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Need help planning your studies?

We've put together some suggestions that we think will help you to plan your way through your degree:

If you are an international student, you will need to demonstrate your proficiency in English. The first place you'll need to visit will be the University's English language requirements page.
If you need help planning your degree, the first step is to make sure you use the most recent Faculty handbook.
A degree planner is a lifesaver! It will allow you to chart the units of study you need to take to complete your degree. If you can't find one in your Faculty or School, download this blank degree planner.
If you're still confused, talk to your course/enrolment coordinator.
If you can't decipher your handbook, you can find easy to understand definitions of administrative jargon in the University Glossary.
Look up study dates for the cut-off date to withdraw from units of study. If you're feeling overwhelmed by your workload or like a certain class isn't the right fit for you, you can withdraw from it before the census cut-off date and you won't be charged.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, you may be able to do part-time study. On the flip slide, you can also overload or do Summer/Winter units to fast-track your degree.

To make sure you're enrolled in the right subjects, message a friend to double-check or contact your Faculty enrolment officer to design your pathway through your degree.

Christine, 4th year Arts/Education

Confused by University language?

Whether you're familiar with the University or not, the language used to describe its systems, environments, people, and culture can be confusing. To get up to speed, read read through the short guide below! It contains a brief list of definitions that will orient your path through university.

Degrees

Most undergraduate students will be enrolled in a Bachelor's degree such as a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science, which typically take 3-years to complete studying full time (i.e. 4 units of study per semester).

If you want to pursue further study or specialise your degree, you can enrol in an honours year!

An honours year (in most cases the 4th year of a Bachelor's degree) is a key gateway to postgraduate studies (think a Master's in Chemistry or a Doctoral degree in English Literature).

Keep in mind that getting into honours is competitive. Entry is determined by how well you perform in your studies - a great incentive to focus on your assessments!

Majors and Minors

As a first-year student, you'll need to plan your degree and start thinking about an area of study.
This means choosing at least one major and one minor and completing a specific number of units of study in a chosen field as decided by the many different faculties and schools at the University, the widest range of academic programs of any Australian university. For example, a student doing a Bachelor of Arts might complete a major in history and a minor in philosophy by completing the units of study requirements set by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS).

Unit of study

A unit of study (UOS) is similar to what a high school student completes in one subject (think English, Chemistry, or Visual Arts) over the course of a single semester. They are generally divided between 'junior' 1000 level units students take in the first year, 'intermediate' 2000-level units students choose in the second year, and 'senior' 3000 level-units in later years. For example, HSTY1002 refers to a first-year history unit of study, Age of Empires.

Full-time university students will be enrolled in 4 units of study per semester worth 6 credit points each. By the end of 3 years, a student will have completed the 144 credit points required to complete a standard Bachelor's degree (there are also some less intensive units which are only worth 2 or 3 credit points).

Learn more about the range of units of study available at the University of Sydney to plan your degree!

Prerequisites

A prerequisite is a requirement that needs to be completed before you are able to take a unit, such as already having completed a 1000-level unit of study or a certain number of credit points.

Unit of study coordinator

Each unit of study has a coordinator responsible for leading the teaching and administration of the unit. Unit coordinators are supported by a range of tutors and other staff who also teach in individual units of study. You can contact unit coordinators regarding unit content, upcoming assessments, grades, absences from class, and special consideration.

To learn more about the different classes that feature in a typical student week, check out the interactive timetable below!

Grades

Like high school students receive grades for each unit of study, and each assessment towards their completion. Unlike A, B and C grades of high school and HSC Bands, university grades range from Fail (below 50), Pass (between 50 to 65), and High Distinction (between 85 to 100).

Special consideration

There is a chance you may become ill or suffer some form of misadventure that impacts your studies. If this occurs, you are eligible to apply for special consideration arrangements to compensate for any disadvantage you're facing, such as extra time to complete an assessment or different attendance requirements. You'll be able to contact your unit-coordinator or academic support services to clarify how this works in your situation.

Want to learn more?

Learn more about university language through this University of Sydney glossary.
Watch the 'Deciding what to study' episode of the Reinventing the Gap Year series to hear how other university students decided on what they wanted to study.
Check out key university dates including the start of each semester and mid-semester break.

Explore your student timetable

Below is a sample (interactive) timetable which will help you get a sense of what is expected of day-to-day life as a student.

For computer users, you will need to click the full-screen icon on the top right of the below image to see the timetable in focus. Once you have done that, click on the University of Sydney icons to learn more.

For mobile users, use landscape mode to view the timetable in more detail.

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