Honours in medical sciences

Become a part of the future of health

Honours in medical sciences is available in six diciplines and areas.

Honours in medical sciences is an additional year of undergraduate study. It's a unique opportunity for you to explore your research potential and put theory from your undergraduate studies into practice. There are two ways to study honours in medical sciences:

Bachelor of Science (Honours): to be eligible, you must have qualified for or be a graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Sydney or hold equivalent qualification from another tertiary institution and met other admission requirements outlined on the course page.
Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours): to be eligible, you must have qualified for or be a graduate with a Bachelor of Medical Science from the University of Sydney and met other admission requirements outlined on the course page. Please note, this degree will soon be replaced by the Bachelor of Science (Medical Science) degree.

To view a full list of projects in medical sciences offered by our schools please visit our online project database.

You can undertake an honours degree in Medical Sciences in the following areas:

Anatomy and histology

You can undertake honours in anatomy and histology through the Bachelor of Science (Honours) or Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours).

For an honours year in the Discipline of Anatomy and Histology, you need to:

have a Sci-WAM of at least 65*
pre-enrol via Sydney Student
complete the expression of interest form (pdf, 120KB)
organise a project with a lab head and get written confirmation (email)
confirm your intention to do honours with the honours coordinator (in person).

If you do not meet the criteria but are still interested in honours, please contact Honours Coordinator, Dr Paul Austin, to discuss options: paul.austin@sydney.edu.au.

Applied medical sciences

In 2017, the University of Sydney established a dedicated honours program in applied medical sciences based at our Westmead campus, one of the world's largest health and medical research precincts.

Honours in applied medical sciences is available if you have studied:

A Bachelor of Medical Science degree at the University of Sydney and you want to undertake a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) with a project in applied medical sciences or;
A Bachelor of Science degree at any university. You should apply for the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in the subject area of applied medical sciences.

For a list of available projects and information on how to apply, download our Applied Medical Sciences Honours Guide (pdf, 710KB). For a full list of honours projects available at Westmead please visit our online project database.

The Westmead health education and research precinct is a thriving centre of collaborative and interdisciplinary innovation. The University is proud to be affiliated with the precinct partners, including:

For more information, please contact Associate Professor Andrew Harman, Applied Medical Sciences Honours Coordinator: westmead.honours@sydney.edu.au. To apply, complete the expression of interest form (pdf, 120KB).

5 reasons to study honours at Westmead

Infectious diseases and immunology

Infectious diseases and immunology honours are research-based courses that commence in early February and culminate in the presentation of a thesis in late October/early November.

How to apply:

Read and review available projects.
Attend the information evening which will be held in mid-September (date to be advised).
Choose 3-4 projects of special interest to yourself.
Arrange an interview with the supervisor of each of your selected projects. You must take a copy of your academic transcript and a brief curriculum vitae to each interview.
Return the completed expression of interest form (pdf, 120KB) to Associate Professor Carl Feng by the last day of Semester
Submit an application to Faculty of Science. All applications are now online, please consult the faculty website for details.

For more information, please contact Honours Coordinator: carl.feng@sydney.edu.au or soms.education@sydney.edu.au

Pathology

The Discipline of Pathology offers a number of areas of study for the degree of Bachelor of Science (Honours) or Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours). It is not necessary to have undertaken the two cell pathology units in the Discipline of Pathology to undertake an honours year in pathology.

View a list of available projects.

Please contact your intended supervisor, then complete and return the expression of interest form (pdf, 120KB) to soms.education@sydney.edu.au.

You should then submit an application through the course page.

For more information, please contact Honours Coordinator Associate Professor Lenka Munoz: lenka.munoz@sydney.edu.au.

Pharmacology

You can undertake pharmacology honours through the Bachelor of Science (Honours) or Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours).

Please complete this expression of interest form (pdf, 120KB) and return to Honours Coordinator Professor Rachel Codd and soms.education@sydney.edu.au, as well as submitting an application through the course page.

For more information, please contact Honours Coordinator Professor Michael Murray: michael.murray@sydney.edu.au.

Physiology

After completion of the requirements for a pass in the Bachelor of Science or the Bachelor of Medical Science, a student who has majored in physiology may apply to undertake an honours year.

Download the 2020 honours handbook and project list (pdf, 1MB) and expression of interest form (pdf, 120KB).

For more information, please contact Honours Coordinator Dr Daniel Johnstone: daniel.johnstone@sydney.edu.au.

Some physiology students also complete honours in neuroscience, for more information please contact Dr Karen Cullen at karen.cullen@sydney.edu.au.