The aim of the offering engineering degrees within UNSW Canberra is to provide an outstanding engineering education to future leaders in the Australian Defence Force and to pursue excellence through contributions to research, the profession, industry and the community.

The Chief of Defence Force Students Program offers the opportunity for students to be exposed to research in the first year of the program and to undertake research in a range of disciplines over years two and three, whilst still covering the engineering body of knowledge. All fourth year students in the program will produce a thesis on research carried out in that year.

The BE CDF Students Program is of four years duration, and is awarded as an honours degree. The engineering programs have been granted full accreditation by the Institution of Engineers Australia and in addition the Electrical Engineering program has been recognised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The Engineering CDF Students programs are accredited by Engineers Australia.

All Engineering degrees lead to a Bachelor of Engineering degree, with the type of engineering specified.

First year engineering students enrol in separate programs in Aeronautical, Civil, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering and their CDF Students Programs analogues. There is, however, considerable commonality in the first year within the engineering programs. More than half of the programs are devoted to mathematics, physics and computer science.

The BE (Elec) (CDF) has program objectives and learning outcomes in common with the standard BE(Elec) program. The program extends the educational principles embodied in the BE to a higher level of the degree. In the program, students will be exposed in first year to research methods in Engineering and will be offered significant extensions to the ideas and analysis performed in the standard degree program. This will allow them to undertake research projects, at the appropriate level, in their later years, thereby, more fully integrating research into the standard coursework undergraduate degree. The individual projects undertaken in close association with academic staff on research topics of mutual interest underpin the program and give the students the ability to develop their full potential.

The BE program in Electrical Engineering is built on a foundation of mathematics, computing science and physical science. The program is specifically designed for undergraduate students who have shown academic excellence in their studies and it incorporates significant elements of training in research methods at all years of the program. A small component of electrical engineering is introduced in the first year, with progressively larger components in second and third year. The final year is devoted exclusively to electrical engineering courses. Each year of the program comprises a number of discipline-based courses, courses taught by other discipline areas and problem-based learning courses. Apart from the general education courses, the first two years of the program are common for all electrical engineering CDF students. In the third and fourth years students have the option to specialise in areas such as communications, surveillance and radar, computer engineering and guided weapons electronics.

The Electrical Engineer in the Navy is known as a WEO – a Weapons Electrical Officer, and is responsible for electronic systems associated with gun and missile control systems, navigation systems, air and ground communications, radar and sonar systems and data systems. WEOs are not only responsible for technical matters but are a vital link in management: they may become involved also in personnel, financial and resource management.

RAAF Electrical Engineers usually are employed to manage a wide variety of operations including the repair and maintenance of modern radar, navigation, communications and computing equipment. They may be posted to a squadron in charge of an avionics section, or to a development area working on technical problems associated with new equipment. As they gain experience they can be expected to be posted to one of the commands, usually as a project officer concerned with the management and funding of projects.

Army Electrical Engineers usually pursue a career either in the Royal Australian Corps of Signals or the Royal Australian Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. New graduates may be involved in such areas as the operation, management and repair of state-of-the-art communications equipment or the management of guided weapons systems, laser designation and range finding equipment and radar.

Electrical Engineering is one of the newer branches of engineering. It has its origin in the turning to practical use of the discoveries of Faraday, Ampere, Maxwell and a number of other eminent 19th century physicists. It has remained the most strongly science-oriented branch of engineering. At first it had its major impact by providing the means for the generation, distribution and utilisation of electric power. However, while this remains an important sub-area of the whole discipline, the last few decades particularly have seen a rapid and extensive diversification into the fields of computers and control as well as electronics and communications, and beyond them into such areas as biology, medicine and space technology. It is now true to say that there are very few areas of civilised activity that have remained untouched by the ideas and products of modern electrical engineering. The absorption of recent scientific development has been very rapid and has demanded a fully developed scientific outlook on the part of electrical engineers for a proper understanding of the problems involved. Many devices, scarcely more than laboratory prototypes a decade ago, are now in widespread use as fully engineered hardware.

The Bachelor of Engineering (CDF) degrees require a prescribed program structure. Completion of each year, thereby allowing progression to the next year, is normally achieved by satisfactory progress in each of the courses given in that year. A research component is taken each semester in years 1-3. The full year thesis is worth twice the normal credit allocation in the final year. At the discretion of the Head of School, students may be allowed to concurrently enrol in courses from more than one year of the program.

First Year Program

plus 1 x General Education course (6 UOC)

Third Year Program

plus
1 x General Education course (6 UOC)
1 x Elective Course (6 UOC) from the list below.

Fourth Year Program

Elective Courses for Third Year Students

Students will select 6 UOC of courses from the following list, subject to the approval of the Head of the School or delegate, to make a balanced program. Students will not normally be allowed to take courses from other schools.

1. Faculty Regulations for Undergraduate Students

A student must comply with the Faculty Regulations for Undergraduate Students. In the event of a conflict, the rules for the Bachelor of Engineering take precedence over the Faculty Regulations for Undergraduate Students.

