About us

Courses we offer

The College of Engineering & Science offers courses in the areas of building, engineering, Information Technology, science and project management at Bachelor and Master levels. We also offer research degrees at Master and PhD levels.

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Problem-based learning in courses

The College of Engineering & Science champions Problem-Based Learning (PBL) delivery in our courses. PBL is a teaching and learning approach that encourages students to be self-directed independent learners. We emphasise development of life-long learning skills.

Associate Professor Thinh Nguyen using PBL with students in the College of Engineering & Science.

Units delivered in PBL are central to the curriculum in preparing our students to be work-ready graduates. It helps students develop:

  • technical knowledge and skills
  • problem-solving and critical thinking skills
  • independent learning skills
  • teamwork skills
  • communications skills.

PBL uses problems as the starting point, and the stimulus, for learning. Problems often come from industry or the community - this provides a real-world context for learning and development of 21st century skills.

For more information contact Associate Professor Thinh Nguyen, Director of Teaching & Learning (PBL & Accreditations).

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Our courses

The College of Engineering & Science offers courses in five areas: building, engineering, Information Technology (IT), science and project management.

Building & construction

Photo of Michael Tabone with link to his success story.

Michael Tabone followed a pathway from Vocational Education to Higher Education and is now a director at a building surveying company.

Engineering

Image of Sian Willmott with link to her success story.

Architectural Engineering graduate Sian Willmott is helping to produce sustainable building designs for the future.

Information Technology

Image of Andrew Hinton with link to his success story.

Andrew Hinton won Outstanding Vocational Student of the Year in 2012, and then went on to Higher Education study.

Science

Image of Mary Cowling with link to her success story.

With a postgraduate scholarship, Mary Cowling is completing her Master of Science research study on New Zealand fur seals.

Project management

Quality assurance for our courses

Our courses and research programs are regularly reviewed by highly skilled and experienced academics. Industry panels also regularly contribute to the structure and content of each program, ensuring that current practice and industry developments are included.

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Research degrees

Image of Kuorwel Kuorwel with a link to his success story.

Kuorwel Kuorwel went from refugee to research scientist with a PhD in chemistry.

The College of Engineering & Science delivers Masters level courses which are offered by coursework or by research, and PhDs by either publication or by research.

Conducted in collaboration with industry and community partners, our postgraduate courses provide technical and management specialisation with various durations, allowing you to fit study in with your existing commitments.

We offer two Masters:

We offer three PhDs:

Find out more about our research in engineering & science.

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Scholarships

Undergraduate scholarships

VU offers a range of equity and merit-based scholarships for undergraduate students who are in financial need.

Research scholarships

VU offers scholarships for postgraduate research and international students to assist with the costs of study.

The College of Engineering & Science also provides additional scholarship opportunities, such as summer research scholarships and write-up scholarships.

For more information contact Elizabeth Smith at elizabeth.smith@vu.edu.au.

Summer research scholarships

Each summer we offer up to 10 summer research scholarships. These are offered to undergraduate students or recent graduates to conduct research during the summer (up to 12 weeks) under the supervision of established researchers in the College.

Write-up scholarships

We offer write-up scholarships in two rounds per year. These scholarships are for students who have completed and submitted their thesis and intend to write-up manuscripts for publication from their work with their supervisors.

Bogong scholarship

The Bogong scholarship is an award made available by the generosity of an anonymous benefactor who wishes to assist students from regional Victoria to pursue engineering studies at VU.

The Bogong scholarship is offered annually to one second year engineering student who completed his/her VCE studies in a rural high school. Priority is given to students from the Alpine region. The scholarship is merit-based and is offered to a student with outstanding academic achievement in his/her first year of engineering. The scholarship offers $2500 per annum for three years to completion of the course subject to satisfactory academic progress.

Calls for applications are made at the beginning of each academic year.

Overseas study scholarships

There are also a number of exchange grants, loans and scholarships available for current students going overseas for study.

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Student awards

Civil Engineering Student Yanni Bouras – winner of the 2014 Dean’s Scholar Award and the Outstanding final year student in Civil Engineering Award. Yanni is now doing his PhD at VU.
Yanni's PhD project is titled Stability of concrete and composite steel-concrete arches subjected to extreme temperatures.

The College of Engineering & Science offers several student and project management awards to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our students.

Project management achievement awards

High performers in the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Masters of Project Management courses are recognised by the industries such as:

  • Lend Lease Pty Ltd
  • Savills Project Management
  • AMP Capital Investors
  • Major Projects Victoria
  • Hollowcore Concrete
  • Australian Institute of Project Management.

Student Peter Barlow, 2014 recipient of the – Australian Institute of Project Management Best Student in the Graduate Diploma in Project Management.

There are three categories of awards presented annually:

  • Category 1: Outstanding performance on individual units (recognised by various industries).
  • Category 2: Best graduating students from the project management courses (recognised by the Australian Institute of Project Management at the national level).
  • Category 3: Current student in the course performing extremely well (recognised by the Australian Institute of Project Management at the Victorian Chapter level).
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Short courses & non-award courses

We offer a range of short courses throughout the year, designed to address specific industry needs.

Find College of Engineering & Science short courses.

We also conduct a number of industry-specific specialised courses, scheduled as required. These courses are conducted on a consultancy basis for individual organisations.

Our non award Foundation studies course is available as an alternative entry to further study in engineering or science.

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Contact us

For further information about our courses, contact the relevant course coordinator.

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