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Search : Index : Faculty of Arts
Prev 5. Combined arts degrees
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6. Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
6.1. Applying for Honours
6.2. Eligibility
6.3. Honours entry for BA combined degree students
6.4. Honours degree requirements
6.4.1. Honours grade requirement
6.4.2. Workload
6.4.3. Leave of absence
6.4.4. Over-enrolment
6.4.5. Extensions of time
6.4.6. Study completed overseas, interstate or at another local university
6.4.7. More information
The BA (Honours) degree is an advanced and specialised course of study requiring a higher standard of performance than for the pass degree. It enhances your ability to acquire advanced skills of analysis, to develop original ideas, and to apply innovative solutions to complex problems. The BA (Hons) involves one additional year of study at fourth-year level. Students may specialise in one area of study (pure honours) or two (combined honours). Entry to the honours degree must be approved by the department/s concerned and the Faculty.
Commencement of honours must occur within five years of the completion of your degree course.
As well as the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) combined degrees, the application process described below should also be followed for applications to the following programs:
Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) Honours
Bachelor of Creative Arts (Honours)
Bachelor of Letters (Honours)
Bachelor of Public Policy and Management (Honours)
Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)
Applications for honours entry are made via the University of Melbourne on-line application system at http://sis.unimelb.edu.au/cgi-bin/course-application.
After submitting application details via the web, your application must also be printed and lodged, with any required attachments, at the Faculty of Arts Office (ground floor, Old Arts Building, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010) no later than 31 October (for semester one entry) or 31 May (for semester two entry). For further details please visit http://www.arts.unimelb.edu.au/futurestudents/applying.htm.
Prospective students with a degree from outside institutions must have completed within the last five years a sequence of study in a particular discipline that is deemed equivalent to a major sequence of study at the University of Melbourne.
In order to be eligible for admission to fourth-year honours you must have:
satisfied the requirements of a BA or BASc degree within the last five years and;
completed a major in the particular area/s of study, including any prerequisite subjects specified by the department/s concerned and;
attained the appropriate standard across the major/s.
An appropriate standard is usually an average grade of H2A or H2B over the second/third-year subjects of the major/s. Refer to the individual area of study entry for information on the minimum standard required.
In some circumstances, prospective honours students may, with departmental support and Faculty approval, be permitted to enrol in a maximum of one 12.5-point subject in order to fulfil outstanding subject points requirement of the BA (Pass) degree. If approved, the final subject of the BA (Pass) degree will be taken concurrently in the first semester of enrolment in the BA (Honours). This option is not available for BA combined degree students or for the purposes of completing a major sequence in the proposed honours area of study.
Students who do not meet the entry requirements for the BA (Honours) degree may be eligible to apply for the Postgraduate Diploma in Arts. This course also allows students to undertake a research project in a specialist field of study. Admission to the Postgraduate Diploma requires the completion of an undergraduate degree with a major in an approved area of study usually with a grade average of at least H2B (70%) in the final year of the course. The course is similar in structure to the BA (Honours) and provides an alternative pathway to higher degree research. For more information on which areas of study are available see Postgraduate diplomas or the University's postgraduate course guide.
Applications for entry to the Postgraduate Diploma in Arts are made via the University of Melbourne on-line application system at: http://sis.unimelb.edu.au/cgi-bin/course-application.
After submitting application details via the web, your application must also be printed and lodged, with any necessary attachments, at the Faculty of Arts Office (ground floor, Old Arts Building, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010) no later than 31 October (for semester one entry) or 31 May (for semester two entry). For further details go to: http://www.arts.unimelb.edu.au/futurestudents/applying.htm.
In most cases BA combined degree students can be admitted to the BA (Honours) program. Before you are admitted to fourth-year level studies, however, you must complete your arts component as well as enough relevant subjects from your combining degree to allow you to take out the BA pass degree if you were to discontinue your combining degree. You will not be eligible to graduate with the BA (Honours) degree until all the requirements of your combining degree are met. Please consult the Faculty's honours course adviser for specific advice.
In order to meet the requirements for the BA (Honours) degree, you must complete 100 points of study at fourth-year level. Pure honours usually consists of 62.5 points of coursework and a thesis of 37.5 points. Combined honours usually consists of the thesis and two coursework subjects in one area of study (37.5 + 25 = 62.5 points) and three coursework subjects in the combined area of study (37.5 points).
You are required to achieve an honours grade (ie. H1, H2A, H2B, H3) for each component of assessment in fourth year, and an overall grade of at least H3. Your overall grade will be based on the weighted average of your marks for each component of your fourth-year studies: this is known as your final examination (FE) result.
If any of these requirements are not fulfilled, you will only be eligible for the BA pass degree. A pass (P) or fail (N) grade in any component of assessment will disqualify you from taking out the BA (Honours) degree.
Fourth-year studies are usually taken full-time. In exceptional circumstances (such as work commitments, ill-health etc.), and with both departmental and Faculty approval, you may be permitted to take your fourth-year studies part time over a maximum of two years.
You will not usually be permitted to transfer to part-time studies after commencing fourth year, nor will you be permitted to withdraw from fourth-year subjects after the first two weeks of each semester without departmental and Faculty approval.
In all cases, your thesis must be completed over two consecutive semesters within a 12-month period of enrolment. Withdrawal from the thesis will only be permitted in very exceptional circumstances.
University of Melbourne BA (Pass) degree graduates who have been accepted into honours may, with departmental approval, defer the commencement of their fourth-year studies for a maximum of 12 months.
Once you have commenced study at fourth-year level, leave of absence will only be approved in exceptional circumstances and with the support of the relevant department/s. The maximum leave that will be granted is two semesters (12 months). If you are granted 12 months leave you must complete your studies within a maximum of three years of the original commencement date of your fourth-year studies.
Students who wish to resume a discontinued University of Melbourne honours degree must follow the application process outlined above. See Applying for Honours.
In all cases, the BA (Honours) degree must be recommenced within five years of the completion of the BA (Pass) degree.
Over-enrolment in the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) is not permitted. Students wishing to complete more than 100 points of study at fourth-year level must apply to enrol in any additional subjects through the Community Access Program (CAP), see Community Access Program (CAP).
Extensions of time for outstanding work during fourth-year studies (eg. as a result of illness) may be granted to 31 December (30 June for Semester 1 subjects and mid-year-entry year long subjects). Extensions must be approved by the relevant head/s of department or honours coordinator/s.
Any further extensions will require the prior written approval of the Associate Dean (Academic Programs) as well as the written support of the Head of Department. Extensions past 31 December or 30 June may attract additional course fees.
Under certain circumstances you may be given credit for studies undertaken at an overseas or interstate university up to a maximum of 37.5 points for pure honours and up to 25 points in each area for combined honours to an overall maximum of 37.5 points.
In the case of studies completed at another local university, students may be permitted to undertake up to 37.5 points of coursework for pure honours. They may undertake up to 25 points in each area for combined honours to an overall maximum of 37.5 points.
Grades for work completed at other tertiary institutions will be translated by the relevant department/s and the Faculty for the calculation of your final examination (FE) result.
If you wish to study abroad, interstate or at another local university, you must seek the prior approval of both the relevant department/s and the Faculty of Arts. Approval will depend on the appropriate level, weighting and standard of subjects, and, for the thesis, the provision of suitable co-supervision arrangements. Interested students should contact the honours course adviser in the Faculty of Arts Office.
More detailed information about the honours degree can be obtained at the Faculty of Arts Office.
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