Resolutions of the Faculty

Sydney Medical School resolutions and the printed handbook are the official statement of Faculty policy. The resolutions contained in the printed handbook are accurate as at November 2010. If a conflict is perceived between the content of the printed handbook and information available elsewhere, Sydney Medical School resolutions and the information available in the handbook online shall always take precedence. See the handbook online website: sydney.edu.au/handbooks/handbooks_admin/medicine.shtml. See the Policy Online website: sydney.edu.au/policy, for copies of University policies.

The Faculty Resolutions apply to all the coursework courses offered by Sydney Medical School and are to be read in conjunction with the resolutions with each specific course.

The following information outlines the degree, diplomas and certificates available through Sydney Medical School, in accordance with the resolutions of the Faculty and resolutions of the courses listed below.

Resolutions of the Senate

1 Degrees, diplomas and certificates of the Faculty of Medicine

(1)

With the exception of the Doctor of Medicine and the Doctor of Philosophy, the Senate, by authority of the University of Sydney Act 1989 (as amended), provides and confers the following degrees, diplomas and certificates, according to the rules specified by the Faculty of Medicine. The Doctor of Medicine and the Doctor of Philosophy are provided and conferred according to the rules specified by Senate and the Academic Board.

(2)

This list is amended with effect from 1 January, 2011. Degrees, diplomas and certificates no longer open for admission will be conferred by the Senate according to the rules specified by the Faculty at the time.

2 Degrees

*Code*	*Course title*	*Abbreviation*	*Credit points*
KA000	Doctor of Medicine	MD	Published work
KB000	Doctor of Philosophy	PhD	Research
KC083	Master of Philosophy	MPhil	Research
KC000	Master of Surgery	MS	Research
KB004	Doctor of Clinical Surgery	DClinSurg	144
LC047	Master of Bioethics	MBEth	48
KC044	Master of Biostatistics	MBiostat	72
KC089	Master of Brain and Mind Sciences	MBMSc	48
KC090	Master of Brain and Mind Sciences in Psychiatry	MBMScPsychiatry	72
KC096	Master of Clinical Trials Research	MClinTRes	48
KC095	Master of Genetic Counselling	MGC	96
KC054	Master of Health Policy	MHPol	48
KC068	Master of Indigenous Health (Substance Use)	MIndigH(SubUse)	48
KC069	Master of International Ophthalmology	MIOphth	48
KC053	Master of International Public Health	MIntPH	48
KC046	Master of Medical Education (admission suspended)	MMedEd	48
KC070	Master of Medical Humanities	MMedHum	48
	Master of Medicine
KC055	Clinical Epidemiology	MMed(ClinEpi)	48
KC050	Infection and Immunity	MMed(InfnImm)	48
KC047	Ophthalmic Science	MMed(OphthSc)	48
KC073	Paediatric Medicine	MMed(Paed)	48
KC057	Pain Management	MMed(PainMgt)	48
KC012	Psychotherapy	MMed(Psychotherapy)	72
KC075	Refractive Surgery	MMed(RefractSurg)	48
KC077	Reproductive Health Sciences and Human Genetics	MMed(RHHG)	48
KC041	Sleep Medicine	MMed(Sleep Medicine)	60
KC091	Sexually Transmitted Diseases/HIV	MMed(STD/HIV)	48
KC052	Master of Public Health	MPH	48
KC088	Professional Practice	MPH(Professional Practice)	60
KC087	Master of Qualitative Health Research	MQHR	48
	Master of Science in Medicine
KC056	Clinical Epidemiology	MScMed(ClinEpi)	48
KC051	Infection and Immunity	MScMed(InfnImm)	48
KC048	Ophthalmic Science	MScMed(OphthSc)	48
KC058	Pain Management	MScM(PainMgt)	48
KC045	Psychotherapy	MScMed (Psychotherapy)	72
KC078	Reproductive Health Sciences and Human Genetics	MScMed(RHHG)	48
KC042	Sleep Medicine	MScMed(Sleep Medicine)	60
KC092	Sexually Transmitted Diseases/HIV	MScMed(STD/HIV)	48
KC049	Master of Surgery	MS	48
	Breast Surgery
	Cardiothoracic Surgery
	Colorectal
	Endocrine Surgery
	Hand Surgery
	Head and Neck
	Neurosurgery
	Orthopaedic
	Otorhinolaryngology
	Paediatric Surgery
	Plastic/Reconstructive Surgery
	Surgical Oncology
	Surgical Outcomes
	Transplant Surgery
	Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery
	Urology
	Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Surgery
KH006	Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery^	MBBS	192

