Which subjects make up the UEC science stream?

The Senior science stream is built on Physics, Chemistry and Biology, taken as three separate subjects with three separate grades, in the same way IGCSE treats them.

The mathematics is the part people underestimate

Alongside Mathematics, science-stream students take Advanced Mathematics I and II. This is the most commonly noted difference between the UEC science stream and other systems at the same age: the mathematical content is heavier, and it reaches further into material that other systems leave to pre-university.

That has two consequences worth knowing. It is demanding while it is happening. And it is one reason universities abroad have long been comfortable admitting UEC science students into mathematics-heavy degrees on the strength of the certificate.

Chinese paper or English paper

The science and mathematics subjects are among those offered in both languages: the same syllabus and the same examination, set in Chinese or in English. A student sits one version.

The choice is worth thinking about rather than defaulting. A student intending to study in English afterwards — in Malaysia, Singapore, the UK or Australia — builds the technical vocabulary of the subject in the language they will use later by taking the English paper. A student heading to Taiwan or China has the opposite argument. Either way, the vocabulary is subject-specific and does not transfer by itself, which is why the decision belongs with the student's teachers.

What it leads to

The science stream is the standard route into medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering and the science degrees, and it keeps the widest range of options open at the end of Senior 3. It is also the heaviest stream, and a student who takes it because it sounds safest, rather than because the subjects suit them, pays for that across three years.

As always, the requirement that matters is the one published by the course being applied to: it will name the subjects it wants and the grades it wants in them.

高中理科以物理、化学与生物为主，三科各自独立、各出一个成绩，与 IGCSE 的处理方式相同。

最容易被低估的是数学

除了数学，理科生还要修高级数学 I 与 II。这是统考理科与同龄其他学制之间最常被提到的差别：数学内容更重，而且延伸到其他学制留到大学先修阶段才处理的材料。

这带来两个值得知道的结果。读的时候确实吃力；但这也是海外大学长期以来愿意凭统考文凭录取理科生进入重数学学位的原因之一。

华文卷还是英文卷

理科与数学科目属于提供双语版本的那一批：同一份考纲、同一场考试，分华文与英文命题，学生只考其中一个版本。

这个选择值得想清楚，而不是随大流。打算之后以英文求学的学生——在马来西亚、新加坡、英国或澳洲——考英文卷，等于用往后要用的语文建立该科的专业词汇；打算前往台湾或中国的学生，理由则相反。无论哪一种，专业词汇是逐科建立的，不会自动转移，因此这个决定应交给学生的任课老师一起判断。

之后能走什么路

理科是升读医学、牙医、药剂、工程与各理科学位的标准路线，也是高三结束时保留最多选择的一条。它同时是最重的一个分流；如果只是因为“听起来最保险”而选，而不是因为科目适合自己，这三年会付出代价。

一如既往，真正算数的是所申请课程公布的要求：它会指明要哪些科目、要什么等级。

Which subjects make up the UEC science stream?统考理科包含哪些科目？