ANU-UC agreement to open doors for health students

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1 September 2016

A new joint initiative between The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Canberra (UC) will open a new career door for health students.

The new collaboration will allow students to combine a Bachelor of Medical Science degree at ANU with a Master of Diagnostic Pathology degree at UC.

The new vertical double degree will be convened by Professor Susan Howitt, Deputy Head of the Biology Teaching and Learning Centre, and Head of Biomedical Science and Biochemistry at the RSB, who did most of the negotiations with UC to establish the new degree.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr MLA welcomed the announcement.

“It’s great to see both the University of Canberra and the ANU working together on this joint degree,” he said.

“Our tertiary education institutions are vital to the ACT’s economy – with one in every nine Canberrans either working or studying at institutions such as the ANU and UC.

“The ACT Government has been working to bring together all of Canberra’s tertiary education institutions in recent years through our Vice-Chancellors forum to discuss opportunities for collaboration and shared interests.

“I’m delighted that UC and ANU are taking this collaboration to new levels by sharing their strengths and offering students new and exciting opportunities.”

ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said the combined ANU-UC course will give students new options for their careers in health.

“This new vertical double degree gives students a new pathway into health careers by giving them access to outstanding qualifications in two specialist areas,” Professor Schmidt said.

“The Bachelor of Medical Science at ANU gives students a broad grounding in biomedical science. This agreement allows students to build on that by gaining specific skills in an area that will open up new career opportunities.”

University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Nick Klomp said this agreement will provide students with greater choice in specialised qualifications from two outstanding institutions.

“We are pleased to expand our collaboration with the ANU to offer more flexibility to students who choose to undertake a vertical double degree in the fields of science and teaching and medical science and diagnostic pathology,” Professor Klomp said.

“This is a further example of the commitment from UC and ANU to strengthen Canberra’s reputation as a world-leading education city.” 

The agreement builds on the relationship between the two universities following the 2015 initiative to offer a vertical double degree for science teaching, combining a Bachelor of Science (BSc) from ANU with a Master of Teaching (MTeach) from UC.