^may be awarded with honours in an integrated program

3 Double degrees

*Code*	*Course title*	*Abbreviation*	*Credit points*
KC093	Master of Medicine (Sexually Transmitted Diseases/HIV)/ Master of Philosophy	MMed(STD/HIV)/MPhil	48
KC094	Master of Science in Medicine (Sexually Transmitted Diseases/HIV)/ Master of Philosophy	MScMed(STD/HIV)/MPhil	48
KC085	Master of Medicine (Reproductive Health and Human Genetics)/ Master of Philosophy	MMed(RHHG)/MPhil	48
KC086	Master of Science in Medicine (Reproductive Health and Human Genetics)/Master of Philosophy	MScMed(RHHG)/ MPhil	48
DH049	Bachelor of Arts (Advanced)(Honours)/ Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery^	BA(Adv)(Hons)/MBBS	336
FH036	Bachelor of Commerce*/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery^	BCom/MBBS	336
FH035	Bachelor of Economics*/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery^	BEcon/MBBS	336
LH034	Bachelor of Medical Science*/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery^	BMedSc/MBBS	336
QH022	Bachelor of Music Studies*/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery^	BMusStudies/MBBS	336
LH033	Bachelor of Science (Advanced)*/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery	BSc(Adv)/MBBS	336

^may be awarded with honours in an integrated program
* may be awarded with honours following a further year of study

4 Graduate diplomas

*Code*	*Course title*	*Abbreviation*	*Credit points*
LF037	Graduate Diploma in Bioethics	GradDipBioethics	36
KF034	Graduate Diploma in Biostatistics	GradDipBiostat	48
KF057	Graduate Diploma in Brain and Mind Sciences	GradDipBMSc	36
KF062	Graduate Diploma in Clinical Epidemiology	GradDipClinEpi	36
KF061	Graduate Diploma in Clinical Trials Research	GradDipClinTRes	36
KF060	Graduate Diploma in Genetic Counselling	GradDipGC	48
KF041	Graduate Diploma in Health Policy	GradDipHPol	36
KF049	Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health (Substance Use)	GradDipIndigH(SubUse)	36
KF022	Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion	GradDipIndigHProm	48
KF040	Graduate Diploma in Infection and Immunity	GradDipInfnImm	36
KF048	Graduate Diploma in International Ophthalmology	GradDipIOphth	36
KF029	Graduate Diploma in International Public Health	GradDipIntPH	36
KF036	Graduate Diploma in Medical Education (admission suspended)	GradDipMedEd	36
KF050	Graduate Diploma in Medical Humanities	GradDipMedHum	36
KF063	Graduate Diploma in Ophthalmic Science	GradDipOphthSc	36
KF064	Graduate Diploma in Paediatric Medicine	GradDipPaed	36
KF065	Graduate Diploma in Pain Management	GradDipPainMgt	36
KF000	Graduate Diploma in Public Health	GradDipPH	36
KF056	Graduate Diploma in Qualitative Health Research	GradDipQHR	36
KF066	Graduate Diploma in Refractive Surgery	GradDipRefractSurg	36
KF067	Graduate Diploma in Sleep Medicine	GradDipSleep	48
KF068	Graduate Diploma in Sexually Transmitted Diseases/HIV	GradDipSTD/HIV	36
KF039	Graduate Diploma in Surgery	GradDipSurg	36

5 Graduate certificates

*Code*	*Course title*	*Abbreviation*	*Credit points*
LG019	Graduate Certificate in Bioethics	GradCertBEth	24
KG003	Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics	GradCertBiostat	24
KG019	Graduate Certificate in Brain and Mind Sciences	GradCertBMSc	24
KG020	Graduate Certificate in Clinical Trials Research	GradCertClinTRes	24
KG007	Graduate Certificate in Clinical Epidemiology	GradCertClinEpi	24
KG006	Graduate Certificate in Health Policy	GradCertHPol	24
KG012	Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Health (Substance Use)	GradCertIndigH(SubUse)	24
KG005	Graduate Certificate in Infection and Immunity	GradCertInfnImm	24
KG004	Graduate Certificate in Medical Education (admission suspended)	GradCertMedEd	24
KG013	Graduate Certificate in Medical Humanities	GradCertMedHum	24
KG021	Graduate Certificate in Paediatric Medicine	GradCertPaed	24
KG008	Graduate Certificate in Pain Management	GradCertPainMgt	24
KG018	Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Health Research	GradCertQHR	24

