What It’s Like Studying a Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni

Is a Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni at the top of your UAC application?

Well, Google’s search algorithm did well to bring you here! Why? Because we’ve written down absolutely everything you need to know about the degree, right here in this article.

Curious about core subjects? We’ve got the answers. Struggling through the application process? There’s an outline below. Wondering if you’ll fit in with the uni and faculty culture? You guessed it, it’s just a few paragraphs below.

So what are you waiting for? Scroll down now!

What is a Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni?

Core Units and Majors

How to Get into a Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni

What’s the Teaching Format?

What’s the Faculty and Culture Like?

What is a Bachelor of Information Technology at Macquarie?

If you’re looking for flexibility, this is the degree for you. The IT industry is diverse with specialists in Cyber Security, Data Science, Software Technology and much more. Macquarie University’s Bachelor of Information Technology is designed to touch on all of the areas in the industry. 

Maybe you want to study Cyber Security, but you’re not sure yet if you’ll love it or maybe you have a passion for programming, but you’re struggling to choose which path to take. This degree is perfect for anyone with a love for IT that is still trying to figure out how they can turn this passion into a career that they enjoy just as much. 

In 3 years you’ll learn the foundational skills in all areas of the discipline and you’ll also choose a major (or two, more on that later though), which will make you a master in one of these areas. Not only will you learn the hard skills that are so fundamental to IT, but you’ll also be exposed to project management and ethical issues that are also integral to the industry — basically, this is your one-stop shop for everything IT.

Where could this degree take you?

It’s no secret that IT is a booming industry — you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a healthy and safe career if you enter into the industry. IT jobs do dominate LinkedIn’s Emerging job report for a reason. 

So you know you want in, but maybe you need a little reminder of some of the jobs you could pursue. Here’s just a little taste of the career opportunities waiting for you at the other end of a Bachelors with Macquarie University Information Technology:

• • Business analyst
  • Consultant
  • Data analyst
  • Games designer
  • Information technology researcher and developer
  • Project manager
  • Security expert
  • Software and app developer
  • Systems administrator

As you can see, these roles are extremely varied, but the opportunities do not stop there. IT skills are sought after in almost every industry, and some roles necessitate IT literacy, such as Digital Marketing and more; the world is your oyster!

Core Units and Majors

Bachelor’s degrees at MQ are built up of core-zone courses, major courses and flexible-zone courses. As we said earlier, this course is extremely flexible. Let’s take a look at exactly what it looks like!

The Core Zone

The Core Zone has just 4 essential units. These essentials units are introductory courses in Computer Programming, Cyber Security, Database Design and Management, and Data Communications. 

From there, your Core Zone is 100% IT prescribed electives — that’s right, even in your Core Zone you get to pick your courses (definitely can’t complain about that)! Here’s a few of the electives for you to take your pick at:

• • Artificial Intelligence 
  • Introduction to Video Games
  • Technology Management 
  • Applications Modelling and Development 
  • Data science

What are the Majors?

Now we’re getting to the fun part. This is the area where you really get to shine — it’s your specialisation and most likely your fave unit for every semester. 

In order to complete a Major, you need to obtain 80 credit points in that subject area. Each subject is worth 10 credit points, so you’re looking at doing at least 8 courses in your Major.

A Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni has 5 potential areas of specialisation. These are:

• • Cyber Security 
  • Data Science
  • Information Systems and Business Analysis
  • Software Technology 
  • Web and Mobile App Development 

What’s it like majoring in Data Science?

Data Science is an interdisciplinary field that sits somewhere between Maths and Computer science. The main use of Data Science is to extract knowledge and insights from different forms of data (spoiler alert, there’s a lot of statistics).

It’s the perfect major for someone that has a passion for math and data, looking to turn their academic calling into a (highly sought-after) career. Studying at MQU, you’ll learn to extract and analyse a range of datasets by using models, machine learning and data mining. You’ll also be exposed to a range of programming languages that go way beyond the ol’ Python.

