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March 28, 2024, 09:11:34 pm

Author Topic: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings  (Read 828583 times)  Share 

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TrueTears

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #30 on: December 06, 2011, 06:10:35 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: AFC3340 - Options, Futures and Derivatives 

Workload:  1 hour tutes per week

Assessment:  Within semester assessment: 20% Examination (3 hours): 80%

Recorded Lectures:  yes

Past exams available:  around 2-3 papers with answers

Textbook Recommendation:  read the textbook, options, futures and derivatives by hull 6th or 7th edition

Lecturer(s): not sure didn't go to any lectures

Year & Semester of completion: 2011 semester 2

Rating:  5 of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 99 hd

Comments: Hands down, best undergraduate finance subject at monash -- it is the hardest and most useful finance unit. I suggest people who take up this unit to have a very strong mathematical background, you will be cover lots of mathematical financial theory, eg, option pricing model, black scholes model, futures pricing model etc etc some maths that are involved are stochastic calculus, limits and lots of algebra. The assignments are all done in excel, you will need to program mathematical models and do lots of financial modelling (very important skill later on in the finance industry), the exam is quite hard, with 30 multiple choice questions and 8 long answers, the majority of the exam is mathematical calculations with a tiny bit of theory questions. I HIGHLY suggest reading the relevant chapters in Hull's text in addition to the lecture notes. The explanations and examples provided in the text provide a lot of intuition and will definitely help you understand the concepts better.
« Last Edit: June 03, 2015, 01:02:07 am by TrueTears »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #31 on: December 08, 2011, 12:59:45 am »
+4
Subject Code/Name: MTH3060 - Advanced Ordinary Differential Equations

Workload:  3 Lectures + tute

Assessment:  Two assignments, hand-in tute questions

Recorded Lectures:  Yes/maybe, never understood the fascination about recorded lectures, or lectures in general. Notes are uploaded on blackboard though.

Past exams available:  Yes, one.

Textbook Recommendation:  Go with the lecture notes

Lecturer(s): Simon Clarke, Paul Cally

Year & Semester of completion: 2011 S2

Rating:  4/5

Your Mark/Grade: HD

Comments: Very rewarding subject. Also one of the most difficult ones I've done. Unlike other applied math units, which tend to be the trivial 'this is the theory, and this is a formula', this subject puts a little more focus understanding the mathematics, such as when certain theorems apply and what conditions are necessary. There are a lot of power expansions, so make sure you like summations and recursive equations and such. The assignments are definitely the hardest I've ever encountered, these are not trivial at all, requires actual thinking, and is very refreshing after years of engineering-esque style of learning.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:36:43 pm by alondouek »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #32 on: December 28, 2011, 01:56:10 am »
+4
Subject Code/Name: Philosophy: God, Freedom and Evil 

Workload:  1 x 1 hour lecture, 1 x 1 hour tute. Seriously light workload compared to what im use to.

Assessment:
(according to the handbook):
Expository exercise (1000 words): 20%
Essay: (2500 words): 40%
Exam (2 hours): 40%

According to what i actually did and what is in the unit guide:
1. Expository exercise (500 words)   10%
2. Expository exercise (1000 words)   20%
3. Essay: (1500 words)   30%
4. Exam (2 hours)   40%


Recorded Lectures:  Recorded video lectures available.

Past exams available:  Not needed. Exam questions are given out at the start of the year in the unit guide.

Textbook Recommendation:  The recommended textbook is written by the lecturer. Even though it intends to be a general purpose book on this area, it closely reflects how the course at monash is run or maybe the course reflects how he wrote the book. We'll never know.. It covers all the readings you need with analysis by him. I think it's a not an absolute necessary purchase, you can get it from the library if you need to use it on the odd occasion. It's not a bad book though.

Lecturer(s): Graeme Oppy.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2011.

Rating:  5/5

Your Mark/Grade: Can't remember.. Credit or Distinction (pretty good considering my essay was like 15 days late)

Comments:   Fairly well put together unit. It covers a lot of the main topics in philosophy of religion. It seems to me though, to more focus on the proofs that are most commonly used by believers and non-believers against each other, rather than more abstract philosophical notions. These might be found in the separate philosophy of religion unit but there seems to be a fair amount of overlap.

