Whether you're a school student, teacher or career advisor, UNSW Science offers a range of on-campus events and activities throughout the year for the primary and secondary school community. We can also offer Science or STEM-focused interactive activities delivered by our staff and students in your school or online.
UNSW also runs a wide range of events open to the general public. Find more details on the following calendars:
We hope to see you soon on campus.
Moving from high school to university is an exciting and challenging time. UNSW Science aims to make this transition as smooth as possible for all students.
Explore the wide variety of degree options and science subjects available at UNSW. If you’re not sure which area of science you want to study, we recommend you sign the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Advanced Science. You'll be able to study core science subjects while trying out different areas of science of interest to you.
Learn more about our undergraduate courses.
We encourage students to get involved with a range of extra-curricular activities. Arc, the Student Organisation is a great place to start, along with the Student Life information on the UNSW website.
If you are considering living on campus in student accommodation, learn more about our Residential Communities.
Visit our Future Students page for information on degrees and how to apply to UNSW.
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
BEES Engagement Webpage for Teachers and Students
School of Chemistry
School of Mathematics and Statistics
School of Physics
Please email info@phys.unsw.edu.au
Thinking of getting more STEM education online? We have put together a list of fun, educational interactive activites for teachers and students.
Primary
Ingenious by Arludo
Audience: Years 3 - 6
Content: 8 week Biology course
(expecting to roll out to other year groups and subjects)
Secondary
Parabola - A quarterly magazine to challenge high school students with mathematical problems and to provide peer-reviewed articles
Praxical - Learn by doing: self-led online workshops (also suitable for general audiences of all ages)
Physclips - free platform for learning or teaching physics for senior high school level - created by UNSW Physics.
From Particles to Planets - A MOOC created by UNSW Physics.
UNSW Physics Youtube - various online content related to physics experimentation.
Teachers
UNSW Science Depth Study Resources
Mathematics Teacher Online Resources
Chemisty Yr 12 online-only Depth Study on Biosignatures of Exoplanets
Physics Education Research for Evidence Centred Teaching at UNSW
Need an online classroom? See below for documentation to help create your virtual space*:
Teams - this is UNSW preferred platform
Zoom
Echo360
Blackboard Ultra
*Note: you would need to have access to the desired platform. These are 'how-to-guides' on getting you started - kindly provided by UNSW Aviation
Need some extra data and activities? Check out these additional online resources:
Climate Extremes ARC centre of excellence - Includes climate modelling programs (e.g. Carbonator), access to existing datasets, lesson plans, and much more!
ABC Education - Offers classroom support for teachers, educational games for students, and educational support for parents and their children.
JPL/NASA - A variety of STEM activities: interactive classrooms, demonstrations, problem sets and more!
BOM - Weather data for students, teachers, and researchers.
Perimeter Institute - American based syllabus programs.
STELR - Provides hands-on, curriculum based classroom activities for Years 5 - 10.
National Parks (NSW Government) - Earth & Environment educational resources for primary, secondary school students and teachers.
The following terms will become very familiar to you when studying at UNSW.
A program at UNSW is your degree and will have a four-digit program code (e.g. 3970 Bachelor of Science).
A major is a defined sequence of study within a program (e.g. Bachelor of Science with a Major in Chemistry). In some programs, it's possible to do more than one major.
All programs and majors at UNSW are made up of courses. Courses are like subjects at school. Each course has an 8-digit course code (e.g. CHEM1011) and usually involve lectures, tutorials and labs. In Science there are various types of courses:
Each course is made up of lectures (large classes with a formal presentation from a lecturer) and tutorials (smaller, interactive classes led by a tutor) or labs (hand-on classes in a laboratory). Full-time students generally complete four courses each term.
Courses, majors and programs at UNSW are measured in Units of Credit (UoC). A standard study load is 8 courses, or 48 Units of Credit (UoC), per year spread over three terms.
A large academic department focused on a broad area. At UNSW there are 8 Faculties (Art and Design, Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Built Environment, Engineering, Law, Medicine and Science).
A smaller academic department that sits within a faculty and focuses on a more specific subject area. Within each faculty are a number of schools who teach the courses in their area of expertise. In Science, there are 9 schools: Aviation, Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences (BEEs), Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABs), Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, Mathematics & Statistics, Optometry and Vision Science, Physics and Psychology.
The world of science is far broader than the Chemistry, Physics and Biology subjects at high school. UNSW Science offers a wide range of subject areas - explore your options!
Rather than politicians, lawyers or economists, it’s scientists who are leading this charge into the unknown. Every day their research and exploration is opening up new frontiers while their discoveries provide the raw material for life-changing inventions.
You should think about studying science if you:
UNSW Science offers opportunities to revise Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics, and experience how these subjects are taught at university. Find out more about our bridging courses.
We have a variety of scholarships for high school leavers and other future students, with most applications due in September the year before you intend to start at university.
Bring your year 11 or 12 Physics class to UNSW to conduct experiments in our first-year laboratory. You’ll visit a working Physics lab (depending on availability) and/or hear talks by our academics about their research.
Visit the UNSW School of Physics.
Come and experience a day in the life of materials science with a range of interactive workshops which see students, explore concepts of elasticity using desktop catapults, use shape memory alloy stents to open a 3d printed oesophagus, shatter chocolates to determine impact resistance and explore the materials in biomedical implants from hips to teeth.
For a full day, students tour the facilities in our cutting-edge precinct and can participate in additional workshops including grain structure microscopy and SMaRT recycling of e-waste.
Syllabus linked HSC programs: Engineering Studies - aimed towards Years 11 & 12 students.
For more information contact:
Jeremy Platt
T: (02) 9385 413
E: j.platt@unsw.edu.au
The School of Mathematics and Statistics hosts various curriculum-aligned events throughout the year focusing on high school level Mathematics.
Syllabus linked HSC programs:
The School of Mathematics and Statistics also hold heavily syllabus-aligned Professional Development workshops for teachers and educators.
The Year 12 Depth Study ‘Biosignatures: Characterising Exoplanets with Spectroscopy’ aims to engage students in a unique application of spectroscopy – the ability to detect life on exoplanets. This is an unusual yet compelling application of spectroscopy which will motivate a now crucial component of the new HSC Syllabus.
The depth study is a way to encourage passion in your students, skill development and provide authentic information about university life and scientific career paths.
Visit the UNSW School of Chemistry to find out about their outreach activities.
The museum has a collection of over 2500 specimens and is available for school visits.
UNSW Science works closely with career advisors to provide advice on our study options and potential science careers.
Visit Careers Advisers Resources to access additional resources, tools and online request forms.
Do you or a colleague want to qualify to teach HSC Physics? UNSW Physics offers a graduate certificate course for current Science teachers who would like to learn Physics and qualify to teach it. The four courses in this certificate are designed to be taken at a rate of one per term, to cater for teachers in full-time employment.
Find out more at: unsw.to/teachphysics
