Undertaking Honours

Students who have successfully completed their undergraduate coursework requirements (144 credit points) are encouraged to pursue an additional Honours year. The Honours program is a 48-credit point course, comprising one year for full-time internal and external students, or two years for part-time internal and external students.

The basic Honours entry requirements are that the student has:

• Achieved a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5.5 in the relevant qualification.
• Passed units to the value of at least 48 credit points in the discipline in which the candidate wishes to proceed. However, with the approval of the Head of School, up to 12 credit points in another discipline may be substituted.
• Attained at least Distinction standard in 18 credit points at 300 level in the subject in which the candidate wishes to proceed.
• Fulfilled any additional requirements prescribed and published by the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

The Honours Coordinator for each discipline can provide further information. For advice on choosing a supervisor and topic for your Honours year, see the relevant discipline links below.

Honours is a 48 credit point course. Full-time students undertake this in one consecutive year, part time students over two years. Honours involves a mixture of coursework and a thesis.

It is important to choose your thesis topic wisely. Generally, you should have a proposal in mind before you even start your Honours program. Ideally, you should have clear idea of the area in which you want to research before you enrol. If you haven't settled on a fairly precise thesis topic, you should talk to your potential supervisors to define the focus of your investigation. This is a more urgent consideration for full-time students, but part-time students should have settled on their topic by second trimester (at the latest). You should not expect your supervisor to provide you with a ready-made topic, although they may suggest lines of enquiry. It is important that you have a real sense of ownership in, and commitment to, your thesis and this is more likely to happen when the topic is of your choosing.

Because your honours thesis must be completed within a fixed period, it is essential that you settle on a topic that can be properly completed in the time available. You cannot afford to ask questions you will be unable to answer, so avoid issues and problems that are too broad. You need to bear several very practical things in mind when deciding on a topic. You must know whether your topic has been covered by existing scholarship and whether there are important, unexplored questions to be asked. You must also be confident that your sources are both available and accessible.

Your Honours degree is a supervised degree. This means that in both the coursework and thesis components you will work very closely with a member of staff who has expertise to supervise in your chosen field. Your supervisor may direct all or part of your coursework. They will certainly supervise your thesis research and writing. In many ways your supervisor is the most important person in your scholarly life during this period because he or she does most to introduce you to academic practice and the requirements of advanced study.

You will be required to maintain close communication with your Honours supervisor throughout your Honours program. This may be take place in person or via email, Skype or through phone conversations.

You must understand what your supervisor can and cannot do for you. An Honours supervisor is an adviser who will try to guide you in your research and writing. The first thing you can expect guidance with is the selection of your thesis topic. It is rare for staff to direct a student to a particular topic; more often a student has an area of interest they want to explore further and sometimes a specific question they want to resolve. Once a topic is agreed your supervisor will usually help you map out a plan of attack and a timetable for your writing, as well as the various elements that will comprise the coursework component of Honours.

In the early stages of your research your supervisor is likely to ask questions that will, by the challenges they present, help you refine your topic and organise your work.

The following steps outline the process of applying for and admission into Honours study with the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) at UNE:

1. Discuss your plans for Honours study with the Honours Coordinator from the relevant discipline. It is advised that you begin this process 6 weeks prior to the application date.
2. Approach a potential supervisor in the relevant discipline to discuss possible candidature and thesis topic and then complete a thesis proposal form.
3. Apply online using the link below and attach your thesis proposal.
4. After applying online, your application will be assessed by the School and you will be notified in writing of the outcome. You will not be admitted to Honours in HASS until your proposal is assessed, accepted and appropriate supervision has been arranged.

Apply online

The School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences offers the following Honours programs:

• Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
• Bachelor of Criminology (Honours)
• Bachelor of International Studies (Honours)
• Bachelor of Media and Communications (Honours)
• Bachelor of Music (Honours)
• Bachelor of Social Science (Honours)
• Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours)