Planning my degree

The ANU College of Systems and Society (CSS) has multiple resources to help students plan their degrees and determine which courses to take.

In the first instance, we encourage you to refer to Programs and Courses to look at the courses that have been scheduled for a particular year to ensure that the course you’re considering is being offered.

If you’re trying to decide between multiple courses and you’re not sure which to pick, asking your fellow students (either via social media or the Student Associations) is an excellent way to get a student-perspective on courses. We also suggest that if you’re torn between courses, to attend the first lecture of each course to better understand the content and structure of the course to help inform your decision.

Before finalising your course selection, you should make sure that it fits into your program requirements by referring to Stay on track with your studies.

For key dates, please see the University calendar

Drop courses without academic or financial penalty by Census Date.

If you can’t add a course because a permission code is required, please read and follow the steps for applying for permission code

If you can’t add a course because it would result in an overload (i.e., more than 24 units in a study period), please follow the steps for applying for an overload.

If you can’t drop a course because you’re an international student and it would result in an underload (i.e. less than 24 units in a study period), please follow the steps for applying for a Reduced Study Load

If you cannot drop or add a course online in ISIS for any other reason that’s not captured above, please fill out an Enrolment Variation Form and send this, along with a screenshot of the error you are encountering on ISIS, to CSS Student Services at student.css@anu.edu.au.

Some courses have restrictions to ensure that students meet specific
requirements and have appropriate background knowledge and skills to
be successful in the course before enrolling. These requirements are
listed under the 'Requisite and Incompatibility' section of the course
page on Program and Courses

Students who do not meet the listed requisites typically will not be
permitted to enrol into a later course. However, we encourage you to
carefully read the full eligibility criteria for CSS permission codes
and (if applicable) apply for a permission code by completing the CSS permission code request form

If you believe that you have met the prerequisites of a course in your
program from previous studies outside of ANU, please apply for an
exemption through the CSS credit/exemption procedure

If you have been previously awarded an exemption for the prerequisite
of a course but cannot enrol in that course in ISIS, please take a
screen shot of the error on ISIS and email student.css@anu.edu.au
for assistance.

In other cases, you will need to apply for a permission code to enrol
into a CSS course where a prerequisite has not been satisfied. However, please note that students who do not meet the listed
requisites typically will not be permitted to enrol into a later
course. Please read the information about requesting a permission code for
a CSS course carefully.

To add a major or minor to your degree, please follow the instructions
on the ANU Changing majors, minors & specialisations
website. You may add a major or minor to your degree on ISIS (Main
Menu (compass button) > Navigator > ISIS > Degree Management > Major,
Minor & Specialisations).

Please note the deadlines carefully, as you will not be able to process
this change after the census date of each semester.

If you have relevant previous studies at an institution outside of
ANU, you may be eligible for course credit or exemption.

To apply for credit or an exemption, visit the CSS credit/exemption
procedure website. Please read the instructions carefully as missing information may cause delays in processing your request.

No, accepting credit against your program is not grounds for reducing your study load. International students must maintain a full study load (24 units) in a standard semester. You can adjust your study plan to meet this requirement. If you need help with study planning, please contact the CSS Student Services team.

If you are in a single CSS degree, the limit of 1000-level courses
you may take is 10 (60 units), though you aren’t required to complete
10 1))-level courses if you don’t want to. Please note that ANU-wide
elective courses count towards this limit.

If you are enrolled in a Flexible Double Degree program the limit of
1000-level courses for the CSS Honours component of your FDD is
typically 8 (48 units).

You are strongly encouraged to refer to your specific FDD program
rules on Programs and Courses to ensure that you don’t inadvertently
complete too many 1000-Level courses.

The program requirements for your program are available on the Programs and Courses website for you to review at any time.
Some main requirements that you need to be aware of:

• Required units to complete the program.
  
• Number of core courses and elective courses under the program.
  
• Any compulsory major or specialisation that you need to complete.
  
• The minimum/maximum number of 1000-level courses; 4000-level courses (for undergraduate programs) or 8000-level courses (for postgraduate programs).
  
• Complete work experience (only applicable for some programs).
  
• Complete an Honour Projects or Internship (only applicable for some programs).
  
  Please check out ANU Programs and Courses website for specific requirements of the program. If you have any questions, please talk to CSS Student Services

The ANU College of Systems and Society facilitates many initiatives designed to increase the employability of its students. Among these are the engineering and computing internship programs.

The ANU also holds the Australian National Internship Program (ANIP). All of these opportunities
may be completed for course credit within your program.

Please contact the ANU Careers & Employability team at careers@anu.edu.au or book an appointment via Career Central. The team can support you with career planning, job applications, and decision-making, as well as help you navigate the application, interview, and selection process.

This means you can take courses offered by any ANU College, provided they are at the appropriate level, and you meet the prerequisites. This includes courses from your own College. For instance, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) students taking other ENGN courses.

The ANU College of Systems and Society (CSS) offers different individual and group project options in our programs. To learn more about the project courses currently available and which one is right for your program, visit the CSS research courses page. Information on processes for enrolling in project courses is available on the Project course processes page. If you have any questions about your project course, please contact us at student.css@anu.edu.au for a discussion on your enquiry.