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment: Assignment (20%), Presentation (5%), Tutorial participation (5%), Exam - 3 hours (70%).

Recorded Lectures: No.

Past exams available: Yes. One past exam - from the previous semester.

Textbook Recommendation: 'AFF1300: Money and Capital Markets' 1st edition by Ben Hunt and Chris Terry (compiled by Piyadasa Edirisuriya).

Lecturer(s): Huu Nhan Duong and Wicky Wickramanayake.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2012.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Comments: This unit is a good introduction into what to expect if you are planning to major in banking and finance. It introduces you to a range of markets and how each one operates respectively. The major assignment is a business report (2,500 words +/- 10%) due late in the semester. It requires a lot of research and referencing to score highly. The lecturers can be difficult to understand at times, but if you keep up to date with everything - you will be fine. It is imperative you complete the weekly tutorial questions because the final exam questions are taken straight from the tutorial questions. Participation is an easy 5% as long as you do the tutorial questions. Overall, AFF1300 is a good unit, however, the content can be dry and boring at times.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:55:48 pm by alondouek »

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #64 on: November 25, 2012, 07:07:57 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: ASP1022 - Life and the Universe

Workload:  (per week)
  • 3x 1 hour lectures
  • 1x 2 hour lab

Assessment:
  • Lab: 30%
  • Project: 10%
  • Assignments: 10% (weekly quizzes and a mid-semester assignment)
  • End of Semester Examination: 50%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes

Past exams available:  Yes, plenty. Around 4 with answers

Textbook Recommendation:
  • ASP1022 Lecture notes from Monash Bookstore (highly recommended - this is the whole course)
  • Life In The Universe 3ed by Bennett J Et Al (only for students wishing to understand every concept in full detail)
  • Discovering the Universe 9ed by Comins N & Kaufmann W (didn't buy)
  • Search For Life In The Universe 3ed by Goldsmith D & Owen T (didn't buy)
  • Other random novels are also suggested - did not buy

Lecturer(s):
  • Dr. Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway
  • Dr. John C Lattanzio
  • Plenty of guest speakers from related fields

Year & Semester of completion: 2012 Semester 2

Rating:  3.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 87 HD

Comments:
  • Interesting unit for anyone interested in mysteries of space, more so the extra-terrestial life, etc
  • You may find it boring if you are interested in pure astronomy, and not aliens/science-fiction/etc
  • Basically about all the terms in the Drake Equation and how we can find the numbers for the terms
  • Labs were not as enjoyable as first semester - some were good though, the role-playing ones
  • Assignment had a question that required a formula that was ONLY in the textbook - just saying
  • Some of the guest lecturers were amazing - WATCH THIS RIGHT NOW WIND POWERED AMAZINGS!! - Find more by googling 'strandbeest'
  • A bit of writing-based work in this subject - MANY people from other faculties do it as an elective
  • Do it if you enjoy space enough to get through essay-like stuff ^-^
« Last Edit: December 03, 2012, 09:58:35 am by DisaFear »



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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #65 on: November 29, 2012, 12:51:51 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: PHS1022 - Physics

Workload: (per week)
  • 3x 1 hour lectures
  • 1x 3 hour lab
Assessment:
  • Lab work: 25%
  • Tests/Assignments: 17% (includes mid-semester test, MasteringPhysics, written assignment, one full lab report)
  • End of Semester examination: 58%
Recorded Lectures:  Yes, Stream 2 only

Past exams available: Yes, around 4-6 exam papers available, I think 3-4 have answers

Textbook Recommendation:
  • Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Knight (definitely recommend, very very useful)
Lecturer(s):
  • Dr. Kevin Pimbblet (takes rotation/graviation)
  • Dr. David Paganin (takes electric charge/fields)
  • Dr. Kaye Morgan (takes magnetism)
  • Dr. Michael Morgan (takes quantum physics)
Year & Semester of completion: 2012 Semester 2

