UWA Handbook 2025

Minor Overview

About this minor

A minor in Human Systems Physiology will provide a broad background to the inner workings of the human body, with a particular specialisation on cardiorespiratory function. Interactions between individual systems will be discussed in both an environmental and exercise context. The minor will advance professional skills including scientific communication (report writing, poster construction, oral presentation), simple and more advanced statistical analysis of data, experimental design, health and safety when recruiting and studying human subjects, and preparation of research proposals for grant funding. For students taking a minor which shares units with their other unit sets (majors or minors): in order for minors to be recognised on academic and graduation documents, students may only have a maximum of one unit overlapping between their unit sets.

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) recall and integrate key knowledge and concepts about the function of organs and how their function is coordinated; (2) explain a range of physiological phenomena with reference to the underlying fundamental physicochemical processes; (3) describe the key elements of the scientific method and research design; (4) perform measurements of physiological phenomena from human subjects and animal tissue using a range of measurement equipment; (5) collaborate in small teams in a physiology laboratory setting and simulated scientific conference; (6) analyse and interpret physiological data derived from a range of measurement systems; (7) clearly communicate scientific facts and concepts in written and oral form, using standard scientific format and terminology; and (8) search and critically analyse research literature.

Incompatibility

MJD-PHYGY Physiology;

MJD-SPTSC Sport Science;

MJD-SEHDM Sport Science, Exercise and Health;

MJD-HSANP Human Sciences (Anatomy and Physiology);

MJD-BCNDM Biochemistry of Nutrition;

Units