HES
Monash Higher Education Studies (HES) Program
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Boost your ATAR
Your HES unit will become an additional VCE subject and if successfully completed can help boost your final ATAR.
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Earn credit towards your degree
If you choose to study a Monash degree you can receive credit from your completed HES unit.
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Complete your degree faster
Once you’ve earned HES credit points towards your degree you can lighten your study load or choose to finish your degree faster.
Fast-track your degree
Get a head start with your Monash degree by adding up to one or two additional units to your Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) exams. This incredible opportunity will help boost your ATAR and give you extra credit points in your first year at Monash University.
HES applications for 2026 are now closed.
Applications for 2027 VCE and HES will open in mid-2026.
Applications for Semester 2, 2026 Enrichment Electives will open in Term 2, 2026.
Units on offer
Astronomy
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Semester 1 – Earth to Cosmos [ASP1010]
This unit focuses on concepts that will allow you to gain understanding of key astrophysical phenomena. The topics covered include the night sky, the historical development of astronomical knowledge, our solar system, comets and asteroids, the sun, exoplanets, other stars, stellar remnants such as black holes, the Milky Way, other galaxies, quasars, dark matter, and cosmology in general.
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Semester 2 – Life in the Universe: Astrobiology [ASP1022]
This unit focuses on understanding astronomical, geological, chemical, biological and technological conditions necessary for primitive and intelligent life. The topics covered include: stellar and planetary formation, dynamics of planetary orbits, detection and properties of extrasolar planets, habitability, chemical and biological characteristics of life, how life first appeared on the Earth and more.
Climate change
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Semester 1 – Climate Change: Risks and Responses [CLI1100]
Climate change presents a challenge that society must meet head-on. In this unit, you will learn to view climate change as an intersectional problem with the potential to affect every part of human life. You will begin at the start of the story: how has our climate changed in the past, and how is it changing now? You will learn how to measure changes in the climate system, how to project these changes into the future, and how to predict the impacts that those changes might have.
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Semester 2 – Climate Change: Impacts and Adaptations [CLI1200]
We are transitioning into a new era, where a changing climate presents new challenges for society. You will learn how we can adapt, change and mitigate to prevent the most dangerous impacts of climate change. You will analyse the risks presented by climate change to biodiversity, food and water security, cities and settlements, health, mental health, society and the economy and pose responses to manage those risks. You will then consider the transitions required for the new normal and how to empower and enable those transitions.
Criminology
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Semester 1 – Understanding Crime [ATS1421]
You will consider crime as a social phenomenon and map key theoretical frameworks that have been advanced to explain crime and deviance. You will engage your 'criminological imagination' to understand the causes of crime, and significantly, which people are most likely to come into contact with the Criminal Justice System.
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Semester 2 – Criminal Justice in Practice [ATS1423]
The unit presents the administrative workings, functions and experiences in areas such as courts, sentencing, imprisonment, community corrections, parole and release. Importantly, we observe how the administration of justice is played out through the court system and consider punishments against themes of human difference, exclusion, human rights and social justice.
History
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Semester 1 – Revolution and Empire in the Modern World [ATS1610]
What defines the modern age? In this unit, you will explore three hundred years of history shaped by political, cultural, economic and scientific revolutions; expanding and disintegrating empires; periods of war, conflict, and disorder; and the circulation and clash of ideas about race, class, gender, and human relationships with the planet.
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Semester 2 – A world of exchange and encounter, 1050–1750 [ATS1611]
The modern world is founded on the concept of a rupture from the premodern past. In this unit, you will explore the world from 1050 to 1750 on a global scale to probe how societies were shaped by forces of colonial expansion and armed conflict, intellectual and religious debate, artistic and technological exchanges, economic imperatives and environmental pressures.
Linguistics and English Language
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Semester 1 – Cracking the language code: English and beyond [ATS1338]
Immerse yourself in the world of words! In this unit, we'll focus on English as a window into the languages of the world. We'll dive into the sounds (phonology) and structure of words (morphology), and their meanings (semantics). Plus, we'll investigate how different groups of people use these language features, and how they have shaped language over time.
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Semester 2 – Linguistic structure and language diversity [ATS1339]
Drawing on data from English and a range of other languages, we investigate the grammatical life of words — how they are built (morphology), how they are used to form larger units (syntax), and how this knowledge can be applied to experiences both inside and outside the education setting. We explore issues around intercultural communication, multilingualism and multilingual societies, as well as areas such as language and globalisation and language endangerment.