Pathology is the scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences. It is a branch of science where factors which influence the shift from normal to abnormal and back again are studied at every level from the whole organism to the molecule. Therefore it overlaps with a range of biomedical disciplines such as anatomy, cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, microbiology and immunology and genetics. The study of Pathology will provide students with background knowledge which will enable them to ask fundamental questions about the response of tissues and cells to injury, mechanisms of healing and the outcomes which may occur when healing is unsuccessful. Students who complete a Pathology major will study findings emerging from research laboratories which are currently investigating some of the most common and intractable diseases in our community e.g. cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, neurodegenerative disease and cancer. A Pathology major will also give students the opportunity to experience working in a team on an investigative project and enable them to develop both verbal and written communication skills.

After completing this major you might pursue careers in laboratory settings such as universities, hospitals, research institutes, diagnostic laboratories, diagnostic pathology services and biotechnology laboratories.

You could also find work in education, the pharmaceutical or scientific equipment industries, or science communications or publishing.

Employers include the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Monash Health, WEHI and Dorevitch Pathology.

To work as a pathologist, you’ll first need to qualify as a medical doctor by completing a Doctor of Medicine, then complete several years of specialist training in pathology while working in a hospital.