6 Diplomas

*Code*	*Course title*	*Abbreviation*	*Credit points*
KI002	Advanced Diploma in Indigenous Primary Health Care (admission suspended)	AdvDipIndigPrimHC	144
KI001	Diploma in Indigenous Primary Health Care (admission suspended)	DipIndigPrimHC	96

Code

Course title

Abbreviation

Credit points

KI002

Advanced Diploma in Indigenous Primary Health Care

(admission suspended)

AdvDipIndigPrimHC

144

KI001

Diploma in Indigenous Primary Health Care

(admission suspended)

DipIndigPrimHC

Resolutions of the Faculty of Medicine for coursework courses

These resolutions apply to all undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the Faculty, unless specifically indicated otherwise. These resolutions must be read in conjunction with applicable University By-laws, Rules and policies including (but not limited to) the University of Sydney (Coursework) Rule 2000 (the 'Coursework Rule'), the resolutions for the course of enrolment, the University of Sydney (Student Appeals against Academic Decisions) Rule 2006 (as amended)and the Academic Board policies on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism.

Part 1: Course enrolment

1 Admission to candidature

(1)

Applicants must meet admission criteria for the relevant course and submit applications following the relevant application process including submission by advertised deadline. Late applications may be considered in special circumstances.

(2)

Where postgraduate courses in this Faculty have limited numbers of Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs), available, places will be offered to qualified applicants based on merit, for applications received by the advertised deadline. For applications received after the advertised deadline and before the commencement of semester, any remaining places will be offered to qualified applicants based on merit.

(3)

Students who have completed an embedded Graduate Certificate may be eligible for admission to the associated Graduate Diploma or Masters degree with Head of Discipline approval.

(4)

Students who have completed an embedded Graduate Diploma may be eligible for admission to the associated Masters degree with Head of Discipline approval.

2 Enrolment restrictions

The Coursework Rule limits the maximum number of credit points students may take in any given semester. The Faculty does not encourage full time students to exceed the recommended enrolment patterns for its courses.

3 Time limits

(1)

Postgraduate

(a)

A student must complete all the requirements for a coursework doctorate within ten calendar years.

(b)

A student must complete all the requirements for a double master's degree within ten calendar years.

(c)

A student must complete all the requirements for a coursework master's degree within seven calendar years.

(d)

A student must complete all the requirements for a graduate diploma within four calendar years.

(e)

A student must complete all the requirements for a graduate certificate within three calendar years.

(f)

For postgraduate students, periods of suspension, exclusion or lapsed candidature will be added to maximum completion times except that no completion time will exceed ten years.

(2)

Undergraduate

0.0.

A candidate for the Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery, must complete the requirements within five calendar years. The five year limit applies to students entering the course through the combined degree program, dated from their enrolment into the MBBS degree after completion of the first degree. Periods of suspension, exclusion or lapsed candidature will not be added the maximum completion time.

4 Enrolment, suspension, discontinuation and lapse of candidature

(1)

The Coursework Rule specifies the general conditions for suspending or discontinuing candidature, and return to candidature after these events. The Rule also defines the circumstances when candidature is deemed to have lapsed.

(2)

Students should pay careful attention to the significant dates in these processes and their effect on results and financial liability.

(3)

The Faculty will grant approval for a suspension from candidature only after a student has completed at least one semester of enrolment. A Postgraduate student may apply to the Faculty for a maximum period of one semester at any one time. Suspension from candidature of two consecutive semesters will only be granted in special circumstances.

(4)

The candidature of a student who has not re-enrolled and who has not obtained approval from the Faculty for a suspension of candidature for the relevant semester will be deemed to have lapsed.

(5)

A student whose candidature has lapsed must apply for re-admission in accordance with procedures determined by the Faculty.

5 Credit

(1)

Credit for postgraduate study will be applied according to the Combined Board of Postgraduate Studies Advanced standing, credit, waiver and exemption policy.

(2)

Credit, where applicable, will not be granted for recognised prior learning older than five years at the time of first enrolment in the current degree unless otherwise specified in the course resolutions.

Part 2: Unit of study enrolment

6 Cross institutional study

(1)

Provided permission has been obtained in advance, the Chair of the Board of Postgraduate Studies may permit a postgraduate student to complete a unit of study at another institution and have that unit credited to the student's course requirements, provided that:

(a)

The unit of study content is not taught in any corresponding unit of study at the University; or

(b)

The student is unable, for good reason, to attend a corresponding unit of study at the University.

