Surgery (Austin Health)

The Honours program is an advanced level of study which aims to provide students with an understanding in the practice of biomedical research. It is designed to extend the student’s education and intellectual development in Biomedicine, Physiology and Surgery through attendance and participation in Workshops, Research Seminars and Journal Club presentations. The students will be exposed to experimental design and development of a hypothesis as an approach to research, covering the main research areas within the department; Cancer, Transplantation, Liver regeneration, Immunobiology and Spinal Biology. Students are required to complete a research project within the Department of Surgery and/or affiliated institution under the guidance of at least one supervisor. The Honours year provides a strong foundation for the future direction of graduates, whether as a means of progressing to research higher degrees at the Masters or PhD level, or improving the scope of employment options and professional advancement.

The Honours program is designed to develop student awareness and knowledge of how contemporary biomedical research questions are addressed in a range of areas. Honours will provide students with skills including:

• Design of scientific project and consideration of ethical principles and processes used in Biological research;
• Develop the ability to propose hypotheses for testing;
• Locating and utilising information available in scientific and medical literature, and an nderstanding of experimental data in order to construct a rational scientific argument;
• Research techniques to apply to a specific project;
• Skills and techniques relevant to the research in surgery and biomedicine including the use of humans and animals in science;
• Enhanced problem solving skills by undertaking methodological approaches to research;
• Time management skills to manage the completion of specific tasks;
• Collection and critical analysis of data and information, including statistical assessment of experimental data;
• Communication of research results in both written and oral form, including the organisation of knowledge and identification of the potential scope of the research project.

The Honours program consists of 100 credit points completed over 12 months full time (or part time equivalent) comprising of two (2) Advanced Coursework subjects and a Research Project.

To be awarded Honours with a specialisation in Surgery (Austin Health), students must successfully complete the following:

• BIOM40001 Introduction to Biomedical Research (12.5 points)
• SURG40002 Advanced Studies in Biomedicine (12.5 points)
• SURG40005 and SURG40001 - Research Project (75 points)

There are no elective subjects in this Honours program.

Coursework Component

Students must complete 25 credit points of advanced coursework subjects. This is achieved by enrolling in the following subjects in the appropriate semesters.

Research Component

Students must complete a total of 75 credit points of research across the duration of the Honours program. This is achieved by enrolling in a combination of the following subjects in the appropriate semesters.