Rating:  4/5

Your Mark/Grade: 82 HD

Comments:
  • Very interesting unit - the coming together of electricity and magnetism is beautiful, and quantum physics is just mind-boggling
  • However, I found it quite challenging (but I'm just bad) - some maths manipulation skills required in quantum physics, it got a lot of people
  • As stated above, the topics studied in second semester are Rotation/Gravitation, Electric Charge/Fields, Magnetism and Quantum Physics
  • The unit has clickers - in lectures, the occasional question pops up on the lecture slides, and everyone with a clicker can anonymously answer - spread shown after
  • Labs are decent, the angular momentum lab activity was pretty wicked sick. The lectures are also pretty good
  • Definitely do it if you are interested in physics, it is interesting. If you are looking for something easy, don't do it
« Last Edit: December 03, 2012, 09:58:21 am by DisaFear »



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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #66 on: December 01, 2012, 01:22:04 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: MTH1030 - Techniques for Modelling

Workload:  (per week)
  • 3x 1 hour lectures
  • 1x 2 hour support class
Assessment:
  • Project: 10%
  • Mid-semester Test: 10%
  • Assignment 1 & 2: 20%
  • End of Semester Examination: 60%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, no screen capture (they may change it next year)

Past exams available:  Yes, a few. Maths peps only allowed to give one solution

Textbook Recommendation:
  • MTH1030 Lecture Notes by Monash University (didn't buy, not as helpful as the MTH1020 one which you can take into the exam)
  • Calculus: Early Transcendentals by Stewart (I recommend it, good to have some worked examples with explanations - but if short on cash, ditch it, plenty of copies at the library)
Lecturer(s):
  • Mr. Simon Teague
Year & Semester of completion: 2012 Semester 2

Rating:  4.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 80 HD

Comments:
  • Follow on from MTH1020, essential if you want to continue maths
  • Covers vectors, linear algebra (matrices, determinants, gaussian elimination), integration, eigenvectors, series & sequences and ordinary differential equations
  • Linear algebra is boring - just saying ^-^
  • Tutorials are as helpful as ever, really, don't miss them. If you wonder what you do in them, you sit for two hours with some peps and do math problems with a tutor there to help you
  • Simon was an okay lecturer, but not the best. Really funny though. And he always had a bottle of Coke Zero with him
  • Don't be fooled by how easy the mid-sem is - the exam is crazy
  • Definitely do it if you enjoy maths! Quite interesting and not too taxing
« Last Edit: December 03, 2012, 09:58:05 am by DisaFear »



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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #67 on: December 03, 2012, 12:08:12 am »
+4
Subject Code/Name: ATS3148 - Japanese Studies Advanced 2

Workload: 

- 1 hour lecture
- 1 hour tutorial
- 2 hour seminar

Assessment: 

- 10 minute job interview test: 20%
- homework exercises
- vocabulary/grammar tests
- haiku/tanka poetry project: 6%
- final examination: 25%

*cant remember how everything was calculated apart from the ones I mentioned

Recorded Lectures:  no

Past exams available:  no, but you will receive a handout outlining how the exam will be structured

Textbook Recommendation:  majority of the unit content is based on the prescribed textbook material, 上級へのとびら

Lecturer(s): Shimako Iwasaki

Year & Semester of completion: semester 2 2012

Rating:  3.5 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: HD

Comments: the course was organized very well with a weekly timetable sheet that you get in week 1 - detailing what we would go through each when and highlighting when tests would be held and due dates for projects. Attending all lectures/tutorials/seminars is compulsory (apparently) or Iwasaki sensei will try to chase you considering there's only 50~ students taking the subject so it's noticeable when you're away. This unit taught a reasonable amount of grammar patterns and vocabulary across three themes - history, literature and politics.

Overall I found Iwasaki sensei to be pretty bland as a lecturer although she got the job done. Most people tried to escape lectures by going on 1 hour "toilet breaks" since they taught very little but were interesting sometimes in various group activities.