My tutor remarked she was a believer at the time and the course use to have a few crummy arguments for God and more than a few really good arguments against God. She said it was fairly better now.

Graeme Oppy (http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/graham_oppy/) is one of the relatively few atheist philosophers of religion, in Australia at least. He seems to be pretty well known in the field, i've personally come across several papers by him and he's been cited a fair few times. As far as im aware he's also head of the philosophy department, so, you're in good hands.

Even as in his other works he seems to focus more on applicable arguments rather than the more abstract.

Workload is very manageable.

I hadn't done any Tertiary level philosophy before but i was very familiar with most of the arguments from my own prior reading and things like that. That said it has no prerequisites and i think most people would be able to manage it, if they're so inclined.

Overall, a good enjoyable unit. Little bit more thin than what i'm use to and i wish it covered more of the arguments but it definitely a well executed summation of all the main issues.



Things covered by week:
Concept of God (Is God all loving, all powerful, all knowing, are these things compatible or possible, ect)
Arguments (What makes a good argument? What makes a logically consistent argument? How to construct arguments, ect)
Ontological Argument: Anselm
Cosmological Argument: Aquinas
Teleological Argument: Paley
Critique of Teleological Argument: Hume
Argument from Scale: Everitt
Pascal’s Wager
Logical Argument from Evil: Mackie (1)
Logical Argument from Evil: Mackie (2)
Evidential Argument from Evil: Rowe (1)
Evidential Argument from Evil: Rowe (2)
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:37:40 pm by alondouek »

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2016: Bachelor of Science (Honours) - Psychiatry research

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #33 on: June 09, 2012, 07:56:50 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: AFF1000 - Principles of Accounting and Finance

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

Assessment: Assignment (20%), Online quizzes (10%), Tutorial tests (10%), Exam - 3 hours (60%).

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available: Yes. Four past exams are available - from the previous two years.

Textbook Recommendation: Carey, P. (Ed.). (2010). Principles of accounting and finance (2nd ed.).

Lecturer(s): Ellinor Allen, Keryn Chalmers, Nigel Morkel-Kingsbury and Axel Schulz.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2012.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Comments: Interesting subject content-wise, however, it can get quite dry at times. Starts off with the basics of accounting and in the later weeks, the lecturers touch on management and financial accounting. The tutorial tests (3 tests) are easy enough if you keep up with the tutorial work; hence buying the textbook would be a good idea because that is where the questions in the tests come from (there are second-hand copies of the textbook). The tests can come up in any week from week 3 to week 11, and they take the best two scores from the three tests. The assignment is broken up into parts A, B and C and isn’t too bad - if you read the textbook, all your answers are in there. The online weekly quizzes should be easy as all the answers are in the textbook again. The exam itself is quite similar to past exams with slight variations in the questions. Only real downside is that the lecturers aren’t that engaging. If you have done VCE Accounting, this unit should be relatively straightforward - however if you haven't, it doesn't really matter because they teach everything from scratch. This unit is also a core unit as part of BBus.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:38:38 pm by alondouek »

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #34 on: June 11, 2012, 01:17:54 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: BTF1010 - Commercial Law

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

Assessment: Mid-semester test (20%), Online quizzes (20%), Exam - 2 hours (60%).

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available: No. Sample exam questions are available though.

Textbook Recommendation: 'Law in Commerce' 4th edition by Brendan Sweeney, Jennifer O'Reilly and Andrew Coleman.
 
Lecturer(s): Mark Bender.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2012.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Comments: Thoroughly enjoyable unit. First few weeks touch on the basics of what the law is etc. and then moves onto areas such as consumers’ rights and supply, agency, partnership and company law. The mid-semester test involves chapters 2 and 3 of the prescribed textbook: negligence/ACL and misrepresentation & commercial misconduct. It is open-book and there is one scenario-based question. I think the key to this unit is citing cases and/or legislation to back up your points, and also to look at everything; whether a party has a right of action/defences and the remedies available to the party/parties. The weekly online quizzes can be somewhat tricky as they are not as straight-forward and there are errors in some of the quizzes as noted by the lecturer. The questions in the exam are quite similar to the tutorial questions in the textbook (scenario-based) and the sample exam questions as well. Again, the exam is open-book so you can bring in any notes you like. There is an exam hurdle requirement of 45% to pass the unit. The workload for this unit is very manageable. Overall, I think this unit is a good introduction and look into the different aspects of law and the lecturer isn’t too bad either.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:38:55 pm by alondouek »

