Anyone doing bachelor of science advanced - research?

[miyukiaura]

Hey guys, I've put the bachelor of science advanced - research at Monash as my first preference. I'm wondering if anyone else is thinking of doing this course, or if any past students could give some insight into what it's like!

[Golgi Apparatus]

Hi,
I’m thinking about doing this course as well.
It would be great if anyone doing it could tell me what it’s like. What are the benefits of doing this course over normal science or biomed?
I’m also not really sure if I want to do research yet, so I don’t know if this course is right for me. Has anyone gone into this unsure if they want to do research? Or is it only for people who know they want to do research?

[AngelWings]

So I did the straight BSci at Monash and attached Honours to it afterwards, which is in essence the same as the BSci - Research Advanced course. (I only did one unit different, which was SCI2010 vs. SCI2015 that I would’ve if I had completed the Research Advanced course, though SCI2015 is essentially the same unit as SCI2010, just one or two assessments changed and a more exclusive cohort.) I know of people who did the actual Research Adv course as well.

The main difference between normal BSci vs Research Advanced were the opportunities. In research advanced, Honours is attached and you’ll definitely get in depending in your marks. (Pretty sure you have to uphold a 70+ WAM to remain in the course, but then again, I did honours in 2018, so may not be the most updated.) There’s also a few other opportunities - networking, specific events for the cohort, an exclusive scholarship (I think?) and mentoring, which was harder to find on your own as a straight Sci student and generally more competitive. And then there’s the opportunity to do units early, though this can be a blessing and curse like it is to accelerate VCE subjects. (I did Japanese as my minor and accelerated those units, so I got a taste of that.)

Most students who do the course know that they want to do research for their careers but I have heard of some that were undecided and did it anyway. If you realise it’s not for you, there’s always the room to transfer courses - the BSci Research Adv course usually is the exact same as a normal BSci but with a few more compulsory units, so transfers are usually relatively hassle-free.

[Golgi Apparatus]

Thank you!
How have you found the environment at Monash? When I went there it seemed much less inviting than Melbourne.

I haven’t heard about a scholarship - does anyone have any more info about this?

If anyone has done this course, where have you done research projects? Can you do them at places in the city like Peter Mac or Doherty? I’ve heard Melbourne has opportunities like this because they’re in the biomedical precinct, but I’m not sure about Monash.

[AngelWings]

How have you found the environment at Monash? When I went there it seemed much less inviting than Melbourne.

I actually found this the other way round: Monash was more inviting to me than UoM (I was also a Kwonger so I got my fair share of both). Perhaps it’s because I live closer to it, perhaps it’s because it’s not stuck in the hubbub of the city so it felt more like its own community, though it might’ve changed with the pandemic. I found that UoM tended to be a bit more aristocratic and, if I recall correctly, didn’t include lab experience as much as Monash in their standard BSci, which meant you had to exclusively look and fight more people for opportunities in the lab.

If anyone has done this course, where have you done research projects? Can you do them at places in the city like Peter Mac or Doherty? I’ve heard Melbourne has opportunities like this because they’re in the biomedical precinct, but I’m not sure about Monash.

Each Uni has their own specialisations in what they research and their own affliations with different places. I can only really speak about Monash though, since I went there. Monash does less in the city but more hospitals, from memory, with their major affiliations with the research institutes around the Clayton campus like Hudson Institute, and hospitals like Alfred Hospital and Monash Medical Centre. (And you can also stick to campus and do stuff research there too, which most do.)

As for Honours and research, you can also choose to do it with other research institutes, provided you seek supervisors yourself, so I’d occasionally hear of Monash or UoM students doing theirs in the city with MCRI/ Royal Children’s Hospital, or eventually getting jobs in the city with research institutes or hospitals after graduating.

[Golgi Apparatus]

Thank you