About this major

This major is available to students outside the Medical Science stream.

This major will position you at the intersection of science and medicine, providing you with a fundamental understanding of human health and the mechanisms of diseases, their diagnosis, prevention and treatment. You will be equipped with the insights and skills to understand ongoing scientific discoveries, and apply that knowledge to clinical situations.

The ability to apply theory to practice in medical science is essential for professionals addressing major global health issues, such as mental health and neurodegenerative diseases, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, infections, cancer and auto-inflammatory disease. In this major you will learn the strategies by which medical science theory is translated into tangible health outcomes.

Through an understanding of fundamental medical science theory, you will learn the methods used to diagnose and treat human diseases, and how approaches to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human disease are developed and tested prior to implementation.

You will learn: the molecular basis of disease; how complex data generated in medical sciences are analysed, interpreted and communicated by the healthcare sector; how well-designed clinical trials can be used to test and verify the efficacy of new procedures and treatment options.

All this learning and application will occur in the real world in one of the most exciting and complex medical research and hospital environments: the new translational research hub at the University of Sydney Westmead campus.