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #35 on: June 11, 2012, 10:23:25 pm »
+7
Subject Code/Name: PHS2011- Physics: Quantum Concepts and Technologies 

Workload:  3x1 hour lectures per week, 3 hour labs once a week

Assessment:  1x3% Condensed Matter Physics(CMP) Report, 1x2% CMP Quiz, 2x2.5% Atomic & Nuclear Physics(AN) Quiz, 2x5% Quantum Mechanics(QM) Assignments, 1x6% Lab report, 24% of lab work, 30% 3hr CMP & AN exam, 20% 2hr QM exam.

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available:  Yes, one or two exams available for all 3 subtopics, but solutions to AN are not provided.

Textbook Recommendation:  Don't buy anything, it's all in the library.

Lecturer(s): Michael Morgan, Alexis Bishop, Scott Findlay

Year & Semester of completion: 2012, Sem 1

Rating:  0 out of 5

Comments: The only reason that this got a rating of 0, is that the Quantum Mechanics section taken by Michael Morgan deserves a 5, but the other two subtopics deserves a rating of -5. I went to the first lecture taken by Scott Findlay on CMP and feel asleep, along with alot of other people, within 10 minutes. It was the same in Atomic and Nuclear physics taken by Alexis Bishop, but he was marginally better than Scott Findlay. 2 lectures per week for the first 6 weeks were allocated for CMP, followed by AN, and one lecture a week was allocated to QM. Since I have a clash during the lecture that QM takes place, needless to say, I didn't go to many of the lectures.

Until you have actually sat in Scott Findlay's lecture, you wont know how horrible it is. He just reads of his slides, which are filled to the brim with words, while shaking his laser pointer at the where he is reading from, which only succeeded in distracting people. I'll quote a friend, who told me that "I've learnt more about the physics behind *insert object* in an introductory engineering lecture than I did in a physics lecture..."

After the CMP section was done, I've already lost all motivation for this unit, which may have been the thing that made Alexis Bishop seem equally as bad as a lecturer. No hate on Michael Morgan though, he's a good lecturer without doubt.

Content wise, personally, I found it relatively dry, and I crammed the AN and CMP section in a day. The exam didn't go as bad as I've expected, since the AN section was EXACTLY THE SAME as last year... which is why he didn't provide solutions. Have yet to done my QM exam at the point of writing.

Basically, to sum it up, Alexis Bishop(AN)- bad, Scott Findlay(CMP)- terri-bad, Michael Morgan(QM)- awesome. More of a rant than a review.

P.S. No puns on AN intended.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:40:19 pm by alondouek »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #36 on: June 13, 2012, 05:54:16 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: MAE1041 - Introduction to Aerospace Engineering

Workload:  3x1 hour lectures a week, 1 Boundary Layer Lab, 1 Paper Plane Project, 1 2hr Problem Solving Class a week

Assessment:  10% BL Lab, 10% Paper Plane Project, 10% tutes/problem solving classes, 70% 3hr exam

Recorded Lectures:  Not Recorded

Past exams available:  Back to 2005 (although the course changed, so really not all the stuff on 2009 and back is relevant).

Textbook Recommendation:  Prescribed: Flight Physics: Introduction to Disciplines & Technology of Aircraft Flight, Recommended: Introduction to Flight 7ed. The prescribed textbook is ok to brush up on theory and to refer to in Lab reports and such, while the recommended book has a few practice questions that are relevant, but isn't really needed unless you want to go and do further questions (although not all of them are relevant).

Lecturer(s): Hugh Blackburn

Year & Semester of completion: Sem 1 2012

Rating: 4 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 85 HD

Comments: Overall I found this unit interesting, although at some points it was quite dry, you go through a few derivations that are pulled nearly out of no where, and be prepared for a couple of formulas a lecture (they all add up, around 50 on the formula sheet). There were some "interesting" moments (watching birdstrike videos and turbine blade tests come to mind), and Prof Blackburn does have a sense of humor (unlike some lecturers).