This Major opens up a lot of professional doors, and not all of them are linear. Being able to interpret data is a coveted skill in almost any business area. You might even use your knowledge to open your own business or start-up!

And if that’s not your style, you can always pursue business analysis, financial consultancy, market analysis, or maybe you’ll do the most obvious thing and become a Data Scientist. Either way, you’ll certainly will be spoiled for choice

Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about the double major option. This is where the flexible zone comes in.

Flexible Zone

The Flexible zone is 80 spare units for you to essentially do with as you please. This could be where you explore completely new things, like Science or Psychology. 

Or maybe you’ll decide to stick with what you know, and use your 80 credits to score a double major in IT. Perhaps you’ll do a few electives and choose a minor. Maybe you’ll choose two minors. The flexible zone really is what you make of it!

Is there a built-in internship?

One of the greatest things about studying at Macquarie is PACE (Professional and Community Engagement). It’s an award-winning program that gives students practical experience, reflected by Macquarie’s commitment to employability for its students. PACE is included in every Bachelor’s degree at Macquarie, and there is the option to take even more PACE units as part of your flexible zone. 

The compulsory PACE unit will most likely have you working with a host organisation, while being guided by your unit convenor. PACE blends practical skills with guided learning.

Essentially, you will be introduced to a project by an industry partner and then you will spend the semester working on the project. Then, at the end of the semester, you’ll present it to the industry partner!

You can also use the PACE units in your flexible zone to undertake a semester-long internship and gain credits while you do it (sounds like a win-win to me!). The program could have you working with host organisations in government, industry and NGO areas, and it could even take you overseas!

For more information about PACE click here! 

How to Get into a Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni

The traditional form of entry into this course is through a qualifying ATAR score. A Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni requires an ATAR of 75 to be considered for entry. 

That being said, Macquarie understands that everyone has different backgrounds and skill sets to offer and so they have alternative pathways for entry. Using Macquarie’s entry navigator you can figure out which type of entry suits you best.

Assumed Knowledge and Prerequisite Subjects 

Today is your lucky day because this course has no assumed knowledge or prerequisite subjects. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves though.

While it isn’t compulsory to have completed any specific HSC courses, we still recommend a few. HSC Mathematics Extension 1, Software Design and Development and Information Processes and Technology most certainly couldn’t hurt.

How about scholarships?

Macquarie offers a range of different scholarships for every faculty and year of study. Check out their grants and scholarship information to figure out which one is the right fit for you!

What’s the Teaching Format?

Macquarie operates under a semester format, thank goodness (sorry trimesters). This basically means that you’ll be studying 4 courses per semester with two sessions per year, on a full-time load.

Class Structure

Each course within a Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni is built up of lectures, tutorials and pracs. There’s a little variation, depending on whether you’re doing a theory class or a more practical one. You might not have a prac and tutorial in every course, but you’ll definitely be exposed to both at some point in your degree. 

You’ll probably have on average somewhere around 15 contact hours per week and not all of them will be compulsory. Lectures are recorded for online purposes too if you aren’t feeling like rocking up to campus.

Lectures 

These classes are pretty similar to what you can expect for any university course. They take place in a big theatre with up to 200 people present and run for 2 hours.

They are largely used to introduce the course content and there’s usually not much interaction during the lecture. Lectures are taught using a presentational style, so your main job will be to take notes (don’t forget that pen and paper!).

Tutorials

Tutorials are a more intimate session where you will discuss the course content with around 20 to 30 peers and they go for an hour. Tutorials are much less prevalent in the practical classes, but are the bread and butter of theory classes.

You might use the session to go over case studies as a group, review questions introduced in the lecture or simply have a class discussion so you can get a more in-depth grasp on the lecture concepts.

Pracs

Well it’s basically right there in the name. These sessions are also much smaller (20 to 30 people) than lectures but are used to put into practice the content from the lectures, and they run for 1-2 hours.