I really wanted to love this subject but the lack of engagement from the lecturer was a let-down and the keigo (formal speech) part of the course was taught poorly. Not to mention how kanji felt non-existent in class outside the homework kanji exercises

It's not a difficult unit if you put the work in and I do value what I had learned it. Motivation for the learning the language is key really~
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:56:48 pm by alondouek »
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2012 : BA(Japanese&Chinese)/BComm @ Monash Clayton

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #68 on: December 03, 2012, 12:10:48 am »
+5
Subject Code/Name: ENG1060 - Computing for Engineers

Workload:
  • 1 x 3 hour lab
  • 2 x 1 hour lecture
Assessment:
  • Weekly lab class - 2% each (18% in total)
  • Week 7/10 library test (dependent on lab time) - 2%
  • Assignment due in week 10 - 10%
  • Examination in exam period - 70%
Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture. The code shown in lectures is also uploaded.

Past exams available:  Yes, 14 (2005-2011, both semesters) available in the past exam database. Worked solutions were provided for 2011 semester 1 and 2, however I also have solutions to 2008 semester 2 and 2009 semester 1 and 2.

Textbook Recommendation:  Lecture notes will suffice for a good mark, however if you're interested in doing more reading or want more exposure to eng1060 related questions "Applied Numerical Methods for Engineers & Scientists" by Chapra may be helpful. A book written by Wai Ho Li, who wrote the lecture notes and from what I can gather helped design the unit, is also available in the Hargrave-Andrew Library.

Lecturer(s): Dr Yi Hong and Mr. Yogen Padayatchy

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2012

Rating: 4 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 91 HD

Comments: Well firstly, if you're studying any type of engineering at monash you will be required to undertake this unit whether you want to or not. With this being said, I found the unit quite enjoyable, despite the amount of time I spent being frustrated at matlab.

My best recommendation towards studying for the unit isn't necessarily reading textbooks like you may other units, but rather spending quite a bit of time on matlab as it practically provides most of the stuff you need to know. The more time you spend on matlab the more you learn about how the code works and how to fix errors, which has focus in parts of the exam.

The lectures can be useful, but most of the time can be quite dry at times due to easy material and not all that engaging. The material is also taught pretty much from the slides with an example here and there. I made the decision to stop attending lectures early in the semester (although I still attended some), choosing to learn the course material solely from the lecture notes, which seemed to suffice.

I strongly recommend trying to begin, if not complete, the lab class questions before your session as they can be quite long and arduous at times. It's also a good idea to try and allocate your lab later in the week because if you get stuck you'll be able to get friends who have already done the lab to help. In regards to finishing the lab sessions early, the same goes for the assignment. Although, it isn't hard once you grasp the concepts, you do want to make sure you grasp them early and really avoid making silly mistakes, as they can be quite costly when you actually know what you're doing.

For the latter part of the unit I recommend doing more questions and really cementing in your brain the method behind the questions, as the only thing that really changes from year to year in part B of the exam is the numbers used in the questions.

Additionally, I attended a few PASS sessions which were quite helpful, you go through worksheets relating to the course material being studied that week and also do a bit of coding on matlab. If you're struggling grasping the course content I would certainly recommend dropping into one of these. Even if you don't sign up originally you can ask to be allocated to a time or just appear in one hoping they have room, which they most likely will.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:57:10 pm by alondouek »
2011
Mathematical Methods | Physics | Chemistry | English | Business Management

2012-2017
Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Honours) @ Monash University

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #69 on: December 08, 2012, 05:09:24 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: CHM1022 - Chemistry II 

Workload: (per week) (this will change next year!!)
  • 3x 1 hour lectures
  • 1x 3 hour lab

Assessment:
  • Lab Work: 20%
  • Online Tests & Assignments (WileyPLUS): 20%
  • End of Semester Examination: 60%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes with screen capture

Past exams available:  Yes, plenty. Answers available for plenty of them, but only at the library for short term loan

Textbook Recommendation:
  • Chemistry by Blackman et al (definitely recommend, very useful, especially with mechanisms)
  • Introduction to Organic Chemistry by Poon et al (didn't buy, but borrowed a lot from library, only essential if you want to understand mechanisms to the fullest)
  • CHM1022 Lecture Notes by Monash Chemistry Faculty (really helpful, as it is essentially the whole course in a nutshell)

