I can't decide what degrees to do. How many majors can I do?

[PhoenixxFire]

Hey everyone,

I keep thinking I have figured out what degrees I want to do, but then I do something and its interesting and then that brings me back to something else I had previously wanted to do.

So basically the plan is to go to ANU and do a double degree, but I can't quite figure out what degrees and majors to do. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Areas i'm interested in studying/working:
-Environmental science
-Marine science/conservation
-Medical research - mostly genetics and immunology (I have no interest in being a doctor)
-Forensic psychology/behavioural psychology/something along those lines (basically I want to study why people behave the way they do eg. the influence of their upbringing, etc. but i have no interest in being a therapist).
The areas i most want do work in are conservation or medical research

My original plan was to do a double degree in Environment and Sustainability/Medical science, I can't go straight into medsci because I haven't done chemistry, however I can do a chemistry bridging course, start in Science and then transfer to medical science. My problem with this is how little flexibility there is in the medsci course. There is a little bit in Enviro/Sust but if I double major (Enviro science and marine science) then there won't be much?

So then I thought about doing Environment and Sustainability/Science. If I did this I might (science) double major in psychology/human biology? (I don't know what exactly a human biology major would cover - is it flexible or is it set units?) and do the same double major as above for Enviro/Sust. Is it possible to do 4 majors like that? It seems to be from the website (a major is 48 units each, need 96 units for each degree), but I emailed and asked and they said they didn't think so, so now i'm even more confused - but they didn't seem too sure haha.


The MedSci degree seems much more interesting in terms of studying biology but theres not much breadth. Also does anyone know anything about what degrees are needed for medical research? Would I need to do Medsci or is Science okay? Would I need to do a masters?

[strawberries]

Hi,

sorry I can't help you much because I don't study/know much about sciences, but I am an ANU student.

ANU's programs and courses website is a bit confusing and I'm not sure how much the admin/student college can help you, but I'll see if I can answer some of your questions

I don't know what exactly a human biology major would cover - is it flexible or is it set units?

According to the programs and courses page for the human biology major, you would have to study:

Spoiler

BIOL1003, BIOL1004, BIOL2161, BIOL3006 (compulsory)

1 of:
BIAN3014 Research Design and Analysis in Biological Anthropology
BIOL2001 Introduction to Quantitative Biology
BIOL2202 Experimental Design and Analysis in Biology
ENVS1003 Introduction to Environmental and Social Research
PSYC2009 Quantitative Methods in Psychology

plus 1 of:
BIOL2117 Cell Biology
BIOL2142 General Microbiology
BIOL2151 Genetics
BIOL2171 Biochemistry and Nutrition
BIOL2174 Cell Physiology in Health and Disease
BIOL2191 Ecology of Health and Disease
BIOL2222 Exquisite Corpse - Insight Into The Human Body

plus 1 of:
BIOL3108 Hallmarks of Cancer
BIOL3141 Infection and Immunity
BIOL3142 Parasitology
BIOL3144 Advanced and Applied Immunology
BIOL3186 Human Anatomy
BIOL3204 Genetics of Human Disease 1
BIOL3205 Genetics of Human Disease 2
BIOL3208 Biology Research Project
BIOL3209 Biology Research Project
NEUR3101 Cellular Neuroscience
NEUR3112 Systems Neuroscience
BIAN3113 Human Evolution
BIAN3124 Evolution and Human Behaviour
BIAN3125 Ancient Health & Disease

plus 1 of:
BIOL3191 Biology, Society and Ethics OR
BIOL3201 Big Questions in Biology

total: 8 units

you can click on the individual units on that page to roughly see what those courses entail

so yes, there are 4 set units, but there is some flexibility where you can choose 4 units from the other 4 lists.

Is it possible to do 4 majors like that? It seems to be from the website (a major is 48 units each, need 96 units for each degree), but I emailed and asked and they said they didn't think so, so now i'm even more confused - but they didn't seem too sure haha.

I think you can, looking at the degree structure. You can complete a double major in both degrees. Keep in mind that there may be some courses that overlap though, you might not be able to get them credited towards all of your majors unless they're core courses (don't 100% take this advice though because it may be different with science courses).

Apologies I can't help you much with anything else.

[Joseph41]

I might be reading this wrong, but am I right in thinking that you'll be starting in Environment and Sustainability/Science regardless?

[PhoenixxFire]

Yes I will be. I was sort of thinking about doing science/medsci and doing a science major in enviro science but I’m pretty sure I want to do the degree in environment and sustainability.