Honours Information for Prospective Students
Information for ALL students can be found in the honours information for current students.
Who can do Honours?
Students in Geography, Environmental Studies, Anthropology and Development Studies who achieve good results in their undergraduate degree are invited to apply to study for a further year to complete an Honours degree.
What does Honours involve?
The Honours year provides an opportunity to carry out an individual research thesis under the supervision of a staff member who is an expert in a related part of the discipline. During the Honours year, students also complete a review of the literature relevant to their research area, complete courses in research methods, attend a series of seminars and workshops and write an essay about the philosophy and scope of the discipline, and give a short presentation of their research findings. In Geography and Environmental Studies Honours, the non-thesis components of the degree comprise a single coursework subject. In Anthropology and Development Studies, these non-thesis components are organised as several separately assessed subjects.
Why do honours?
For many students, Honours is the most exciting and valuable year at University. Working with individual supervision and following up their special interests enables students to develop their research and writing techniques, and apply the knowledge gained in earlier years of undergraduate study to the solution of real problems. At the end of the year, Honours graduates can either seek employment, well equipped with the skills demanded by today's employers, or they can apply for a scholarship to enable them to proceed to postgraduate study at Melbourne or other universities.
Selecting your thesis topic
Choosing a workable (and rewarding) thesis topic is crucial to the success and enjoyment of your Honours year. You should be thinking about this during your third year, if not before. Decide which area within the discipline interests you most, then start to try to identify a problem which could be investigated within the very limited time-frame of fourth year Honours. It should be possible to frame your topic as a question – 'What is ... ?' 'How does ... ?' - so that you see clearly what you are trying to answer through your research. Your supervisor is there to advise you, but ultimately it is your responsibility to define the topic - that is an important skill to learn in research training.
As you work to define your topic, it is useful to think about the type of methodologies that interest you - do you want to work in a laboratory, to do field work, to devise and administer a questionnaire, etc? If fieldwork is involved, have you access to the transport that you need? Are you able to get away for the necessary length of time? Can you afford accommodation, or could youselect a research problem near a friend or relative with whom you could stay?
About half way through second semester the Honours Coordinator provides a handout with research ideas suggested by members of staff. You are under no obligation to choose one of these, but look at them to see if any interest you, or could be modified to suit other ideas of your own. You will also find the list useful as an indication of the size of topic you could handle, and of the most appropriate supervisor.
There are probably some staff that you feel more comfortable working with than others. With luck, they will be the ones who are interested in the same aspects of the discipline that interest you. Make an appointment to see one or two potential supervisors and discuss your topic with them: very few students hit on the one perfect idea straight away - most have to work to refine the idea over the first few weeks of their research - so be prepared to be flexible. It may be appropriate for you to negotiate to have two supervisors if you feel both could assist you with your project.
How and when to apply:
Application procedures, administered by faculties, are changing in response to the 'Nelson Reforms'.
Download here SSEE Honours Research Proposal form.
You should speak to at least two academic staff regarding the feasibility of your proposed topic and the possibility of their agreeing to supervise your research. It is important that you discuss your ideas with potential supervisors as you may need to clarify and refine your topic or change it altogether. You will need to gain the signature of an academic staff member on this form and the signature of the relevant Honours coordinator to be eligible to apply to do Honours. If you are at all uncertain about whom to approach regarding supervision, then ask for advice from the relevant Honours coordinator.
The application procedure then differs between the faculties of Arts and Science.
Offer letters and enrolment procedures:
Only an official letter from the Faculty constitutes an actual offer of a place in the Honours program. Verbal agreements regarding Honours study cannot be regarded as either an official offer or an official acceptance of a place in the Honours program.
The official letter of offer will ask you to:
Commencement of Honours:
Deferred entryIf you wish to undertake Honours in this School, but want to take a year off after completing your Bachelor degree requirements, it is possible to defer entry to fourth year. Students may take out their pass degree in the meantime. Places are not held for students who wish to return a year later, but they can reapply to the School on a form which is available from the appropriate Faculty office. If the delay is more than a year, the Arts Faculty may require you to enrol in a Postgraduate Diploma instead of an Honours year. If you do decide to apply for a deferral, it is essential (and your responsibility) to ensure that appropriate supervision for your proposed topic will be available when you do undertake the Honours year.
Mid-year entry
Mid-year entry to Honours is permitted. Mid-year entry students must consider doing the Research Methods modules in the February preceding the start of their Honours course. Please note that mid-year entry students who undertake the research modules preceding their official enrolment must have applied, and been accepted, to start Honours mid-year, and they must enrol and start Honours in July of the same year ie they cannot carry over the research module results for more than six months. If you do decide to to pursue the option of applying for mid-year entry, the following point is worth noting: In most years a separate mid-year application and selection round is held, in addition to the main round in November/December, except when Faculty quotas for that year have been filled or exceeded, in which case mid-year entry will not be available for Honours students in that Faculty. Contact your Faculty office to check whether they are accepting mid-year Honours entry.
Effectively deferred and mid-year entry are possible, but not an automatic right, and not always available every year. You should talk to the Honours Coordinator and your potential supervisor to gauge their opinion of your chances of being allowed to defer or start mid-year. You should also check procedures and availability each year with your Faculty office.