Lecturer(s):
  • Dr. Chris Thompson & Professor Don McNaughton (physical chemistry)
  • Dr. Kellie Tuck & Professor Steven Langford (organic chemistry)
  • Assoc Professor Philip Andrews (inorganic chemistry)

Year & Semester of completion: 2012 Semester 2

Rating:  5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 94 HD

Comments:
  • Very interesting unit covering wide range of stuff, need it to progress to second year chem
  • In physical chemistry, topics covered are kinetics, equilibria and thermodynamics
  • Organic chemistry has the usual NMR/IR etc alongside reaction pathways and mechanisms
  • Inorganic chemistry is about d-block chemistry and has coordination complexes and some bioinorganic chem
  • Labs are quite fun! Some of them were quite a thrill
  • Sometimes, lecturers do in-lecture demonstrations, my my, they are awesome :D
  • Work-load is decent, the only time-consuming thing is labs (you will need safety glasses and lab coats for chemistry! No hat, no play!)
  • You will find VCE Chem to help out quite a bit here, as well as VCE Physics (sort of)
  • :D :D
  • Do it if you enjoyed VCE Chem. Also do it if you didn't enjoy it ^-^
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:57:24 pm by alondouek »



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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #70 on: January 01, 2013, 10:01:49 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: ATS1248 - Ancient Civilisations II

Workload:  2 x 1 hour lectures + 1 x 1 hour tutorial per week

Assessment:
  • 5% - Referencing test. A simple online exercise where you answer 5 or so questions. You go through it in the tutorial before it is due and can get heaps of help if you aren't so sure about referencing. As it's only worth 5% its easy to forget or just skip but it can in the end be the difference between you passing if you don't do well or a D and HD as it was for me
  • Roughly 40% - 1 hour examination during the exam period. This semester they changed the layout of the exam. Basically you had to answer 20 of 30 given questions with each question on a particular topic (For example - late period egypt) and comprising 4 basic questions. As my tutor said you basically have to know the course material, you can't just wing it necessarily. Having said that it was, for me at least, a very simple and easy exam. All answers were simple such as the name of a person, place, what dynasties were encompassed by a certain period etc - Basically only 2-4 words max for each answer
  • Roughly 40% - 2000 word essay with a choice of two topics, one based around ancient history and the other on archaeology. The essay topics aren't meant to trick you, they're pretty straightforward and the difficulty will depend on how well you can write yourself. Either way you will go through it enough in tutorials to get an idea of how to go about it. You have about 5-6 weeks to write it.
  • 10% - Basic note taking exercise. A simple exercise which serves to see how you go with simplifying and condensing information

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture

Past exams available:  With the new layout, if they put up the 2012 exam there will only be one past exam but they do give a brief sample of the layout. This isn't a full practice exam though, just an A4 page that shows the structure to give you an idea of the layout and what sort of questions to expect.

Textbook Recommendation: 
  • 'Ancient Civilizations 3ed' by Christopher Scarre and Brian M. Fagan. This is great for background and is used in both Ancient Civilisations 1 and 2 and is highly recommended by the lecturers. It's quite expensive at approx. $100 but I'm sure you could rifle one up on the internet somewhere like bookdepository or abebooks.
  • You do have to buy the unit reader which I'm pretty sure is about $20.00 or so. It contains the unit outline and all the readings for each week.

Lecturer(s):
  • Gillian Bowen - lectured on Greece and Rome as well as a couple of other lectures.
  • Colin Hope - The Near East, Egypt, Rome
  • Angelo di Castro - The Etruscans and Rome

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2012

Rating: 5 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 79 D

Comments:

  • Very interesting unit covering wide range of stuff and you need it to progress to second year archaeology if that's what you plan to do. Civilisations studied include Rome, Greece, Egypt (in brief), Assyria, Babylon, and Etruscans
  • The tutorials were quite helpful and the tutor (well mine at least) was really good, knowledgeable and happy to help,
  • The workload is neither light nor extremely high. The only time consuming thing was the readings and research for the essay.
  • All lecturers were really good and knew their stuff. All were easy to understand and follow. There were a a lot of readings to do and the essays required a lot of research. I found this subject very interesting, and yes at times it could get a little stressful with all the readings, but that's the same for any subject, arts subjects in particular. Overall, I'd highly recommend the subject.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:57:50 pm by alondouek »
2010 | Texts and Traditions - 30