If you can do the questions in the 2hr problem solving class/tute each week, (which is basically free marks if you get all the questions done or hang around - worth 10%) then you should be able to do ok, as the exam is similar to the tute questions and past exam questions (one of them was off the 2010 exam with the numbers changed around). 50% of the exam was on aircraft performance, 30% of the rest of the areas of study (as problems) and 20% on theory (based on the marking scheme for previous papers).

The boundary layer lab is easy to score high in if you know your stuff, while the paper plane project turned out to be quite difficult, making the plane fly in a straight line was the key. You get a couple of weeks notice for it, the goal is to make a paper plane fly 40m from a launching height of 8m using only a glide throw (i.e. you can't throw it hard). This is done in the sports rec center at some stage).

As this is "into to aerospace" you touch on a fair few areas, but don't go into great detail in some, this is done to be given just a general idea of the topic before building on it in later years. Although it does leave you wondering at some points, if you have time you can fill in the gaps there yourself.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2012, 05:22:37 pm by b^3 »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #37 on: June 15, 2012, 03:29:42 am »
+4
Subject Code/Name: MED1011 - Medicine 1

Workload: 12 x 1hr lectures + 1 x 2 hr prac + 4 x 2 hr tutorials + 3.5 hr CBL

Assessment:  25% Mid-Sem Exam, 50% Case Commentary Assignment, 25% End of Semester Exam

Recorded Lectures:  Yes

Past exams available:  No

Textbook Recommendation:  Check the recommended list

Lecturer(s): Too many to list really

Year & Semester of completion: Sem 1 2012

Rating: 4/5

Your Mark/Grade: (Pending)

Comments: It's OK I guess, tutorials are great, lectures are bad, haven't been to a lecture/watched a lecture since the third week of semester, just self-study is usually better. Lectures are boring, and sometimes there's a tendency to fall asleep, but sometimes you do find a needle in the hay stack and get a good lecture. Tutes are usually always fun, clinical skills is the best, so is sociology, HEP tute is a complete waste of time, and I'd much rather not do it, but attendance is taken. CBL is fun, and quite enjoyable. Overall, quite alright :)
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:41:31 pm by alondouek »

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #38 on: June 16, 2012, 04:15:03 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: ENG1091 - Mathematics for Engineering

Workload: 3x1 hour lectures a week, 1 2hr Suport Class a week
 
Assessment: 3 Assignments - 6% each, Mid-semester Test - 6%, Support Class Participation - 6%, 3hr Exam - 70%

Recorded Lectures: Recorded with screen capture of the Lecture Notes, but most examples are written on Overhead Slides, which are normally put up on Moodle at some point after the lecture

Past exams available: 2007-2010 (but we were informed that it was the faculty's policy to only release one past exam, so this wouldn't be happening again).

Textbook Recommendation: Modern Engineering Mathematics 4ed - I used the textbook a lot throughout the semester, but you can get the questions that you need to do off Moodle, so you don't have to buy it, but if you want to do extra or go further like I did, then I would recommend you to obtain it. Although the Lecture notes are your main source of learning.

Lecturer(s): Stream 2: Dr.Chris Hough (Stream 1: Mr John McCloughan)

Year & Semester of completion: Sem 1 2012

Rating: 5 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 94 HD

Comments: I really enjoyed this unit, probably because maths is the thing that I was most interested in this semester. I was in Dr. Chris Hough's lecture stream, and he was willing to help out and even at some points during the semester, gave you the opportunity to email him if you wanted a further explanation on the reasoning and explanation behind some of the methods used, (as we weren't required to know how the formula came about, just how to use it, but this allowed those (like me) who wanted to know to find out :D). He does have a few George Bush/Bill Gates jokes though (be prepared for at least one a week) and went off on a rant or two about the current VCE system. But was willing to help, and unlike some lectures, and actually enjoyed taking the lectures. He even gave a mobile phone number out at the last lecture, so that we could ring him if we needed to clarify something/help on something, as e-mail would be too slow.

