More Courses at Monash Next Year

MONASH University will increase next year the range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered for students at its campus in Malaysia.

The move follows the university’s shift this year into its own, purpose-built RM200 million campus in Bandar Sunway, Selangor, which is equipped with a wider range of teaching, learning and research facilities.

“This expansion of infrastructure will provide a significant boost to our efforts to become a premier private research intensive university campus that can contribute to education in Malaysia and Southeast Asia in the coming years,” said Monash University’s pro vice-chancellor and president (Malaysia) Professor Robin Pollard.

Professor Pollard said the university is expanding its range of programmes available.

For the February 2008 intake, the university is introducing the Bachelor of Nursing programme, and two new postgraduate programmes – the Master of International Business and Master of Arts (Communication and Cultural Studies).

These programmes follow the introduction of three new courses this year – the Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), Bachelor of Psychology and Business and the Bachelor of Science (Food Science & Technology).

All three courses have been well received and the university expects student numbers to increase this year.

These courses complement the current range of programmes offered by the Schools of Arts & Sciences, Business, Information Technology, Engineering and Medicine & Health Sciences.

The campus, one of eight operated by Monash University in Australia, Malaysia and South Africa, is being developed in two phases, with the first phase able to accommodate up to 5,000 students.

Students at the campus have access to an expanded range of facilities to support their education, including a state-of-the-art Library and Learning Commons, large and comfortable lecture theatres and 40 laboratories for teaching and research.

Professor Pollard said Monash University has developed a strong heritage of high quality education and research.

This quality has been recognised through the university’s membership of Australia’s “Group of Eight” universities recognised for excellence in teaching, learning and research.

The university has also been consecutively ranked among the top 40 worldwide by the reputable Times Higher Education Supplement in 2005 and 2006.

“Students at our campus here benefit from the same heritage and this is perhaps reflected by the fact that the majority secure employment within three months of graduation and Monash University has a large number of alumni in Malaysia – exceeding 7,000.”

Courses offered at the university are accredited by professional bodies and accreditation agencies in Australia and Malaysia.

The Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme taught in Malaysia is the first outside Australia and New Zealand to be recognised by the Australian Medical Council, which means that medical graduates from Malaysia are recognised to practise in these two countries.

“A key factor in delivering quality education is attracting a group of high quality academic staff and Monash University is fortunate to have attracted home a number of research active scholars to join the existing team of high quality academics on campus.”

He said emphasis is also placed on learning excellence and there are established mechanisms in place to ensure that the university offers an optimal learning environment for students.

Monash University will hold an Open Day on Dec 16, from 9am to 5pm, to showcase its new campus and allow potential students and their parents the opportunity to meet with its staff and students.

For more information on the Monash educational experience, call 03-55146000, visit their website at www.monash.edu.my, or send email to studymalaysia@monash.edu

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