Adjunct professor:  

Holds an honorary appointment made to practicing or retired professionals in recognition of their particular ongoing contribution to the University.

Advanced standing:  

The term ‘advanced standing’ was previously used for the term ‘credit’. See definition for ‘credit’ below.

Alumni:  

An association of graduates of the University. All universities have alumni associations or their equivalent, and they serve the purpose of providing graduates with networking opportunities and keeping graduates up-to-date with what is happening at the university they studied at (often referred to as their alma mater – Latin for nurturing, helpful mother. Alumni are a strong source of fundraising for the University and many universities have branches overseas.

Articulation (Credit Transfer)

UC has signed articulation arrangements with a number of universities and colleges both outside and inside Australia. So you may be able to transfer credit points from your present degree or diploma to your course at the University of Canberra. This will mean that you need study fewer units to complete your UC degree.

Where there is no articulation agreement, we cannot tell you if you can be given credit status or exemptions for study at your previous university or college until your application for UC has been received. Applications for credit can be made on the Application Form, and details of the course syllabus previously studied should be included.

Articulation agreements are noted on our Courses for International Students pages and in the UC Articulation Database.

Canberra Institute of Technology Articulation Agreements

If you are studying at the CIT and wish to continue your studies with UC after graduation, please visit the CIT-UC Student Opportunities and Pathways website. There you will find what credits you can transfer to your UC course.

Associate Professor:  

An associate professor is one level below professor and above senior lecturer.

Campus:

The physical site of a university – usually referred to by its suburb. The University of Canberra only has one campus, located in the suburb of Bruce in Canberra.

Chancellor:

This role is equivalent to ‘Chairman of the Board’. The Chancellor is the chair of the University Council, UC's governing body.

Course:

The degree you are doing, for example, Bachelor of Applied Science.

Credit:

Credit is the recognition by the University that prior studies undertaken by a student satisfy part of the academic requirements of a course. Credit (sometimes called ‘advanced standing’ or ‘credit transfer’) can be in the form of external credit (sometimes called ‘status’) or internal credit.

Credit points:

The intensity of units is measured in terms of credit points. For example, a Bachelor of Communication is composed of 72 credit points (24 units). Almost all units at the University are worth three credit points each.

Double degree: 

Many students at the University study for two undergraduate degrees at the same time. Some examples are Bachelor of Coaching Science/Bachelor of Human Nutrition, Bachelor of Management/Bachelor of Laws. These make good sense economically as a student will graduate with two separate degrees in return for an extra one or two years work. Doing these two degrees end to end would take a lot longer and cost a lot more.

Elective:

A unit that a student can choose. Depending on the degree undertaken, electives may be any unit offered by the University or chosen from a specified list. In some degrees, electives are chosen so that students undertake a major or minor, while in other degrees students have a free choice.

ELICOS

ELICOS means English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students. That is, we teach you how to read, write and speak English well enough to take one of our courses.

Emeritus Professor:  

A professor who is provided with working room (usually an office) by the University so that they can continue their work in their own time after retirement. Although they are not paid for this work it enables them to remain part of the academic community and their field of specialisation.

Graduand:

Someone who has passed all the required units but has not yet been awarded their degree.

Graduate:  

Someone who has passed all the required units and has been awarded their degree.

Graduate degree:  

A degree that is taught at bachelor-degree level but requires a bachelor degree for entry. A good example is graduate physiotherapy where students might do a first degree in coaching science or human biology (three years) then enrol in graduate physiotherapy (two years), and graduate as a physiotherapist. Other examples are graduate law and graduate pharmacy.

Head of School:

Courses are taught by the various academic schools of the university, e.g. the School of Law and the School of Information Sciences and Engineering. Each School has its own Head.

Honours degree:

A bachelor degree with an extra year, usually devoted to a combination of some advanced courses and a small research project (thesis). Students usually have to do very well in their degree to be invited to do an honours year.

Lab: 

 A session held in a university laboratory where students undertake supervised experiments or exercises using university equipment and have a chance to ask questions and discuss the course material.

Lecture:

An often large-scale presentation where an academic presents students with the course material. Lectures are normally one hour long. Questions may or may not be encouraged – it depends on the unit and the lecturer.

Many lecture notes and related materials are available online using UC's Learning Management System (currently Blackboard/WebCT) and many lectures are also available online as Streaming Video -- you can see and hear the lecture on your home computer.

Lecturer:

A lecturer is a university teacher at a middle academic rank. Many, but not all lecturers teach by delivering lectures or formal presentations, normally one hour long.

Level:

Usually refers to the year (of full-time study) in which the unit is taken. Level 1 units are usually taken in first year. A unit’s level is closely related to prerequisites because level 1 units usually must be completed as a prerequisite to level 2 units.

Major:

A main area of study within an undergraduate degree. Some degrees at the University such as science or commerce have a number of different disciplines within them and students usually start off by doing a broad range of units in their first year. They then specialise by doing increasingly more units in that area as they progress. A major is composed of six to eight units.

Minor:

A minor is an area of study within an undergraduate degree. It is composed of four units.

‘O’ Week:

Orientation Week. This is a week for new students to familiarise themselves with the University (and an excuse to party) and is held the week prior to the beginning of semester one.

Online Courses

Most courses at UC deliver some course materials electronically via the Internet, using our Learning Management System (currently Blackboard/Web CT). This is in addition to face-to-face teaching in lectures and tutorials.

Online Courses on the other hand deliver almost all course material electronically, with very little face to face contact. This is very convenient if you are working during the day or if you live a long way from the university campus.

Postgraduate degree:  

Advanced degrees after graduation from a bachelor degree, such as graduate diploma, master or doctorate e.g. Master of Marketing Communication (MMC), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Prerequisite:  

A unit that must be undertaken in order to study another unit. For example, students must study Graphic Design 1.1, before studying Graphic Design 1.2. Sometimes called a prereq for short.

Professor:

The highest academic rank awarded to academic leaders of a field of study, e.g. Professor of Law.

Semester:

A University teaching period. The University has two semesters per year running for 15 weeks each, followed by a three week examination period. Exact dates for each year can be found here.

Seminar:  

A combination of a lecture and a tutorial where information is presented but those present have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the unit matter. Seminars are usually held only for later year or postgraduate students.

Senior lecturer:

A senior lecturer is a teacher at the upper-middle academic rank, more often than not with years of teaching and high-level research behind them.

Summer semester:

The option of summer semester studies allows you to fast-track your studies and reduce the length of your degree.

TESOL

TESOL means Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. That is, we teach you how to teach English to non-English speakers.

Tutor:  

A tutor is a university teacher. Many tutors are still undertaking their PhD and others are highly expert in their field, but have yet to win a lectureship in the highly competitive academic market.

Tutorial:

A small class-size session run by a tutor where students discuss the lecture and the readings for that week and have the chance to ask questions. Tutors are usually the student’s first port of call if they have a problem with their work.

Undergraduate degree:

A first degree or bachelor degree for example, Bachelor of Communication in Journalism, Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Industrial Design.

Unit (sometimes called a Subject): 

The individual areas studied as part of a degree. For example, science students may study the unit chemistry. A student who studies full-time will usually undertake four units each semester.