Faculty of Arts
Student policies
- Student procedures, rules and policies in the undergraduate handbook.
Policy and guidelines
Download the full copy of the Faculty's Honours policy and guidelines.
This policy covers all aspects of the Faculty's honours courses, so you should read it carefully to know what to expect.
You should also read the application process for honours.
- Entry requirements for honours courses
- Time limits
- Structure of honours programs
- Joint and cognate honours
- Withdrawal and revision to honours program
- Honours results
Entry requirements for honours courses
The minimum standard admission for the Bachelor of Arts end-on honours degree course is an average mark of at least 65% in the Level 3 units of the major relating to the proposed disciplinary field of the honours course or equivalent, plus any additional requirements of the discipline(s) concerned (which may include specific units completed and required grades in specific units). Students should seek further information from the relevant discipline group(s).
Students who do not meet the standard requirements may still apply for admission to honours, but a special case needs to be made.
If you wish to apply for honours, you should approach the honours co-ordinator(s) of the discipline group(s) concerned shortly before you expect to complete your degree. The approval of both the discipline group(s) and the Faculty is required for honours entry.
It is Faculty policy to require that students complete all the requirements for the BA pass degree before they can be admitted to end-on honours.
Time limits
You may apply to be admitted to honours within seven years of completing your BA pass degree.
The honours course can be taken over two semesters full-time or three to four semesters part-time.
If you encounter medical or personal difficulties that hamper your progress, it is possible to extend the honours time limit by up to two semesters with special permission from the Faculty on the recommendation of the discipline group(s) concerned.
Work commitments rarely justify extension of the honours time limit.
If you do not need to extend your honours time limit, but wish to request an extension on your dissertation submission date, you should discuss this with your discipline group honours co-ordinator in the first instance.
Extensions of longer than two weeks should be reported to the Faculty on a special approval form.
Structure of honours programs
Honours programs in the Faculty normally consist of a 24-point dissertation (split into two 12-point semester halves) and 24 points worth of coursework seminars (split into a combination of 6 and 12-point semester units).
However, there are exceptions to this standard and students should refer to the discipline(s) concerned for further advice on this matter.
Joint and cognate honours
It is possible to take a joint honours course if a suitable program is approved by both of the discipline groups concerned and the Faculty.
You are expected to take an absolute minimum of 18 points from each of the two disciplines to qualify for joint honours, although some disciplines may require more.
Students wishing to undertake a smaller amount of study in a second discipline during their honours year may be eligible for a cognate honours program.
Withdrawal and revision to honours program
Individual honours programs will be approved by the Faculty when students first enrol in honours.
If you want to make subsequent changes to your honours program, you should submit to the Faculty for approval a change of enrolment form and a revised honours program signed by your discipline group's honours co-ordinator.
The dissertation is treated as a single full-year component
Although the dissertation is split into two separate semester-long codes, it is normally treated as a single full-year component of the honours program taken across two consecutive semesters in both part-time and full-time honours programs.
Students who withdraw from their dissertation enrolment (for example, by changing from a full-time to part-time honours program) should note that they will require the permission of their discipline group honours co-ordinator and the Faculty's academic student adviser if they wish to re-enrol to complete the dissertation at a later date.
You are advised to discuss the implications of any proposed revision to your honours program with your discipline group honours co-ordinator and the Student Office.
Honours results
You enrol in a separate unit code for each of your honours components, including a separate code for each semester half of the dissertation.
A mark will be allocated at the end of each semester for each individual unit enrolment, with the exception of the dissertation 1 unit (first half of the dissertation), which will be graded as AC (Assessment Continuing) as this is a part-unit only.
The results for dissertation 2 and all seminar units taken will be used to calculate the overall honours result in accordance with the formula applied in the relevant discipline group(s) (which will normally involve a proportional weighting of each honours component).
Honours results will be classified as follows:
- First Class Honours (H1) 80-100 per cent
- Second Class Honours Division A (2A) 70-79 per cent
- Second Class Honours Division B (2B) 60-69 per cent
- Third Class Honours 50-59 per cent
Results for individual components and the overall honours classification will appear on your academic transcript.
If you began your honours program before 2004
Students who first enrolled in their honours program prior to 2004 will have received XX (part unit only) results for their individual honours components and for the sake of consistency will continue to receive XX results for the rest of their honours enrolment.
Only the overall honours classification, which will still be calculated as described above, will appear on the academic transcript for these students.
Further details of results in individual honours components are available from the relevant discipline group.
Census dates for units of study and last dates to withdraw apply
The census dates for units of study and last dates to withdraw each semester apply to honours units.
Failed honours units cannot be repeated
If you fail an honours unit, you will not be permitted to repeat it and will have your mark factored into the calculation of your overall honours result.