The exam was slightly harder than expected, and had a few tricks here and there, but if you were able to do the tute questions/past papers, then you should have been able to do alright.

I think having a good lecturer that was willing to help and enjoyed his maths is what really made me enjoy this unit, the only downside was the 8am lecture on my longest day.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:22:05 pm by b^3 »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #39 on: June 17, 2012, 07:09:39 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: MTH2021 - Linear Algebra with Applications

Workload: 3 1-hour lectures and 1 2-hour support class per week

Assessment: 5 Assignments: 4% each, 5 Laboratory work (quiz): 2% each, 3 hours Exam: 70%

Recorded Lectures:  Voice recorded lectures only

Past exams available:  2 past exams are available but only 1 came with solution

Textbook Recommendation:  Printed lecture notes if you attend lectures, its also available on moodle if you want to print it yourself or read it on a laptop/tablet etc.

Lecturer(s):Dr Tim Garoni

Year & Semester of completion:Sem 1 2012

Rating: 3 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: (Pending)

Comments: This subject's name should be changed to MTH2021 - Maths Method (with a bit of matrices) with applications. The first couple of lectures were essentially revision for VCE materials and everything else after that is very simple, to the point whereI felt like I was doing level 1 maths but easier. Except for some matrices operation (tr(A), row(A), col(A) etc.), all other materials are taught in previous maths unit (MTH1030, and MTH2010 if you done it) so I didn't learn much from this unit. Though the lectures had general proves, we are not required to 'understand' it thus making this subject quite easy (of course its the best if you understand the proves, but its not necessary to achieve a HD). If you're looking for a bludge unit I'd say this is the one. The lecturer is apparently quite humorous and knows his stuff but I can't really comment on it too much since I haven't been to more than a lecture (I fell asleep on the time I went). Tutorial class is the same as every other maths unit, if you're up to date and feeling comfortable then its not going to be helpful.

TL;DR It's a bludge unit, if you're looking for an relatively easy HD then take this unit
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:42:48 pm by alondouek »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #40 on: June 18, 2012, 07:08:10 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: ENG1030 - Electrical Systems
 
Workload: 3x1hr lectures a week, 1x1hr tute, 1x2hr lab every second week, Lab test in week 10

Assessment: 5 Lab sessions - 1.5% each, Lab Test - 7.5%, Online quizzes - 7% total, Mid Sem Test - 8%, 3hr exam - 70%

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture that includes lectures notes being written on (although some things were written on overhead slides).

Past exams available: 6 past exams, no solutions, only one has answers to some questions

Textbook Recommendation: Reccomended - Fundamentals of Electric Circuits 4ed, and a bunch of others, didn't really use them at all, wouldn't recommend them, unless you want to do extra questions during the semester (which I didn't), BUT they don't have answers to know if you're right or wrong (although those can be found online somewhere from a source other than the publisher).

Lecturer(s): Dr Yi Hong (Weeks 1-3, 7-12), Prof. Malin Premaratne (Weeks 4-6) <--- Malin is one of the best lecturers I've had

Year & Semester of completion: Sem 1 2012

Rating: 

Your Mark/Grade: 94 HD

Comments: This by far has been my least favourite unit this semester, I would have given it a 0.5 if it went for Malin's lectures, BUT I am a bit biased as I did not really want to do this unit in the first place.

The first 2-3 weeks starts off as easy as yr 12, if not easier, then it goes from 0 to wtf is this in about 1 lecture. Malin has been one of my best lecturers I've had, he explains things in a way that the marjority of the room was able to understand straight off, and it was not an easy topic to start with. He actually enjoyed lecturing and in the 5 mins before the lectures started he went around talking to students and seeing how they were going with the unit, or how he could improve (he ended up getting one hell of a round of applause at the end of his final lecture).

Anyway back to the actual unit, I did not enjoy the unit, it just wasn't my thing, the nodal analysis stuff was alright once you got the hang of it but I found Thevinen circuits a great deal harder (didn't sucessfully solve one until the day before the exam....). There are peer-assisted help classes (PASS) running for ENG1030, which I should of taken advantage of. The tutes aren't worth any marks, but I suggest you go to them if you want to pass, as they were really helpful, basically where I learnt most of the course. So far in general over all my units, I've found that the tutes that aren't worth anything are the ones that you actually need to go to to pass.

