Selecting courses

Course units

Subjects at Curtin are called units (you may call them courses or modules). Generally, one unit is worth 25 credits. However, some units may be worth 12.5 credits or 50 credits. The minimum enrolment is 75 credits per semester and the maximum is 100 credits per semester. You must have approval from Curtin for each unit you wish to take. Curtin will check that you meet the prerequisites for each unit before your enrolment.

Study areas and selecting units to study

Curtin offers more than 100 courses in applied, practical subjects with a strong emphasis on industry links and international, cultural and Indigenous awareness. You can also get involved in volunteer programs to help you gain skills employers look for.

Selecting units

The Study Abroad and Student Exchange programs at Curtin allow you to choose units from any study area, with restrictions on nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy and physiotherapy, which require you to be undertaking a degree in these fields. Medicine is excluded from the exchange program.

The Curtin course handbook is a tool you use to select units at Curtin. Alternatively, we have provided a list of pre-approved units for you to choose from. Pre-approved units do not require school approval, but please check that you have sufficient background to study them as some may presume prior knowledge.

It is not possible to change your unit selections during the application process, so please ensure you choose carefully.

Before selecting your units:

Read the Curtin unit description
Carefully check the prerequisites for the units that interest you and/or check you have sufficient background to study the unit(s) as some may presume prior knowledge
Check the units are offered in the semester you intend to study at Curtin and are offered at Curtin’s Perth Campus
Ensure your home university approves your study choices before submitting your application. It is your responsibility to arrange credit transfer with your home university.

If you choose units that have pre-requisites your selection will be sent to the faculty for approval. Enrolment into units are subject to availability and are at the discretion of the faculty.

Undergraduate students are not able to select post-graduate (masters) units.

Undergraduate unit codes are 100-400 (ie MKTG2003 is a 2nd year unit)

Postgraduate unit codes are 500-600 (ie MKTG5006 is a 5th year unit)

It is your responsibility to arrange credit transfer with your home university.

List of pre-approved units

You may select units from the Curtin courses handbook and/or from the range of pre-approved units listed below. Please check that you have sufficient background to study the unit(s) as some may presume prior knowledge. All units are subject to availability.

Australian studies units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
HIST3003	Australians at War	Yes	No
HERI2002	Australian Studies	Yes	Yes
INDH2014	Australian Health and Political Systems	Yes	Yes
INTR1001	Australia's Global Politics	No	Yes
HIST2000	Social Change in Contemporary Australian History	No	Yes

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability	Prerequisite
CMHL4002	Contemporary Health and Social Issues in Australian Communities	Yes	No	Suitable for students studying social work
EDUC4044	Literacy and Numeracy for First Nations Peoples of Australia	No	Yes
INDS2001	Indigenous Australian Land and Environments	Yes	Yes
INDS2002	Indigenous Australian Arts	No	Yes
INDS1000	Introduction to Indigenous Australians	Yes	Yes
MEDA2000	Media and Indigenous Australian Issues	Yes	No

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
STAT2006	Data Science in Practice	Yes	No
MGMT2017	Supply Chain Decision Analytics	Yes	No
ECOM1000	Analytics for Decision Making	Yes	Yes
STAT1005	Introduction to Probability and Data Analysis	Yes	Yes
STAT1009	Decision Methods and Predictive Analytics	Yes	No
ACTL4003	Predictive Analytics Principles	Yes	No
MKTG5006	Marketing Intelligence and Analytics	No	Yes
ECOM5005	Business Analytics and Data Visualisation	No	No

Asia studies units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability	Prerequisite
GLBL5003	Engaging Asia	Yes	No
ASIA1001	Discovering Asia	Yes	No
INTR5002	Asia Pacific Studies	No	Yes
MGMT3016	Responsible Management in Asia	No	Yes
ASIA3001	Asian Century Issues and Perspectives	Yes	No
ASIA1005	Communicating with Asia – Languages and Societies	Yes	Yes
ASIA2003	Social Impact of Economic Changes in China and Japan	No	Yes
JAPN2003	Communicating with Japan	No	Yes
JAPN2000	Japanese Society and Culture	Yes	No
POLS5002	Security and Conflict in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf	Yes	No
KORE2002	Korean Society and Politics	Yes	No	Must have background in Korean languages
CHIN2000	Chinese Society and Culture	Yes	No
CHIN2003	Communicating with China	No	Yes
INTR2002	Diplomacy and Conflict in the Indo-Pacific	Yes	No

