This major provides students with a detailed understanding of Microbiology, the study of microbial organisms. The major describes how infectious microbial agents are studied, the diseases they cause and their possible prevention or treatment. Aspects of our immune system, how it responds to protect us during infection, and vaccination are discussed. The major also describes how microbiology applies to a range of areas in the biomedical sciences. It opens up careers in infectious disease, diagnostics, molecular biology, biotechnology, vaccinology, antimicrobial chemotherapeutics, biosafety and regulation, as well as post-graduate research into infectious microbial agents, their genes and mechanisms of disease. It provides a basis for further study into medicine and other paramedical disciplines.

Students intending to undertake this major should be aware that it requires successful completion of a practical-based subject in which products and reagents derived from animals are used.

After completing this major you might pursue career paths in biosafety and regulation, biotechnology, diagnostics, forensic microbiology, molecular biology, pharmacology, vaccine development, and research.

Employers in this field include:

• Medical research institutes such as WEHI, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Peter Doherty Institute
• Hospitals such as the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
• Government departments of health, innovation, agriculture and environment
• Biotech and pharmaceutical companies such as CSL and GSK
• Universities and public research institutions.