2011 | History: Revolutions - 37 ; French - 33 ; Biology - 31 ; National Politics - 31 ; English - 41 (ATAR 85.85)

2012 | Monash Arts w/ Archaeology and History Double Major

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #71 on: June 13, 2013, 01:53:11 pm »
+9
Subject Code/Name: MED2031 - Medicine 3

Workload: per week: 12 x 1hr lectures + 3 x 2 hr prac + 2 x 2 hr tutorials + 3.5 hr PBL (Problem Based Learning tutorial - new name for CBL of last year) + 6 hr CBP (Community Based Placement)

Assessment: For the year - 10% Mid-Semester Test, 6% Student Project Case Written Summary, 3% Rural Individual Assignment, 7% Rural Group Assignment, 6.8% Health Promotion Assignment, 4% Student Project Case Oral Presentation, 10% End of Semester Written Examination, 0% Breast Examination (hurdle), 0% CBP Placement Plan (hurdle) (formative assignments include practical write-ups, system quizzes, and the formative OSCE)

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture that includes lectures notes being written on

Past exams available: No, the Faculty has now published a document with threats to expel students from the course if they are caught compiling past questions or distributing or using past compilations. All past compilations have been removed from the MUMUS site.

Textbook Recommendation:
  • Clinical Examination A Systematic Guide 6th - O'Connor and Talley*
  • Clinically Oriented Anatomy 6th - Agur, Dalley and Moore*
  • Functional Histology 2nd - Kerr
  • Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology 12th - Guyton and Hall*
  • Langman's Medical Embrgy 11th - Sadler
  • Mim's Medical Microbiology 4th - Dockrell, Goering, Mims, Roitt, Wakelin and Zuckerman
  • Netter's Clinical Anatomy 2nd - Hansen*
  • Physiology 4th - Costanzo
  • Rang and Dale's Pharmacology 7th - Dale, Flower, Henderson, Rang and Ritter*
  • Respiratory Physiology The Essentials 9th - West
  • The ECG Made Easy 7th - Hampton
  • Wheater's Functional Histology A Text and Colour Atlas 5th - Heath, Lowe, Stevens and Young
* means essential

Lecturer(s): Many, depending on the series of lecture (respiratory, GIT, renal, urinary, endocrinology, pharmacology, pathology, etc.)

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2013

Rating: 5/5

Comments:
The workload really steps up in second year, in both contact hours (commonly 30+) and in workload. However, unlike first year, I found the content to be much more relevant clinically, which provides incentive to learn.

As with the rest of the course, the unit is divided into four parts (or themes of study):
Theme I: Personal and Professional Development
Theme II: Population, Society, Health and Illness
Theme III: Foundations of Medicine
Theme IV: Clinical Skills

Similarly with first year, of the four themes, I (and the vast majority of the cohort) found themes III and IV to be the most enjoyable because aforementioned, they focus on knowledge and skills that have a direct and practical use in future life as a clinician. Themes I and II, again, contain a lot of theory, a lot of which is very logical and dry. Unfortunately, a fair portion of the exam tests these Themes I and II.

This unit essentially focuses on a few bodily systems, namely: respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, urinary and endocrinology, in order of when you do them. Each system provides it's own challenges as you delve into the physiology, gross anatomy, pharmacology and clinical manifestations.

The physiology is taught primarily in the lectures and it is expected that you take the initiative to fill in the blanks in your own time. The anatomy, similar the semester 2 of first year, is taught through dissections, prossections, radiology and tutes with surgical registrars. These are invaluable and practical learning is very enjoyable. Histology practicals accompany each system and reinforce some of the learning.