In week 10 you will have a Lab test, there are 7 tests, one of which you will be given at random. Beforehand you are given the tests so that you can practice in the labs before the date. During the week of the lab test, and even the week before it the labs get packed and you will be struggling to find wires for your circuits, so don't leave practicing your circuits too late, once you are given then start looking into the straight away.

The final lab which is in one of the last two weeks, is a soldering project, where you make a functioning thermometer, actually enojyed this lab quick a lot, you feel like you've actually achieved something for the semester :D
The Thermometer

To sum up, if you like electrical, then this will probably be enjoyable for you, if not, then it can be quite hard.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:21:59 pm by b^3 »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #41 on: June 18, 2012, 08:11:36 pm »
+8
Subject Code/Name: MED1011 - Medicine 1

Workload: per week: 12 x 1hr lectures + 1 x 2 hr prac + 4 x 2 hr tutorials + 3.5 hr CBL (Cased Based Learning tutorial) + occasional site visit

Assessment: For the semester - 25% Mid-Semester Test, 50% Case Commentary Assignment, 25% End of Semester Exam (formative assignments include practical write-ups and weekly quizzes). In terms of the year - 5% Mid-Semester Test, 10% Case Commentary Assignment, 5% End of Semester Exam

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture that includes lectures notes being written on (although some things were written on overhead slides)

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:
  • General Anatomy - Adams, Ahern, Briggs and Eizenberg*
  • Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine 7th - Clark and Kumar
  • Janeway's Immunobiology 8th - Murphy
  • Langman's Medical Embryology 11th - Sadler
  • Life The Science of Biology 9th - Berenbaum, Heller, Hillis and Sadva*
  • Medical Sciences 1st - Court, Naish, Revest*
  • Microbes in Motion 3 - Delisle and Tomalty
  • 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
  • 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 (biochemistry, cancer, pharmacology, haemotology, immunology, pathology, etc.)

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2012

Rating: 5/5

Comments:
The course 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

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 contain a lot of theory, a lot of which is very logical and dry. Luckily, majority of the course is focused on themes II and IV, and the exams reflect that too.

The lectures are very good, with most of the lecturers being very captivating and interactive with the students. 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).

The tutorials are also very enjoyable. Each tutorial focusing on one aspect of the themes, for example in the Clinical Skills tute we learn how to take patient histories, give injections, take blood pressures and measure the vital signs. Most tutes encourage group discussions and teamwork (especially the CBL tutes). There is an 80% attendance requirement for all tutes for this unit.

External site visits give this unit extra depth and enjoyment. During the unit, each student is able to have a hospital and a GP placement, which not only are necessary for the Case Commentary assignment, but are also valuable insight into the medical profession and the clinical years of the MBBS (years 3-5).

The unit (and the course overall) also has an excellent society, Monash University Medical Undergraduates' Society (MUMUS) which facilitates student concerns with the Medical department, provides supports to students, organises academic and social events, provides links to AMSA, manages a facebook group, and much more! Every student enrolled in this unit is automatically a member of this society.

Overall, an extremely enjoyable unit, despite the heavy workload :)
« Last Edit: November 13, 2013, 03:28:00 pm by qt3.14 »

ShortBlackChick

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #42 on: June 20, 2012, 09:52:20 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: ATS1310 - Natural Hazards and Human Vulnerability

Workload:  2 lectures and a 2-hour support class per week

Assessment:  5% Bonus online quiz, 5% Short Essay (500 words), 40% Major Essay (2000 words), Practical class participation: 20% (2% per class, I believe. Unit Guide says a total of 25% up from Practicals, not too sure what it is), 30% Final examination (2 hours)

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture. I believe (which means Im not too sure, seeing I didnt check)

Past exams available:  No. Not that I am aware of.

Textbook Recommendation:  K Smith and DN Petley 2009. Environmental Hazards: assessing risk and reducing disaster. Routledge, 383pp

Lecturer(s): David Dunkerley mostly and various Guest Lecturers

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2012

Rating:  4 of 5

Comments: The course is pretty much just your basic Geography Subject, covers topics on Natural Hazards such as Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Floods, Bushfires and Storms as well as discussing factors that create vulnerabilities for humans. Technical terms are also covered throughout the course, something which to be honest, I realised when I walked into the exam and saw a question about 'biogeophysical factors.'

