Honours in Biotechnology [HON-BTECH] : Handbook 2025 : The University of Western Australia

Honours Overview

Description

Note: this honours specialisation is not available for new enrolments in 2025.

Biotechnology is rapidly becoming central to our lives. The use of plants, animals and bacteria, enhanced by areas such as genetics and genomics, gives rise to new food, fibre and chemical production routes, and new strategies for environmental protection and stewardship, as well as training the next generation of biomolecular scientists. Honours in Biotechnology offers you a thorough grounding in biotechnology, taught by leading world experts in state-of-the-art research facilities. As a graduate, you will be well positioned to pursue a career in international research laboratories, government agencies as well as the private sector.

Entry requirements

The equivalent of a UWA weighted average mark of at least 65 per cent in the Level 3 units of the Agricultural Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Botany, Conservation Biology, Environmental Science, Genetics, Marine Science, or Zoology major.

Intake periods

Beginning of year and mid-year

Courses

Honours in Biotechnology can be taken as a specialisation in the following degrees:

BH004 Bachelor of Science (Honours)

No study plans found for this course. See study plans for more information.

Units

Key to availability of units:

S1: Semester 1
S2: Semester 2
T3: Trimester 3
N/A: not available in 2025 – may be available in 2026 or 2027
NS: non-standard teaching period

Take all units (42 points):

Availability	Unit code	Unit name	Unit requirements
S1	MSCI4006	Advanced Techniques in Molecular Sciences	Prerequisites Enrolment in 71580 Master of Biotechnology or 71540 Master of Health Science or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science or BH004 Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Successful completion of one Unit(s) BIOC4003 Fundamentals of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II or Unit(s) GENE4003 Integrated Topics in Genetics II or Successful completion of Major(s) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or Major(s) Chemistry or Major(s) Genetics
S1, S2	SCIE4001	Collecting, Analysing and Interpreting Big Data in Biology	Prerequisites Enrolment in 62550 Master of Professional Engineering or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science or 72520 Master of Biological Science or 71580 Master of Biotechnology or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
S2	SCIE4002	Bioinformatics and Data Analysis for Genomics	Prerequisites Enrolment in 71580 Master of Biotechnology or 71540 Master of Health Science or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science or BH004 Bachelor of Science (Honours) or 62550 Master of Professional Engineering or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science and Successful completion of Unit(s) SCIE4001 Collecting, Analysing and Interpreting Big Data in Biology
N/A	SCIE4501	Science Research Dissertation Part 1	None
N/A	SCIE4502	Science Research Dissertation Part 2	None
N/A	SCIE4503	Science Research Dissertation Part 3	None
N/A	SCIE4504	Science Research Dissertation Part 4	None

Take unit(s) to the value of 6 points:

Availability	Unit code	Unit name	Unit requirements
	AGRI4404		None
	AGRI4405		None
N/A	AGRI5502	Case Studies in Breeding and Biotechnology	Prerequisites Enrolment in 72510 Master of Agricultural Science or 71580 Master of Biotechnology or HON-AGSCI Agricultural Science or HON-BTECH Biotechnology
S1	BIOC4001	Advanced Studies in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	Prerequisites Enrolment in 71580 Master of Biotechnology or 71540 Master of Health Science or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science or BH004 Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Successful completion of Unit(s) BIOC4003 Fundamentals of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II (ID 6620) or Major(s) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
S2	ENVT5001	Biotechnology in the Natural Environment	Prerequisites Enrolment in 71580 Master of Biotechnology or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science or HON-BTECH Biotechnology
	ENVT5571		None
S1	GENE4001	Advanced Studies in Genetics and Genomics	Prerequisites Enrolment in 71520 Master of Biomedical Science or 71540 Master of Health Science or 71580 Master of Biotechnology or BH004 Bachelor of Science (Honours) or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics and Successful completion of one Unit(s) GENE4003 Integrated Topics in Genetics II or Enrolment in Major(s) Genetics or Major(s) Anatomy and Human Biology and Successful completion of one Unit(s) ANHB3321 Biological Anthropology: Genes and Society
NS	MGMT5608	Entrepreneurship and Innovation	Prerequisites ACCT5602 Accounting or MKTG5550 Marketing Principles. and enrolment in one of the following courses: Master of Business Administration (coursework). Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. or approval from The Business School only, which will be determined with regard to relevant documented professional work experience.
N/A	MGMT5625	New Venture Creations	None
T3	MKTG5603	Management of Technology and Innovation	Prerequisites enrolment in the Master of Business Administration (coursework) or the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. or approval from The Business School only, which will be determined with regard to relevant documented professional work experience.

UWA Handbook 2025