2. Degree Requirements

2.1 The degree of Bachelor of Engineering (CDF) shall be conferred as an Honours degree.

2.2 To qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (CDF), a student shall normally be enrolled for a minimum of eight sessions and gain a minimum of 192 units of credit (normally 24 units in each full-time session).

2.3 A student completing a Standard Program shall complete courses, in the years prescribed, for all engineering students and those pertaining to one particular branch of engineering as set out in the relevant schedule.

2.4 A student completing a Non-Standard Program shall, subject to the requirements of Rule 2.5 (below), timetabling requirements and the approval of the appropriate Heads of School, be permitted to enrol in any one year in courses selected from more than one year of the relevant schedule.

2.5 Before a student's enrolment will be accepted for any course, the student must have completed the relevant pre-requisite courses shown in the Course Catalogue, except where the Course Authority for the appropriate course approves otherwise.

2.6 A student for enrolment for the degree of Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (CDF), shall hold an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of no less than 98 or equivalent on an alternative Tertiary Entrance Index.

2.7 To qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (CDF), a student shall normally achieve a Session Weighted Average Mean (WAM) of 85.

2.8 Normally, a student who does not comply with the requirements of Rule 2.7 (above) shall be transferred to candidature for the degree of Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.

2.9 Rule 2.8 above shall not normally be invoked for students with Potential Graduand status.

2.10 A student for the degree of Bachelor of Electrical Engineering may, at the discretion of the Head of School, transfer to the degree of Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (CDF) upon completion of 24 units of credit with a WAM of 80 or greater in Sessions 1 or 2 of Year 1.

3. Practical Experience Requirements

Before graduation a student shall complete 60 days of approved practical engineering experience which must be done in blocks of at least 20 working days each, each block being in the service of a single employer.

Service Training and Practical Experience Requirements

Service training conducted during the degree program is recognised as partially satisfying practical experience requirements in the following ways:

Naval Midshipmen, 30 days for experience gained at a defence establishment between second and third years. (Time at sea prior to arrival at UNSW Canberra is not eligible for consideration.)

Army Cadets, 30 days for the year spent at Royal Military College between third and fourth years.

Air Force Cadets, 30 days for experience gained at a defence establishment between second and third years.

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html

These regulations apply to all undergraduate degrees and are to be used in conjunction with Academic Rules and Program Information. All rules in this Handbook apply to each student who enters an undergraduate program in 2012. The rules remain applicable until the student exits their program, either by discontinuation or graduation. Students who entered a program in another year should consult the rules and regulations for that year.

1. Meeting degree requirements

1.1 To be eligible to graduate, a student must comply with the Faculty Regulations for Undergraduate Students and specific program rules.

1.2 Every student must complete courses as part of their degree. The requirements of a course will be outlined by its course convenor.

1.3 A student will be prevented from enrolling in a course if they have not met the prerequisites specified.

1.4 Each course completed or granted as credit towards a program may be counted towards only one major in that program.

2. Multiple enrolment

No student will be admitted into a UNSW program without the approval of the relevant Head of School if they are already enrolled in another program of study at any tertiary institution.

3. Study required per UOC

25-30 hours of work (over a 13 week teaching period) including face-to-face teaching sessions and private study time, is expected for 1 UOC per session (e.g. 150-180 hours of study is expected for a 6 UOC course).

4. General Education requirement

4.1 All UNSW Canberra programs include 12 UOC of General Education courses.

4.2 All ZGEN courses are worth 6 UOC and are offered each semester. If students wish to undertake more than 12 UOC of ZGEN courses they may select an additional ZGEN course/s as upper-level free electives.

4.3 Students must select one General Education course from each of the following groups:

Group 1 ZGEN2222 Introduction to Strategic Studies OR ZGEN2801 Leadership and Management;

and

Group 2 ZGEN2240 Introduction to Military Ethics OR ZGEN2215 Law, Force and Legitimacy.

5. Limit of Pass Conceded (PC)
A student cannot be awarded more than 18 UOC for PCs.

6. Limitation on enrolment each semester

In any semster, a student cannot enrol in more than 30 UOC without the approval of the Registrar's Nominee (Manager, Student Administrative Services).

7. Credit Cancellation Period
No units of credit shall count towards any award at undergraduate level if ten or more years have elapsed since a candidate accumulated the units of credit.

8. Credit for previous study

8.1 Credit may be granted on the basis of previous studies at a recognised tertiary institution provided a Credit for Previous Study form is submitted and approved within the credit cancellation period.

8.2 If a student believes their previous studies and/or work experience have given them the knowledge and skills taught within a core course, but they have not completed suitable studies at a recognised tertiary institution, they may seek approval from the relevant program authority to substitute this course for one outside their degree rules.

9. Variation of program or course requirements

Upon sufficient cause being shown, the Presiding Member, Academic Board may, in special cases, vary the requirements of the degree rules provided that any proposed variation shall be initiated by a recommendation from the relevant Head of School and the Registrar's Nominee.

Enrolment in this program is restricted to Midshipmen, Officer Cadets and Advanced Students in the Australian Defence Force and equivalent ranks from selected foreign Defence Forces.