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Admission to Candidature

1. Admission to candidature shall be determined by the Higher Degree Research Committee on the recommendation of the head of school concerned.

2. Except with the permission of the Higher Degree Research Committee, to qualify for admission to candidature, an applicant shall have fulfilled the requirements for a degree of this University or have fulfilled the requirements for a degree or other qualification of equivalent standing of a university or other institution recognised by the Higher Degree Research Committee for this purpose, provided that the applicant either:
(a) has passed a final honours examination with First or Second Class Honours or the equivalent in a subject or subjects appropriate to the proposed course of study; or
(b) holds other qualifications approved by the Higher Degree Research Committee as equivalent to those specified in Rule 2.(a); or
(c) has passed a Master of Arts (Honours) Preliminary course or such other course or courses as the Higher Degree Research Committee deems equivalent.

Course Requirements

1. Subject to the approval of the Higher Degree Research Committee and the disciplines concerned, a candidate may proceed to the degree by either (a) thesis, or (b) portfolio of creative works, or (c) a combination of both, as determined on admission to candidature. A portfolio of creative works may include literature, music compositions, performance, or other items approved by the Higher Degree Research Committee on the recommendation of the head of school concerned. The portfolio will include an essay linking the individual items thematically or in terms of intellectual development. Where a candidate proceeds on the basis of both a thesis and a portfolio of creative works the length of the thesis and of the essay will be stipulated on admission to candidature by the Higher Degree Research Committee.

2. The candidate shall pursue a course of study in one of, or a combination of, the subjects listed:
Ancient History; Archaeology and Anthropology; Asian Studies; Chinese; Classics (Greek and Latin); English; French; Gender Studies; Geography; German; History; Indigenous Studies; Indonesian; Islamic Studies; Italian; Japanese; Linguistics; Media and Communications; Music; Peace Studies; Political and International Studies; Psychology; Studies in Religion; Theatre and Performance; Writing.

Conditions of Candidature

1. The candidate shall:
(a) pursue a course of study approved by the head of school concerned in either:
(i) not less than one year and not more than two years of full-time study, or
(ii) not less than two years and not more than four years of part-time study;
(b) each Master of Arts with Honours candidate is required to spend periods in 'face-to-face' consultation with his or her supervisor(s). The nature and extent of such consultation will be determined by the supervisor(s) and head of school after consultation with the candidate prior to commencement of each year of candidature.

2. On the recommendation of the head of school concerned, the Higher Degree Research Committee shall appoint one or more supervisor(s) for each candidate. Where two or more supervisors are appointed, one shall be nominated the principal supervisor.

3. The supervisor(s) shall report bi-annually to the Higher Degree Research Committee on the progress of the candidate's research. Where progress is considered unsatisfactory the candidate shall be informed of the circumstances and may be required to show cause why he or she should not be withdrawn from candidature.

4. The candidate shall report bi-annually to the Higher Degree Research Committee on his or her progress.

5. Without the special permission of the Higher Degree Research Committee a candidate may not be enrolled concurrently for another postgraduate degree or qualification at this University or at another institution.

6. (a) A candidate may withdraw before the due date for the submission of the thesis and/or portfolio of creative works.
(b) If a candidate does not submit the thesis and/or portfolio of creative works by the due date, the candidature shall be deemed to have lapsed.
(c) A candidate may be deemed to have failed only as a result of the examination of a submitted thesis and/or portfolio of creative works.

7. (a) A thesis shall not exceed 50 000 words of text, excluding appendices, references, tables and diagrams.
(b) The candidate shall state generally in the preface of the thesis and/or portfolio of creative works and specifically through references or other documentation the sources from which the information is derived, the extent to which the candidate has availed himself or herself of the work of others, and the portion of the work the candidate claims as original.
(c) The candidate may not present as the thesis any work that has been the basis of the award of a degree at this or another university, but will not be precluded from incorporating such in the thesis provided that, in presenting the thesis, the candidate indicates the part of the work which has been so incorporated.

8. The candidate shall submit submit one unbound copy and two soft bound copies of the thesis and/or three copies of the portfolio of creative works to the Higher Degree Research Committee, together with a certificate from the candidate's supervisor(s) indicating that the academic style and manner of presentation of the materials are appropriate to the discipline. The candidate shall also submit an electronic copy of the thesis in a form approved by the Committee. On the award of the degree the unbound copy of the submitted materials shall be deposited in the Dixson Library.

Examination

1. The candidate shall give three months' notice to the supervisor(s) of intention to submit a thesis. The principal supervisor shall subsequently inform the Higher Degree Research Committee.

2. On the recommendation of the head of dchool concerned after consultation with the principal supervisor, the Higher Degree Research Committee shall appoint three examiners of whom one may be within the University and the others must be external to the University. The thesis and/or portfolio of creative works shall be sent to two of the examiners who shall report on its merits. The remaining examiner, who must be external, shall be held in reserve. The Higher Degree Research Committee may, after consultation with the head of school concerned, appoint examiners for the portfolio of creative works other than those appointed for the thesis.

3. (a) Each examiner shall make a separate written report to the Higher Degree Research Committee.
(b) The examiners' reports shall be sent to the candidate's supervisor(s) who may, if they wish, submit comments to the Higher Degree Research Committee. The Committee may request comments from the supervisor(s).

4. In the event of a disagreement between the examiners, they normally will be asked to consult and report to the Higher Degree Research Committee. If the examiners are unable to reach an agreement, following their consultation, the Committee, on the recommendation of the head of school concerned, shall refer the reports to an examining committee appointed by the Committee for a recommendation.

5. (a) After considering the examiners' reports and any comments from the supervisor(s) and any recommendation from the examining committee, the Higher Degree Research Committee may:
(i) recommend the award of the degree with honours; or
(ii) recommend the award of the degree with amendments to the satisfaction of the supervisor(s) and/or head of school; or
(iii) refer the thesis and/or portfolio of creative works to an additional examiner or examiners who may be or include the reserve examiner; or
(iv) require the candidate to sit for such written or practical examinations as the Committee may prescribe; or
(v) allow the candidate to revise the thesis and/or portfolio of creative works for re-examination if, in the opinion of the Higher Degree Research Committee, the work is of sufficient merit to warrant this concession; or
(vi) fail the candidate.
(b) The candidate, the candidate's supervisor(s) and the examiners shall be informed of the decision and, in addition, the candidate shall be provided with copies of the examiners' reports.
(c) A candidate who has revised the thesis and/or portfolio of creative works in terms of paragraph (v) and who fails the re-examination shall not be eligible for any further examination.

Re-enrolment

1. A candidate who withdraws from candidature shall be eligible to apply for re-admission to candidature, provided that:
(a) the proposed topic of study and/or portfolio of creative work is unrelated to that of the original candidature; and
(b) one year has elapsed since withdrawal from candidature.

2. A candidate who has failed in a previous candidature or whose candidature was deemed to have lapsed shall be eligible to apply for re-admission to candidature, provided that:
(a) the proposed topic of study and/or portfolio of creative work is unrelated to that of the original candidature; and
(b) three years have elapsed since the submission of the earlier thesis or the date on which the candidature was deemed to have lapsed.

Preliminary Course

Candidates must complete a course of study sufficient to enable them to meet the normal requirements for entry to the course. The program for any preliminary course shall be determined by the Higher Degree Research Committee on the recommendation of the head of the school in which study is intended. The general rules of the faculty shall apply to the preliminary program.