(2)

Students in the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery are not permitted to complete a unit of study at another institution and have that unit credited to the student's course requirements except at the discretion of the Dean in exceptional circumstances.

(3)

Cross institutional study is regarded as another form of credit and will be counted as such when considering eligibility.

Part 3: Studying and Assessment

7 Attendance

Students are required to be in attendance at the correct time and place of any formal or informal examinations. Non attendance on any grounds insufficient to claim Special Consideration or Special Arrangements will result in the forfeiture of marks associated with the assessment. Participation in a minimum number of assessment items may be included in the requirements specified for a unit of study.

8 Late submission policy

(1)

It is expected that unless an application for Special Consideration or Special Arrangements has been approved, students will submit all assessment for a unit of study on the due date specified. If the assessment is completed or submitted within the period of extension, no academic penalty will be applied to that piece of assessment.

(2)

If an extension is either not sought, not granted or is granted but work is submitted after the extended due date, the late submission of assessment will result in an academic penalty as follows, unless otherwise stated in the course resolutions:

(a)

Late assignments that have not been granted extensions and are of a standard to receive a pass or higher mark will attract a penalty of 5% of the maximum mark per day late including weekend days (e.g. if the assignment is worth 40 marks, the penalty is 2 marks per day late) until the mark reaches 50% of the maximum mark (e.g. 20 marks if the maximum is 40 marks).

(b)

Assignments that are not of a pass standard will not have marks deducted and will fail regardless.

(c)

Assignments submitted more than 10 days late without prior approval from the unit of study coordinator will not be accepted and will be given a zero (0) mark.

9 Special consideration for illness, injury or misadventure

Special consideration is a process that affords equal opportunity to coursework students who have experienced circumstances that adversely impact their ability to adequately complete an assessment task in a unit of study. The Coursework Rule provides full details of the University policy and the procedures for applying for special consideration.

10 Concessional pass

In this Faculty the grade PCON (Concessional Pass) is not awarded to students in the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery but it may be awarded to postgraduate students. No more than 25% of the total credit points of a course can be made up of PCON results.

11 Re-assessment

(1)

In this Faculty re-assessment is offered to students whose performance is in the prescribed range and circumstances.

(2)

Re-assessment will be offered on one date only, advised at the beginning of semester, and it is a student's responsibility to be available to attend on that date. The grades awarded for the further tests are Pass or Fail, unless otherwise determined.

(3)

Students who have successfully requested Special Consideration or Special Arrangements may be allowed to sit the exam or submit the required work at a negotiated date that should not be longer than the period of incapacitation, after this time the student will be considered to have discontinued with permission. Marks will be awarded at full value for further examination where Special Consideration or Special Arrangements are approved.

(4)

Undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery must pass at each annual assessment. A 'Fail on the Year' result overrides recommendations for further testing on individual units of study, meaning that the student in Stage 1 or Stage 2 must repeat all units of study in that year. Students in Stage 3 and Stage 4 should refer to specific course resolutions.

Part 4: Progression, Results and Graduation

12 Satisfactory progress

(1)

The Faculty will monitor students for satisfactory progress towards the completion of their award course. In addition to the common triggers used to identify students not meeting academic progression requirements, students must pass any unit of study identified in the course resolutions as being critical to progression through the course.

(2)

In order to be eligible to pass a unit of study a student must enrol in that unit of study.

13 Weighted average mark (WAM)

(1)

The University WAM is calculated using the following formula:

	WAM =	sum(Wc x Mc)
		sum(Wc)

where Wc is the unit of study credit points x the unit weighting and Mc is the mark achieved for the unit. The mark used for units with a grade AF is zero. Pass/ fail units and credited units from other institutions are not counted.

(2)

The weight of a unit of study is assigned by the owning faculty. In this Faculty, junior units are weighted 1, Intermediate units are weighted 1, Senior units are weighted 1 and postgraduate units are weighted 1.

14 Course transfer

A candidate for a master's degree or graduate diploma may elect to discontinue study and graduate with a shorter award from an embedded sequence, with the approval of the Chair of the Board of Postgraduate Studies and provided the requirements of the shorter award have been met.

Part 5: Other

15 Transitional provisions

(1)

These resolutions apply to persons who commenced their candidature after 1 January, 2011 and persons who commenced their candidature prior to 1 January, 2011 who formally elect to proceed under these resolutions.

(2)

Candidates who commenced prior to 1 January, 2011 complete the requirements in accordance with the resolutions in force at the time of their commencement.

University of Sydney Handbooks - 2011 Archive

The University of Sydney - Sydney Medical School Handbook