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Qualification Regulations
Part I
These regulations are to be read in conjunction with all other Statutes and Regulations of the University including General Regulations for Postgraduate Degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas, and Postgraduate Certificates.
Part II
Admission
1. Admission to the Degree of Master of Natural Sciences requires that the candidate will:
(a) meet the University admission requirements as specified; and
(b) shall have been awarded or qualified for the Bachelor of Natural Sciences or an equivalent qualification, having achieved a B+ grade average or higher over 300-level courses.
2. Notwithstanding Regulation 1, a candidate who has passed at least 240 credits towards the Bachelor of Natural Sciences including at least 105 credits at 200 level or above, with an average grade of B+ or better in the 200 and/or 300 level courses may, with the approval of the Programme Director, be permitted to enrol in the Master of Natural Sciences.
Qualification requirements
3. Candidates for the Degree of Master of Natural Sciences shall follow a programme of study, which shall consist of courses totalling at least 180-credits, comprising:
(a) 60 credits at 700 level and 120 credits at 800 level; And including:
(b) attending field trips, studios, workshops, tutorials, and laboratories as required.
Specialisations
4. The Master of Natural Sciences is awarded without specialisation.
Student progression
5. In cases of sufficient merit, the Degree of Master of Natural Sciences may be awarded with Distinction or Merit.
Completion requirements
6. The timeframes for completion as outlined in the General Regulations for Postgraduate Degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas, and Postgraduate Certificates will apply.
7. Candidates may be graduated when they meet the Admission, Qualification and Academic requirements within the prescribed timeframes; candidates who do not meet the requirements for graduation may, subject to the approval of Academic Board, be awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Science and Technology should they meet the relevant Qualification requirements.
8. Candidates admitted under Regulation 2 must complete the requirements of the Bachelor of Natural Sciences, or equivalent qualification, before they are eligible to graduate with the Master of Natural Sciences.
Unsatisfactory academic progress
9. The general Unsatisfactory Academic Progress regulations will apply.
Transitional provisions
10. All candidates commencing study towards the Degree of Master of Natural Sciences on or after 1 January 2015 must satisfy the requirements specified in these regulations.
11. All candidates who commenced study towards the Degree of Master of Natural Sciences prior to 1 January 2015 and who have passed at least 60 credits towards the qualification, may complete under the regulations in the 2014 Massey University Calendar, or transfer to these regulations.
12. In all cases candidates must complete the qualification within the timeframes for completion as specified in the Completion Requirements.
Schedule for the Master of Natural Sciences
Course planning key
- Prerequisites
- Courses that need to be completed before moving onto a course at the next level. For example, a lot of 200-level courses have 100-level prerequisite courses.
- Corequisites
- Courses that must be completed at the same time as another course are known as corequisite courses.
- Restrictions
- Some courses are restricted against each other because their content is similar. This means you can only choose one of the offered courses to study and credit to your qualification.
Key terms for course planning
- Courses
- Each qualification has its own specific set of courses. Some universities call these papers. You enrol in courses after you get accepted into Massey.
- Course code
- Each course is numbered using 6 digits. The fourth number shows the level of the course. For example, in course 219206, the fourth number is a 2, so it is a 200-level course (usually studied in the second year of full-time study).
- Credits
- Each course is worth a number of credits. You combine courses (credits) to meet the total number of credits needed for your qualification.
- Specialisations
- Some qualifications let you choose what subject you'd like to specialise in. Your major or endorsement is what you will take the majority of your courses in.
Compulsory course
Course code: 246700 Advanced Research Themes In Natural Sciences 30 credits
Students will critically examine and evaluate a selection of scientific concepts and theories, within the Natural Sciences, which integrate aspects of Systems, of Scale and of Constancy & Change from across the Natural Sciences.
View full course detailsElective courses (Choose 30 credits from)
Course code: 161777 Practical Data Mining 15 credits
A practical approach to data mining with large volumes of complex data; prepare, cleanse and explore data; supervised and unsupervised modelling with association rules and market basket analysis, decision trees, multi-layer neural networks, k-nearest neighbours, k-means clustering and self-organising maps, ensemble and bundling techniques, text mining; use of leading software tools; business examples and research literature.
View full course detailsCourse code: 162760 Research Methods and Communication in the Biosciences 30 credits
A directed course in research methodology and communication in biosciences. Assignments may include a research proposal, a literature review, scientific writing for a journal and a formal seminar presentation.
View full course detailsCourse code: 232701 Conservation Biology 30 credits
A study of the multidisciplinary aspects of conservation biology under three key themes: importance of biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, and conservation actions. Theories, practices, and new developments in conservation biology will be explored including New Zealand case studies.
View full course detailsCourse code: 232703 Wildlife Management 30 credits
A problem-based course involving fieldwork, data analysis, and report writing. A range of research methods relevant to conservation managers will be explored using selected real-world problems. The problems will cover a diversity of techniques with a strong emphasis on gaining experience in conservation application and quantitative analytical methods.
View full course detailsCourse code: 247782 Special Topic 15 credits
A course of study which will be designed to either meet the individual requirements of a student in a special circumstance or be used to facilitate development of a new course.
View full course detailsCourse code: 247783 Special Topic 15 credits
A course of study which will be designed to either meet the individual requirements of a student in a special circumstance or be used to facilitate development of a new course.
View full course detailsCourse code: 247792 Special Topic 15 credits
A course of study which will be designed to either meet the individual requirements of a student in a special circumstance or be used to facilitate development of a new course.
View full course detailsCourse code: 247793 Special Topic 15 credits
A course of study which will be designed to either meet the individual requirements of a student in a special circumstance or be used to facilitate development of a new course.
View full course detailsThesis courses (Choose 120 credits from)
Course code: 123897 Thesis 120 Credit Part 1 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 123898 Thesis 120 Credit Part 2 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work
View full course detailsCourse code: 123899 Thesis 120 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 124897 Thesis 120 Credit Part 1 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 124898 Thesis 120 Credit Part 2 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 124899 Thesis 120 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 162897 Thesis 120 Credit Part 1 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 162898 Thesis 120 Credit Part 2 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 162899 Thesis 120 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 196897 Thesis 120 Credit Part 1 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 196898 Thesis 120 Credit Part 2 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work
View full course detailsCourse code: 196899 Thesis 120 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 199897 Thesis 120 Credit Part 1 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 199898 Thesis 120 Credit Part 2 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 199899 Thesis 120 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 203897 Thesis 120 Credit Part 1 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 203898 Thesis 120 Credit Part 2 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 203899 Thesis 120 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 232897 Thesis 120 Credit Part 1 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 232898 Thesis 120 Credit Part 2 60 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
View full course detailsCourse code: 232899 Thesis 120 credits
A supervised and guided independent study resulting in a published work.
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