Frequently Asked Questions
Program Revision The SE program was revised in 2004 and 2006. First year computing (COMP) courses were revised in 2007. Revision has less effect than most students expect. The general principle is that revision is not intended to be retrospective. FAQ General
FAQ for Enrolment/First-Year
FAQ for Enrolment/Later-Years
FAQ for Programs
FAQ for SE-electives
FAQ for Thesis
FAQ for Transfer
Forms: where are the CSE forms?
You will find a collection of forms at http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/people/studentoffice/forms/.
Can I transfer into Software Engineering?
You may be able to transfer into Software Engineering at UNSW. The procedure is to apply through UAC.
There is no guaranteed level of performance for acceptance into Software Engineering, but if transfering from Computer Engineering or Computer Science at UNSW you would need a program average of Distinction (75%) approximately. But remember that a Distinction average does not guarantee transfer; transfers should be regarded as competetive. If transferring from another program at UNSW or from another university then the result will depend on the range of courses studied and the level of achievement in those courses.
It is best to transfer as soon as possible in order to minimize the number of courses needed to ``catch up''. The earliest time you could apply for a transfer is at the end of the first year of study.
If transferring from within UNSW, the easiest program to transfer from is Computer Science. This is because the Computer Science program allows you to elect 18uoc in first year, and it possible to choose courses that are part of the SE program. The Computer Engineering program has no elective content in stage 1 and you would be taking 18uoc that are not within the core of SE. 12uoc could be counted against the stage 1 & 2 free electives, but you may have to carry the other 6uoc.
It is worth remembering that when transferring into SE there is a sequence of Software Engineering workshops that take 3 years to complete. Transferring at the end of the first year will not present a problem. but transferring at the end of year two will mean that you cannot complete within the four year total program length.
Warning: if you enrol in some program hoping to transfer to SE, you should recognize that the transfer may not happen and so you need to be content with remaining in the initial program.
Can I take Stage n+1 courses before I finish Stage n courses?
The short answer is Yes.
It is important to realise that progression in the SE Program is by course (subject) not stage (year).
So there is no notion of having to complete stage 1 before moving to stage 2 courses.
You can arrange the set of courses in which you enrol any way that is consistent with prerequisites and timetabling. Of course the "standard" order in the program takes those two things into account, and is designed not to produce any problems or conflicts.
Particularly with the combined programs you should regard the proposed structure as a guide, and you can move things around to suit yourself. The example programs illustrate some degree of re-arrangement, but you can be even more radical.
The basic rules are:
- Prerequisites must be satisfied: if not then the approval of the LIC for the course whose prerequisites are not satisfied must be obtained.
- There must not be timetable clashes: if there is a clash then approval of the LICs of both clashing courses should be obtained. Some clashes are unavoidable and unable to be resolved. In the latter case, talk to the SE Director.
- If you fail a core course, you must enrol in that course in the next available semester. A ``core'' course is one that is not elective, like COMP1011 or MATH1131/1141.
Additionally, you must meet the requirements of the complete program. Some programs may have constraints on when courses may be done, eg. the BEMCom.
What am I allowed to take for my first and second year free electives?
There really is no mystery, they are as their names say, free. This means that you can take any courses you like as long as you are eligible to take it. That means that the School in charge of the course is happy for you to take it, and that you have satisfied any prerequisites. If any approval is needed to take the course then it is up to you to organize it.
Any stage course can be substituted for either free elective; there is no intention that a stage 1 free elective must be a stage 1 course, or a stage 2 free elective must be a stage 2 course.
Can I move courses between semesters or between stages?
The answer is yes, provided you still meet the prerequisites of courses, that there are no timetabling problems, and that you understand that some courses should be exactly where we have put them.
For example, there seems to be a common requirement to move COMP2011 to semester 1 so that a stage 3 COMP course can be taken in semester 2. If you want to do this please note that:
COMP2110, COMP2411 and INFS2603 should not be moved. To avoid unbalance you would then need to move the gen ed to semester 2 and the program becomes balanced again.
So the published program structure guarantees that prerequisites will be satisfied, and timetables are designed to accommodate the "standard" order. Changing the order may encounter timetabling problems.
Can prerequisites for a course be ignored?
The short answer to that is NO, prerequisites in general are demanded.
The only person who can waive prerequisites for a course is the lecturer-in-charge of the course, and you must have written permission to enrol in a course for which you don't have the prerequisites.
I think you should recognize that you are not going to get prerequisites waived unless you have a very good case for saying that you have effectively satisfied the prerequisites. Please don't approach LICs on the off-chance that you can talk them into waiving the prerequisites.
One case where a prerequisite might be waived, or converted into a corequisite, is where Y requires X as a prerequisite, you have failed X, but you are planning to do X in parallel with Y.
Can I overload a semester?
Semesters are intended to have 24 uoc of load. In some cases we will permit a student to overload a semester by 6uoc, no more, provided that they have a very good academic record up to that point. Clearly it would not be wise for a student who is struggling with 24uoc to take on 30uoc.
If you do wish to take on 30uoc you must recognize that you are taking on an extra load, and that might reduce your average results for the semester. Even very good students who have unwisely been allowed to take 36uoc have encountered very serious problems, and often have to discard at least 6uoc.
How do I overload?
NSS will allow any student to overload a semester by 3uoc. If you wish to overload by more than 3uoc you should send an email request to kenr@cse.unsw.edu.au, explaining what you want to do. Your academic transcript will be checked to determine if it is strong enough to take the overload. If all is OK, a request to enrol you in the extra course(s) will be sent to the CSE Student Office, and you will be informed.
Which COMP and INFS course are available for stage 3 and 4 electives?
Any COMP3xxx and COMP4xxx courses may be chosen. Some COMP9xxx courses may also be chosen, for example COMP9116 or any COMP9xxx that does not exclude an undergraduate course.
Any INFS3xxx courses may be chosen.
INFS4xxx courses may be chosen in stage 4.
Can I replace General Education by other courses?
You may replace up to 6uoc of general education from courses other than GENX courses. The courses must be outside of the area of your degree. For example, ELEC1011 or PHYS1601 would not be valid replacements, whereas ACCT1501 or ECON1101 would be OK.
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