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Course Work and Minor Dissertation

1. Admission to Candidature
1.1. Applicants for admission to candidature for the degree of Master of Economics shall have fulfilled the requirements for admission to a degree or qualification of equivalent standing at this or another university or tertiary institution, provided that the degree or qualification:
(a) is accepted by the school on the advice of the course coordinator or nominee as sufficient qualification for admission to the proposed course of study; and
(b) required a minimum of four years of full-time study, or required three years of full-time study and, in addition, the applicant has completed a preliminary program of postgraduate study at a sufficiently high level and in a field of study considered appropriate by the school on the advice of the course coordinator or nominee as being adequate preparation for candidature, or the applicant has provided other evidence to show to the satisfaction of the school that he or she is adequately prepared for candidature; or
(c) is accepted by the school on the advice of the course coordinator or nominee as having gained a Credit or better in 200-, 300- and 400-level units and a pass or better in 500-level units towards satisfying the requirements of the Qualifying Course for Admission to Candidature for the Degree of Master.

1.2. An applicant for admission to candidature, on an on- or off-campus, full-time or part-time or basis shall apply as prescribed, by the prescribed date.

1.3. Enrolment in the Master of Economics is available on a Commonwealth supported basis only.

2. Appointment of Supervisor
Upon approval of an application for admission to candidature, the school shall appoint a supervisor, who shall be a member of the teaching or research staff of the University or an associate of the University (equivalent to the rank of Academic Level B or higher). The supervisor shall advise and supervise the candidate during the period of candidature. The supervisor shall report to the school annually on the progress of the candidate, if required to do so by the school, and carry out any other duties delegated by the school. The supervisor may recommend to the school that the candidate be withdrawn from candidature, in such cases, the candidate shall be given the opportunity to show cause why such action should not be taken.

3. Approval of Course of Study
After admission to candidature candidates shall have a course of study and dissertation or thesis topic approved by the relevant head of school or nominee on the recommendation of the course coordinator.

4. Requirements for the Master of Economics Degree
4.1. On the approval of the course coordinator, a candidate shall proceed to the degree by completing units, from among units at 300, 400 and 500 level, to the value of at least 72 credit points comprising course work and a minor dissertation to the value of 24 credit points.

4.2. A candidate may include units to the value of not more that 24 credit points at 300 level.

4.3. (a) To satisfy examiners, a candidate must achieve a minimum grade of Pass in 500-level units. For all other approved units, a minimum grade of Credit must be achieved.
(b) A candidate may select one unit from either ECON591 or NEBS591.
(c) A candidate must include a Research Methodology unit in his or her program. In special circumstances and with the approval of the course coordinator, a candidate may substitute another unit for the Research Methodology unit, where it has been deemed that the candidate has completed an equivalent unit in a previous award.

5. Minor Dissertation
5.1. A candidate may enrol in one of the units, ECON591 or NEBS591, and submit a dissertation embodying an original investigation of a topic within an approved field of study.

5.2. Except with the permission of the school, on the recommendation of the candidate's supervisor, the dissertation shall not exceed 20 000 words of text, excluding appendices.

5.3. Except with the permission of the school, a candidate shall not submit a dissertation until all other course work is complete.

5.4. A full-time candidate shall be required to enrol in and complete the dissertation over one semester; in all other cases candidates shall be required to enrol in and complete the dissertation over two consecutive semesters, which shall not include the first semester of candidature unless advanced standing has been granted and the period of candidature has been reduced.

6. Period of Candidature
6.1. A full-time candidate shall pursue the approved course of study for not more than 18 months; in all other cases the maximum period of candidature shall be four years from the date of commencement of candidature.

6.2. In exceptional circumstances, the school may vary the requirements of Rule 6.1. by:
(a) extending the period of candidature for a period or periods totalling not more than 12 months; or
(b) granting leave of absence from candidature for a period or periods totalling not more than 12 months and the period of such leave of absence shall not be counted as part of the prescribed time of candidature for candidates enrolled in units ECON591; NEBS591.