You will often find yourself wondering what the relevance is of the Practical class to the topic covered in the weeks lectures. I think second last week we played Pandemic in the Practical Class after which there were questions that you had to answer and hand back to be marked.

The head lecturer/chief examiner David Dunkerley is honestly the best. Some people may find him a drag, but if you like cute (relatively) old people, he's your guy. He makes funny little jokes and is a bit scared by technology but I enjoyed his lectures and how he went about explaining concepts.

Honestly, I would choose this subject if you wanted a bludge subject. There were a lot of 3rd year students in my Prac class who were just doing the uni so they could complete the amount of first year units needed to finish their degree. It can be entertaining at times, but possibly a bit of a drag at others though.

Oh and this unit falls under the Arts Faculty but has resources at both Matheson and Hargreave-Andrews Libraries because Geography falls sorta under both Arts and Science.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:44:06 pm by alondouek »
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TrueTears

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #43 on: July 08, 2012, 06:22:19 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: AFC2340 - Debt Markets and Fixed Income Securities 

Workload:  1 hour tutes per week

Assessment:  Within semester assessment: 20%, Examination (3 hours): 80%

Recorded Lectures:  yes

Past exams available:  ALOT of practise exams about 10-20, about half of them had answers.

Textbook Recommendation:  No textbooks prescribed.

Lecturer(s): Dr Andrew Sanford

Year & Semester of completion: 2012 semester 1

Rating:  5 of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 99 HD

Comments: Great subject! This subject has ALOT of mathematics involved, so only do it if you're fairly confident with your maths skills. It's certainly not as difficult as AFC3340 (options) but it will be very difficult for people who aren't very strong with mathematics. The tutorials are just standard, you go through each weeks tute questions, although they're not too indicative of what's going to be on exams. Exam questions are worded problems and the harder ones require you do think and apply problem solving skills. Similar to solving mathematical problems but with a financial perspective. I heard the lectures wasn't too useful, I didn't attend any but from looking at the lecture notes, they were generally pretty good but had typos here and there. For some reason they had lecture notes this semester whereas in the previous semester they had a prescribed textbook/topic notes, so if you're doing this subject, let me know and I can send you the books/topic notes. All in all, a great subject to do, essential to higher level finance units and is also a unit that counts towards IAA Actuarial accreditation.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 11:44:42 pm by alondouek »
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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #44 on: July 08, 2012, 06:30:58 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: AFC2240 - Equities and Investment Analysis 

Workload:  1 hour tutes per week

Assessment:  Within semester assessment: 20%, Examination (3 hours): 80%

Recorded Lectures:  yes

Past exams available:  About 2-3 practise exams with solutions.

Lecturer(s): Dr Manapon Limkriangkrai

Year & Semester of completion: 2012 semester 1

Rating:  4 of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 99 HD

Comments: Pretty enjoyable unit, you will cover topics like superannuation, review of different investment products, types of managed funds, how to review performance etc. It focuses on different types of investments and concepts behind them. There's not too much mathematics involved, however the final exam is EXTREMELY long, you need to really know your stuff inside out to write constantly to finish with a good mark. This subject also covers the topics needed for CFA exams, so you will also cover CFA ethics/code of conduct etc, so if you are planning to go for CFA exams, this unit will be extremely helpful. It is also a preq for AFC3440 (pensions and financial planning), so if you plan to do that unit, you must do this one. Besides that, weekly tutes just covers the weekly tute questions. I heard lectures were alright, didn't attend any but listened to a few online exams near exam period, the lecturer really knows his stuff and tries to explain concepts with quite alot of examples; which is always helpful. The midsem wasn't very hard, just MCQ + short answer, just know your stuff and you should do fine, however you need to really memorise the theory for the final exam. All in all, fun and useful unit, not particularly difficult, just put in the work and you should find it enjoyable.
« Last Edit: June 03, 2015, 01:19:23 am by TrueTears »
PhD @ MIT (Economics).

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