In more practical classes, your final grade will be partially based on your attendance in these sessions. This is because your ability to fulfil a task will be reviewed by the teacher during the class.

If you were doing a class in Computer Networking, for example, you would use the class time to physically demonstrate your ability to correctly connect networks for computer functionality.

What are the assessments like?

Assessment styles will vary depending on whether you’re studying a theory class or a more practical class. 

In the theory classes you might have a set of quizzes, a critical research review and then a final essay. If you’re studying Cyber Security, for example, it is necessary to understand the ethics and laws that inform it.

Though not very technical, these theory classes are still very important to get a holistic education in the field. Because they aren’t technical, the assessments are largely essay and quiz-based.

If it’s a practical class, you’ll have a final exam worth 40-60% of your final grade. Before that exam, you’ll have 2 to 3 small assessments to account for the remaining grades. Those small assessments might be small projects and presentations, or they might be a review during one of your pracs. 

One thing is for certain though, you will not have many group projects at all. Expect only 2 to 3 group projects throughout the entirety of your degree.

Skills That You Refine and Learn

It’s no secret that this degree will give you a fair amount of technical skills. These skills will be established in coding, documentation within code, design principles and more.

The Core Zone will also ensure that you have a sound IT acumen in a variety of areas in the industry. Your Major will be your specialisation, but through this program you’ll also have supplementary skills that complement it. 

A skill that might be less technical, and more contextual, is a high degree of autonomy. A little precursor to this course is that you will be expected to understand certain fundamentals (such as coding languages) without any prior exposure to them in class. This means that you’ll be thrown in the deep end (much like you would in a workplace), which will make you much more independent than your friends at other unis.

What’s the Faculty and Culture Like?

We’re going to be real with you, the cohort is not the most social. Since it’s quite a hectic study load, most people are either at the lab or the library. 

This doesn’t mean that people are mean or aren’t willing to chat, it’s more that they’re just a little too busy to go overboard with the university social fanatics. The truth is, you probably will be too. While it’s not party central, you’ll still make loads of lifelong friends, bonding over the difficulties of IT.

Societies

While there isn’t a society directly related to IT, Macquarie has lots on offer. Societies are a great way to meet new people through social events.

Lots of societies also offer networking events and academic aid. They’re student-run groups that are built to support students academically, professionally and socially — they’re definitely a must-do!

To have a look at what societies there are head over to Macquarie’s ‘On Campus’ section. If nothing tickles your fancy, you can always start your own group!

The Faculty and Support

A lot of people say that the fundamental difference between your experience at Macquarie and any other Australian university, is the support that you will get. Macquarie has so many resources set in place that are designed to ensure that every student has access to the help that they need, whenever they need it.

The Faculty of Science and Engineering has a 9 to 5 help desk that will help you with any possible query that you will have. They will go above and beyond to do what they can to help solve your issue.

It’s not only the help desk that will give you a helping hand though. Charanya Ramakrishnan, for example, has been known to respond to student queries at 2am — We’re not saying that you should send her emails this late but it definitely shows how much she cares for her students. 

Not only does the faculty care, but it listens too. You’ll often find that any reported problems within the Faculty will often result in an effective and swift response. So if you’re looking for a high-level of education and a strong support network to boot, a Bachelor of Information Technology at MQ Uni is definitely for you!

Cody Williams is a Content Writer at Art of Smart Education. While Cody studied a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and French Studies at UNSW, he quickly realised that his dream job would have him sit happily behind a keyboard. Cody’s digital writing career started with an internship at Bauer Media where he was writing for ELLE and Harper’s BAZAAR’s online publications. Once he had a taste for writing he never looked back, moving to Brisbane soon later to work as a Producer for Channel Nine Queensland. After a year in television media, he dusted off his online writing shoes so he could put them to good use, stamping out some scorching-hot career and educational resources at AOS.