History of Health at Deakin
Disability Studies and Special Education
1980-1989
The Bachelor of Arts (Disability Studies) and the Bachelor of Education (Primary)
Special Education Interest Area (a fourth year for teaching students) were
offered in the Faculty of Special Education and Paramedical Studies at Victoria
College on the Melbourne Burwood Campus. These courses were known for producing versatile
graduates with wide-ranging skills, but who also had specialised knowledge
in intellectual, visual, physical and hearing disabilities. In 1989, the Diploma
of Intellectual Disabilities was introduced as a vocationally oriented course,
designed to prepare professionals to participate in the delivery of services
to persons with an intellectual disability. The Faculty changed its name to
the Faculty of Special Education and Disability Studies.
1990-2005
After the 1992 merger with Deakin University, the Department of Disability
Studies was formed within the Faculty, encompassing the Bachelor of Arts
(Disability Studies), the Bachelor of Applied Science (Intellectual Disability)
and the Graduate Diploma in Special Education. In 1993, the Faculty of Health
and Behavioural Sciences was formed; by 1994, the two undergraduate degrees
had been merged into one award, the Bachelor of Applied Science (Disability
Studies) in the School of Studies in Disability (later the Institute of Disability
Studies). The award continued to run until the end of 2005 when it was discontinued and a Disability Studies major was offered as part of
the Bachelor of Health Sciences.
The Graduate Diploma of Special Education was phased out in 1998. The Graduate Certificate was phased out in December 2007 with the Graduate Diploma of Disability Studies being phased out in December 2008. The Master of Disability Studies was phased out at the end of 2002 followed by the Master of Health Science (Disability Services) at the end of 2003. The Graduate Diploma of Disability Studies (Leadership) was phased out in 2004.
The current awards now reside in the School of Health and Social Development within the Faculty of Health.
Health Promotion: 1992-2005
Health Promotion was first offered at Deakin University in 1992 as a major
and professional science sequence in the Bachelor of Applied Science at the
Rusden Campus. The Course Coordinator was Lawry St Leger, who later became
the Dean of the then Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences. A Graduate Diploma
in Health Education was offered for teachers and health professionals in
the same year. In 1993, a three-year Bachelor of Applied Science (Health
Promotion) was introduced, comprising four groups: Foundation studies, Science
major study, Elective or optional studies, and a Health Promotion major study.
A Health Promotion major was also still offered by the Faculty of Science
and Technology as part of its Bachelor of Applied Science.
In 1994, the Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Promotion) was offered from within the School of Nutrition and Public Health in the then Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences. Also introduced was an honours year, as well as a Graduate Diploma of Health Education for health professionals and teachers. In 1995 the Graduate Diploma of Health Science (Health Promotion and Health Education) replaced the Graduate Diploma of Health Education, and a Master of Public Health was introduced in association with a consortium of three other universities: The University of Melbourne, Monash University and La Trobe University. This award continues today. The Master of Health Science (Health Promotion and Health Education) was introduced in 1996. In 1997, the School moved to the Melbourne Burwood Campus and was renamed the School of Public Health, Nutrition and Exercise Science in 1999 and then the School of Health Sciences in 2000. The Health Promotion and Public Health awards now reside in the School of Health and Social Development in the Faculty of Health.
Health Sciences: 1997-2005
The Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Studies) was offered for the first
time in 1997 at the Melbourne Burwood Campus as an award in the then Faculty of Health and
Behavioural Sciences. It was developed as an innovative, generic undergraduate
program within the health sciences field, drawing from and complementing
the specialist fields already on offer, in areas such as human movement,
sport coaching, health promotion, family and consumer studies, food science,
nutrition, psychology, studies in disability, and nursing. In 1999, the award
name was changed to the Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Sciences), and
in 2001 the award moved under the auspices of the School of Health Sciences.
In 2003, an honours degree was introduced, although it has been possible
for students completing Health Sciences to undertake an honours degree in
their major sequences since 2000. The award now resides in the School of
Health and Social Development in the Faculty of Health.