Business units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
ECOM2001	Quantitative Techniques for Business	Yes	Yes
ECON1000	Introductory Economics	Yes	Yes
HOSP2000	Hospitality Experience	Yes	Yes
ISYS1000	Introduction to Business Information Systems	Yes	Yes
MGMT2000	Organisational Behaviour	Yes	Yes
MGMT2001	Start-Up Business Planning	Yes	Yes
MGMT2004	Business and Sustainable Development	Yes	Yes
TOUR2000	Principles of Tourism, Hospitality and Events	Yes	Yes
MKTG2001	Brand Management	Yes	Yes
BLAW2008	Public Relations Law	Yes	No
BLAW2011	Safety and Environmental Health Law	Yes	No
PROP2002	Introduction to Property Markets	Yes	Yes

Climate units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
ERTH3001	Climate and Biosphere	Yes	No
ERTH2001	The Science of Climate Change	No	Yes
SUST5008	Climate Policy	No	Yes
SUST5003	Pathways to a Climate Resilient Society	No	Yes
SUST5018	People and Planet	Yes	Yes
ENST1000	Global Environmental Challenges	No	Yes
ATOC2000	Atmospheric and Oceanographic Sciences	Yes	No
SUST7000	Introduction to Environment and Climate Emergency	Yes	No

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
SXLG6007	Culture and Contemporary Sexology	No	Yes
SXLG2000	Introduction to Sexology Attitudes and Values	Yes	Yes
LCST2007	Reading Gender	No	Yes
EDUC4012	Relationships and Sexuality Education	Yes	No
LCST1004	Introduction to Cultural Studies	Yes	No
SCWK2001	Citizenship, Culture and Diversity	Yes	No

Global business units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability	Prerequisite
IBUS1001	Introduction to Global Business	Yes	Yes
MGMT3016	Responsible Management in Asia	No	Yes
MGMT3015	Globalisation and Employment Relations	No	Yes
TOUR3003	Contemporary Issues in Tourism Management	No	Yes
MGMT3001	International Management	Yes	Yes	2nd year students only
INTR2003	Global Governance	No	Yes
INTR3002	International Ethics	Yes	No
MGMT6015	Global Human Resource Management	Yes	No
MGMT6003	Global Business Dynamics	Yes	Yes
MGMT5010	International Industrial Relations	Yes	No
MGMT5003	Culture and Ethics in Global Business	Yes	No

Language units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
KORE1000	Korean Beginners 1	Yes	No
JAPN1000	Japanese for Beginners	Yes	Yes
CHIN1000	Chinese for Beginners	Yes	Yes
ANTH2003	Language and Social Life	Yes	No
SPPA1001	Introduction to Human Communication Science	Yes	No
ASIA1005	Communicating with Asia – Languages and Societies	Yes	Yes
CHIN1001	Foundations of Chinese	No	Yes
JAPN2001	Intermediate Japanese: Everyday Contexts	Yes	No
JAPN2002	Intermediate Japanese: Extending Everyday Contexts	No	Yes
CHIN2001	Intermediate Chinese: Everyday Contexts	Yes	No
CHIN2002	Intermediate Chinese: Extending Everyday Contexts	No	Yes

Healthy living units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability	Prerequisite
HUMB1006	Human Physiology for Exercise Science	Yes	No	Applicable only for students studying a health degree
HUMB1000	Human Structure and Function	Yes	Yes
REHT1001	Physical Activity, Exercise and Fitness Assessment	No	Yes	Applicable only for students studying a health degree
PSYC1000	Introduction to Psychology	Yes	Yes
PSYC1001	Foundations of Psychology	No	Yes
CMHL1000	Foundations for Professional Health Practice	Yes	Yes
BIOL1002	Brain and Behaviour	No	Yes
HLPR1000	Health Promotion Principles and Values	Yes	No
NURS1003	Health and Wellbeing in Social and Cultural Contexts	Yes	Yes	Applicable only for students studying a health degree
PUBH1001	Introduction to Health, Safety and Environment	Yes	No