Again, we pursue with clinical skills tutes and things become more intense. We cover more system reviews and more clinical examinations: respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, obesity, dehydration, diabetes, endocrinology (focus on the thyroid). These are essential to OSCEs and future clinical practice. Again, group and team work becomes vital in these tutes and participation is the key to learning and preparation for the eventual OSCE.

There are two new aspects to this semester: Rural Weeks and Community Based Placements (CBP).

The Rural Weeks (2 week placement in groups of 10-20) are arguably the best two weeks of my academic life: simply amazing on so many levels. I was lucky to travel to Bairnsdale at stay at the luxurious Captains Cove. The placement, academically, consisted of placements at a GP, theatre, emergency department, district nursing, allied health, naturopathy, Indigenous, pharmacy, farm site visit and vets. So in terms of the healthcare aspect, we are given a very broad experience. Personally, I found the district nursing placement to be the best of them, learning so much from a different perspective. Throughout these placements you are able to refine your clinical skills: injections, examinations, histories, vital signs, etc. We are also given the opportunity to participate in a suturing workshop at Bairnsdale Regional Health Service.

On a social level, the placement is amazing too. After academic hours, you can expect a large party for all. The accommodation is simply stunning with large rooms and units and beautiful lakeside views when you wake up, perfect for a BBQ and some heavy partying. So, we did :P We also had the opportunity to socialise with the 4th year MBBS students who were there too, so we partied hard. In the weekend between the two weeks you are given the opportunity to go home but luckily no-one did, so we were able to road-trip to Lakes Entrance and many other touristy sites. Very enjoyable and many, many great memories.

However, there are two assignments to complete from this rural placement, one individual and one group, so being mindful of those is important too. Also important to note that only half the cohort goes on Rural Weeks in the first semester, the others go next semester in MED2042.

The CBP is also a good experience. Basically, in a small group of 3-6 you go to special schools, youth services, retirement homes, etc and participate and get involved in what is going on once a week for 14 weeks (continues in MED2042). I was lucky to be based in a special school and I am loving the opportunity. Whilst it's a little sad at times, I am really enjoying playing and teaching students. I really commend Monash for having a program like this, it really brings me down to Earth with where many health issues really lie.

However, there is always a downside. He have a "Health Promotion" series of lectures and tutes. In addition, there is also an assignment attached to this. Personally, I gave up on attending the lectures after the first one, honestly not worth my time. However, tutes were enjoyable. Not so much because the learning was beneficial or useful in any way (it isn't), but because my tutor was very engaging and spun the coursework into fun group tasks with opportunities for lots of laughs. These laughs soon diminish when the assignment comes up though.

Another downside (in my opinion), was the Student Project Case (SPC) which is completed in groups of 3-4. Essentially it has two parts: a written summary of your assigned condition (asbestos-related lung diseases, haemochromatosis, Dengue fever, or breast cancer) and then present a 30 minute oral (word used loosely as you can use technological aids - my group for example made short video clips and a powerpoint presentation) presentation. The downsides I found with this were how much of your time it consumes and the fact that the oral presentations are a couple of days before the End of Semester Exam. Other than the stress, the learning is somewhat enjoyable.

In terms of the lectures throughout the semester, again, they are at a high standard, still captivating and interactive (except for Health Promotion). As last semester, questions are allowed to be asked before, during and after the lectures, and all lecturers are more than happy to respond to emails afterwards. The lecture notes/slides given are also of a decent standard and it is possible to pass the unit solely using these. There is no attendance requirement for this unit, however it is expected that students attend all lectures (most lectures are nearly full, so that shows the quality of what is given).

In terms of the hurdle requirements, there are two: the CBP Placement Plan and the Breast Examination (completed by those who did not do Rural Weeks in this semester). Passing these are compulsory to passing the unit (and hence the year) and failure to do so will result in your repeating of the year. 

On word of caution is that if you are lucky to go on rural in this semester, the workload piles up at the end of the semester. Both rural assignments, the SPC oral presentations, the Health Promotion assignment  and the End of Semester exam are within 3 weeks of each other. This is a stressful time, but I guess it's better to get this whammy of assessments now that at the end of the year when there are even more exams (additional written exam and a summative OSCE). Better end of a bad deal.

