Special Topics in Ecology, Evolution and Systematics (BIOL3138/BIOL3139)

What are Special Topics courses?

These courses are available to allow high performing second and third year students to undertake special courses of study in the School of Botany and Zoology. They replace other courses in the program of study and count towards the various majors offered by Botany and Zoology.

These courses on offer have traditionally taken three forms:

How do I gain entry to a special topics course?

Admission to the Special Topic courses requires agreement from the Head, School of Botany and Zoology, who is the overall coordinator of Special Topics courses.   Such agreement will usually depend on:

Once these steps have been completed you will be issued with a code that will allow you to enrol in the appropriate course.

How much of my degree can be made up from Special Topics courses?

Special topics are available in two forms:

The total workload for BIOL3138 is expected to be similar to that for a conventional third year course, while BIOL3139 is expected to be double that load.   Both count as Group C courses for the purposes of degree rules, even if they are taken in second year, or during the summer between second and third year.

Students can enrol in both provided they gain the appropriate agreement (see above), though such enrolments will be rare, and would generally only be allowed if the student has a High Distinction average.

What are the constraints on when Special Topics courses are taken?

Apart from the expectation that students will be in at least second year, there are no constraints.   Timing of research-based courses will often depend on the organism under study, and some topics will require intense, full-time involvement, so they are best undertaken over summer.