Health science units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
INDH1006	Indigenous Cultures and Health Behaviours	Yes	Yes
MEDI1000	Foundations of Biomedical Science	Yes	Yes
PUBH1000	Introduction to Public Health	Yes	Yes
NUTR1000	Food and Nutrition Principles	Yes	No
HLPR2002	Health Promotion Methods	Yes	No
HLPR2005	Health Promotion, Equity and Social Justice	Yes	No
PSYC1002	Science and Professional Practice in Psychology	Yes	No
HLPR2003	Promoting Mental Health and Social Inclusion	No	Yes
OCHS1002	Science Fundamentals for Health and Safety	Yes	No
OCHS1001	Introduction to Microbiology and Biohazards	No	Yes

Humanities units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
ANTH1000	Self, Culture and Society	Yes	No
ANTH1001	Society and Culture in a Globalising World	No	Yes
ANTH2000	Ethnographies of the City	No	Yes
ANTH2002	Private Lives and Public Issues	No	Yes
COMS1001	Engaging Media	Yes	Yes
COMS1003	Culture to Cultures	Yes	Yes
CWRI1000	Creative Writing	No	Yes
CWRI1003	Engaging Narrative	No	Yes
CWRI2001	Writing Poetry	Yes	No
CWRI2002	Writing Short Fiction	Yes	No
CWRI2016	Writing Genre Fiction	No	Yes
FASH1001	Style Hunting	Yes	Yes
GEOG1000	Human Geography	Yes	No
GRDE2027	Photography Contexts and Practice	Yes	Yes
HIST1000	Legacies of Empire	Yes	No
INTR1002	Foundations of International Relations	Yes	No
INTR2000	International Relations Theory	Yes	No
JOUR1000	Introduction to Journalism – Writing	Yes	Yes
JOUR1001	Introduction to Journalism – Broadcast	Yes	Yes
SCST1000	Introduction to Screen Creativity	Yes	Yes
SPRO1000	Introduction to Screen Industries	Yes	Yes
THTR1001	Acting Fundamentals	Yes	No
THTR1002	Devising Fundamentals	No	Yes

Science and engineering units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability
CHEM1000	Principles and Processes in Chemistry	Yes	Yes
CHEM1001	Biological Chemistry	Yes	Yes
ELEN1000	Electrical Systems	Yes	Yes
ENEN2000	Engineering Sustainable Development	Yes	Yes
GEOL1005	Fundamentals of Geology	No	Yes
MCEN1000	Engineering Mechanics	Yes	Yes
MCEN2005	Engineering Graphics	Yes	Yes
MGMT3000	Engineering Management and Professional Practice	Yes	Yes
PEEN1000	Introduction to Petroleum Engineering	Yes	No
MATH1006	Mathematical Modelling	No	Yes

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability	Prerequisite
ASTR1003	Introduction to Astronomy	Yes	Yes
GEOL1007	Planetary Science	No	Yes
ASTR2000	Physics of Stars and Galaxies	No	Yes	Completion of units in physics and quantum physics
PHYS1005	Physics 1	Yes	No
ASTR3001	Exploring the Radio Universe	No	Yes	Completion of units in physics and electromagnetism
AERO3000	Space Systems Design	Yes	No	This unit is suitable for science students
SPAT3013	Earth Observation from Space	No	Yes

Sustainability units

Unit code	Unit name	Semester 1 availability	Semester 2 availability	Prerequisite
CHEM2008	Chemistry for Sustainability	Yes	No	Completion of a first year chemistry unit
ENGR5002	Ethics and Sustainability in Engineering	Yes	Yes
ENGR2001	Ethics and Sustainability in Engineering	Yes	Yes
ERTH2000	Earth Resources and Sustainability	No	Yes
MGMT2003	Sustainable Event Development	Yes	No
ELEN1002	Sustainability and Renewable Energy	Yes	Yes
SUST2000	Sociocultural Perspectives of Sustainability	Yes	No
GEOG2001	Geographies of Food Security	No	Yes
PHGY2000	Natural Hazards	No	Yes
URDE2011	Environmental Planning	Yes	No
SUST5024	Sustainable Waste Management	Yes	No
SUST5004	Leadership in Sustainability	No	Yes
ENST3004	Topics in Sustainable Development	No	Yes
SUST5020	Sustainability, Climate Change and Economics	Yes	No
SUST5005	Future Cities	Yes	No

Changing your units

You may change units during the first week of semester. After the first week, you may withdraw from a class (as long as you maintain at least 75 credits) but you are unable to add a new class.