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Minimum English Language Proficiency Requirements

Students of non-English speaking backgrounds must have an adequate English language capacity assessed under the Australian International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The IELTS score required for admission to this course can be found in Schedule I of the JCU Admissions policy.

Special admission requirements

Nil

Additional course rules

Nil

Course learning outcomes

JCU graduates are committed to lifelong learning, intellectual development, and to the display of exemplary personal, professional and ethical standards. They have a sense of their place in the tropics and are charged with professional, community, and environmental responsibility. JCU graduates appreciate the need to embrace and be acquainted with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia. They are committed to reconciliation, diversity and sustainability. They exhibit a willingness to lead and to contribute to the intellectual, environmental, cultural, economic and social challenges of regional, national, and international communities of the tropics.

Graduates of the Master of Science at James Cook University will be able to:

• Integrate and apply an advanced body of theoretical and technical knowledge, including understanding of recent developments, in one or more science disciplines

• Retrieve, analyse, synthesise and evaluate complex information, concepts and theories from a range of sources

• Plan and conduct reliable, evidence-based laboratory and/or field experiments/practices by selecting and applying methods, techniques and tools, as appropriate to one or more science disciplines

• Organise, analyse and interpret complex scientific data using advanced mathematical, statistical and technological skills

• Communicate theoretical propositions, methodologies, scientific data, arguments and conclusions clearly and coherently to specialist and non-specialist audiences through advanced written and oral English language skills and a variety of media

• Identify, analyse and generate solutions to unpredictable or complex problems, especially related to tropical, rural, remote or Indigenous contexts, by applying scientific knowledge and skills with initiative and expert judgement

• Critically review regulatory requirements, ethical principles and, where appropriate, cultural frameworks, to work effectively, responsibly and safely in diverse contexts

• Reflect on current skills, knowledge and attitudes to manage their professional learning needs and performance, autonomously and in collaboration with others

• Apply knowledge of research principles, methods, techniques and tools to plan and execute a substantial research-based project, capstone experience and/or piece of scholarship.

Credit points in major

36 credit points

Cairns

Maximum time to complete

4 years

Course includes mandatory professional placement(s)

No

Accreditation requirements

Nil

Supplementary exam for final subject

Not applicable

Maximum allowed

12 credit points, unless part of an approved articulation process.

Expiry

Advanced standing gained for any subject shall be cancelled 14 years after the date of the examination upon which the advanced standing is based if, by then, the candidate has not completed the course of study prescribed for the degree.

Exit with lesser award

Candidates who exit the course prior to completion, and have completed the appropriate number of credit points, may, depending on the subjects studied, be eligible to receive the award of either the Graduate Certificate or the Graduate Diploma of Science.