Just something I'd like to add that isn't academic is the issue of study groups. Not being a jaffy, I've been given the opportunity to participate as a tutor (volunteering) in Year I/II study groups. This is something I've found not only very helpful to my own revision, but also very enjoyable. In addition there are also Year II/III study groups for you to get some extra help too, I love these too.

On the whole though, a very intense and tough unit in terms of workload, but again, a unit that is extremely enjoyable and rewarding :) Starting to feel like you know things is a good feeling :P
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:58:09 pm by alondouek »

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #72 on: June 13, 2013, 10:22:44 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: AFX4030 - Advanced Modelling in Finance 

Workload:  3 hours lab each week.

Assessment:  3 assignments worth 10%, 10%, 15%. Academic paper presentation: 10%. Participation: 5%. Matlab/VBA/SAS Programming Exam: 30%. Research Paper Exam: 20%.

Recorded Lectures:  N/A

Past exams available:  N/A

Textbook Recommendation:  N/A

Lecturer(s): Assoc. Prof. Cameron Truong

Year & Semester of completion: 2013 Semester 1.

Rating:  5/5

Your Mark/Grade: Pending

Comments: Perhaps the best Finance honours subject there is. I suggest this unit to those that have done AFC3540, which is the undergrad modelling in finance unit taken by Paul. AFX4030 combines both elements of academic research and modelling into one and does so in a way that makes it all seem so natural. Essentially the first 6 or so weeks you will be doing VBA/MATLAB programming then the last 6 weeks you will be doing SAS programming. Combined with this, each week there will be at least 3 academic papers to be read. The unit is then structured such that you replicate the methodology and analytical data manipulation in research papers using your own knowledge from each of the programming languages learnt in the unit. There will also be an academic paper review, essentially everyone is assigned a paper and you have to present the paper (similar to an academic research proposal) as if you were the actual author. This is a truly rewarding unit for those that want to delve deeper into academic finance research as you gain not only theoretical skills but also apply it in an academic context.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:58:46 pm by alondouek »
PhD @ MIT (Economics).

Interested in asset pricing, econometrics, and social choice theory.

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #73 on: June 14, 2013, 05:45:18 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: PHS1011 - Physics

Workload: 3x1 hour lectures per week. 1x3 hour lab per week.

Assessment:  There is an online 'Mastering Physics' assignment every few weeks, which is essentially just questions which contribute to your final mark - they can be quite challenging, but every question has 'hints' which sacrifice marks for help, if the first hint doesn't help you can use another which will be more in depth than the last, but more costly of marks. There were two actual assignments. The first was just a set of questions which was on Mechanics and was easy marks (Finished it in half an hour). The second was a lab report on an experiment you and your partners will do sometime in the first few weeks. This was worth 5% but was quite large. There is some good resources on moodle to help you with this; an example of a bad lab report with annotations telling you why it was bad, along with an example of a good lab report.

Recorded Lectures:  Yes.

Past exams available:  Yes, back to 2006 with solutions.

Textbook Recommendation:  PHS1011/1022 directly follows the Randall D. Knight textbook. I got the 3rd edition which only came out a month or so before I got it. I highly, highly recommend it, it is very well written, thoroughly comprehensive and interesting. It has questions at the end of every chapter with answers to every second question.

Lecturer(s):  Kevin Pimblett and Tim Peterson. I only went to Kevin's lectures, but Tim came in to a few of Kevin's at the end. Kevin is an incredibly engaging lecture, he makes everything interesting and fun, and is able to explain things well. He is also very enthusiastic. From the little experience I had with Tim's lectures, I liked him a lot as well. Could explain things well and was entertaining.

Year & Semester of completion: 2013, sem 1

Rating:  4.5/5

Comments: I enjoyed this subject a lot. Mechanics was pretty much a coming together of specialist maths with VCE Physics, plus some additional Physics definitions. After that we did Thermodynamics, which I really enjoyed. Kevin took these topics, then we had Tim for Simple Harmonic Motion and Waves/optics. SHM was interesting, and Waves covered theory for all wave types in general. We finished with Special Relativity with Kevin, which while being very interesting, I felt it was rushed and was annoying that it was at the end of the course very close to the exam because it was quite difficult.