7. Period of Attendance at the University
Except with the permission of the head of school or nominee, on the recommendation of the course coordinator, a candidate shall be in full-time attendance at the University or arrange other forms of personal contact with the supervisor for a minimum of five days during the period of enrolment in the relevant 591 unit for a candidate undertaking a dissertation.

8. Restrictions
A candidate who has failed to satisfy examiners in one of the units in Rule 4.3.(b) may be readmitted to candidature after a period of at least three years. Except with the permission of the school, a candidate who is so readmitted and who intends to present a thesis or dissertation must undertake a research topic substantially different from that of the original thesis or dissertation.

9. Advanced Standing
At the discretion of the head of school on the recommendation of the course coordinator, a candidate may be granted advanced standing for course work units only passed prior to admission to candidature, provided that such units have reasonable correspondence with units offered by the school for the degree and at a level judged to satisfy the requirements of Rule 4.3.(a) for up to 24 credit points, except as prescribed by Advanced Standing Rule 3 on the basis of units that have been successfully completed towards a postgraduate qualification at this or another university or through other significant learning that the school considers equivalent for candidates undertaking course work and a minor dissertation under Rule 4.3.(a).

10. Submission of Dissertation
10.1. The candidate shall:
(a) not present as a thesis or dissertation any work that has been submitted for the award of a degree or Graduate Diploma at this University or another institution, but the candidate will not be precluded from incorporating such work in the thesis or dissertation provided that, in presenting the thesis or dissertation, the part of the work that has been so incorporated is indicated;
(b) state specifically on the title page that the work is a minor dissertation;
(c) state generally in a preface to the dissertation and specifically in notes the source of information and the extent to which the candidate has availed himself or herself of the work of others (candidates are referred to the University Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct);
(d) incorporate in the thesis or dissertation immediately following the title page an abstract of approximately 300 words.

10.2. Submit two soft bound copies and one unbound copy of the dissertation (printed or typewritten), together with a statement from the supervisor certifying that the thesis or dissertation is in a form suitable for examination, to the school.

10.3. (a) At least one month prior to the date of submission candidates shall inform the school of their intention to submit a thesis or dissertation.
(b) The school shall, on the recommendation of the course coordinator, appoint two examiners.

11. Examination of Dissertation
11.1. (a) Normally within one month of receipt of the dissertation the examiners shall decide whether to recommend that the dissertation be given the grade of Fail, Pass, Credit, Distinction or High Distinction, or that it be revised for re-examination.
(b) In cases where a candidate has been required to revise the dissertation for re-examination, the dissertation shall be given the grade of Pass or Fail.
(c) The examiners shall submit to the school their report on the dissertation, together with their recommendation on the grade.
(d) The examiners may consult with the supervisor prior to preparing their report.
(e) The examiners' recommendation and report shall be sent to the supervisor who may, if he or she wishes, submit comments to the school.

11.2. (a) After considering the examiners' recommendation and report, any comments from the supervisor and any recommendation from the Examining Committee, the School Teaching and Learning Committee may:
(i) recommend that the dissertation be given the grade of Fail, Pass, Credit, Distinction or High Distinction; or
(ii) allow the candidate to revise the dissertation for re-examination; or
(iii) appoint an additional examiner.
(b) The candidate, the candidate's supervisor and examiners shall be informed of the decision and, in addition, the candidate shall be provided with a copy of the examiners' report.

11.3. After the school has recommended that the dissertation be passed, one copy of the dissertation shall be deposited in the Dixson Library.

12. Award of the Degree
When the candidate has met all of the requirements for the degree, the school will recommend that the candidate be admitted to the degree.

13. Appeals
If the school is of the opinion that a dissertation should be failed, the candidate shall be given the opportunity to make a case to the school against being failed. Any such appeal must be confined to questions of fact or interpretation arising from the examiner's report and shall be lodged with the Head of School within one month of the notification to the student of the school's decision. The appeal shall be referred to the Chair of the relevant Committee who may consult with the examiner. The result of the appeal is then reported to the School's Teaching and Learning Committee and it shall act in terms of Rules 11.2. and 11.3.