Make sure you read the texbook BEFORE you go to lectures, it helps sooooo much, especially for labs. I would advise you do some textbook questions before each lab if you want to do well in them. The 3 hour exam is 180 marks and, if you understand the theory and have done a couple of previous papers, then you will do well in this subject.

Also, I believe 2013, sem 1 was the last time PHS1011 will be have it's labs run in the way they have been the last few years. Next year the new $280 million dollar Physics building will be finished and first year labs will be done there with an entirely new lab structure.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:59:24 pm by alondouek »
2011:|Further Math (34)|
2012:|Methods CAS (35)|Physics (38)|Specialist Math (35)|English (33)|
2012 ATAR: |91.45|

2013 - 2017: |Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering & Science @ Monash, Clayton|

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #74 on: June 17, 2013, 05:02:46 pm »
+6
Subject Code/Name: CHM1051 - Chemistry I (Advanced)

Workload:  2 x 1 hr Lectures, 1 x 1 hr Workshop (Lectorial), 1 x 4 hr Lab

Assessment: 5 x Pre-Lecture Quiz (2.5%), 5 x Post-Lecture Test (7.5%), Lab Proforma (30%), Final Exam (60%)

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available:  Yes, Many. The structure of first year chemistry was changed in 2012 or so, the new CHM1051/1011 stuff is the mixture of old CHM1011/1022. Two new sample exams are also provided.

Textbook Recommendation:  "Chemistry, 2nd Edition" by Blackman (Wiley). Not essential, only buy if you think explanations on lecture notes are not clear enough. 1st Edition is also okay.

Lecturer(s): Dr. Chris Thompson, Dr. Alison Funston, Dr. Mike Grace

Year & Semester of completion: 2013, Semester 1

Rating:  5 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: Pending

Comments: This is the advanced version of CHM1011 and this is a new unit in 2013. A VCE Chemistry score >=37 or ATAR >=90 is required. Since CHM1051 and CHM1011 have the same lecture content and the exam is the same/nearly the same, the only "advanced" part of the unit is we have longer labs. We do essentially the same pracs as CHM1011 but a bit more complex. Although the structured time slot for labs is 4 hrs, the longest lab we have is a bit more than 3 hrs. Instead of tutorials, we have the so-called workshops, basically the lecturer performs experiment and we work on a problem sheet each week. The whole unit is about physical chemistry, and divided into:

Atoms (Structures, periodicity)
Molecules (Lewis, VSEPR, VBT, MO, gases)
Thermodynamics
Equilibria
Kinetics

Some of the topics are VCE topics or extension of VCE topics, not too difficult if effort is put in. Physical chemistry might be boring for some people (me included) but is really important for later Chemistry units, and sometimes it is kind of rewarding. They lecturers are great, Chris Thompson (Wk 1-4, Atomic Structures, Molecular Sturctures up to VBT) is the best lecturer you could ever have, he really knows how to teach. Alison Funston (Wk 5-8, MO, Gases, Thermodynamics) is good too, but not as good as Chris, and apparently she is a better researcher. Mike Grace (Wk 9-12, Equilibria, Kinetics) is funny too. Labs are fun, sometimes you get to design experiments. Labs worth 30% and a pass in labs is a hurdle requirement, but don't stress out if you don't like labs, all the pracs are pretty easy/intuitive and the demonstrators are generally nice. There are no assignments, and each time you have a week or two to finish pre-/post-lecture tests.
This is an essential unit for people who want to major in chemistry and also for those who do chemistry to satisfy BSc requirement. There is not much difference between CHM1051 and CHM1011, after completing this unit, it is not like that you know more about chemistry than CHM1011 kids. But if you do have high enough ATAR and/or Chemistry score, DO CHM1051 Chemistry I (Advanced)!! At least it sounds cooler, doesn't it?  :P
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:59:41 pm by alondouek »