Honours

Introduction

Korean pop act by Thai "girls" in Pattaya, Thailand

ANU is a major world centre for teaching and research on Asia and the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific is the leading centre for Asian Studies in Australia, unrivalled in the breadth of its interests and the depths of its expertise. In the Faculty of Asian Studies at ANU, an Honours year is an opportunity for those who have completed a good pass degree to undertake independent research on a chosen topic in one of the world's leading universities in the study of Asia. As an Honours student you will have access to a wealth of Asian expertise across disciplines and to the extensive holdings of ANU and the National libraries. You will have expert supervisory guidance and you will share your experience with other Honours students in the Faculty, working in a variety of disciplines on many of the countries of Asia. As a member of the large, varied and vigorous ANU Asia research community, you will also be in touch with the latest thinking on many issues as expressed by visitors and ANU people in the University's frequent seminars, special lectures and conferences on Asia.

Preparing for the Honours year

A drummer at a funeral in Bangkok

Students who are proceeding directly from a Pass Degree (whether at the ANU or another university) to the Honours Year should begin serious work for their Honours Year immediately after they have completed their Pass Degree examinations. Before the end of the semester before starting the Honours Year they should have discussed with their prospective supervisors their thesis topic so that they can immediately begin reading and collecting relevant material. Before course work begins students should have seriously considered their thesis topic and made necessary preparations. They should also be present in Canberra well before the semester starts. By the time the semester begins they should have read a substantial amount of material on their topic and should have had further discussions with their supervisor/s about the basic structure of their thesis and their research plan.

Another peaceful demonstration is "monitored" by MP in Seoul

Application procedures

Your letter of application should be submitted by the 31st of October (though late applications will be allowed in 2008; see also main page). It will include:

• A research proposal brief description of your proposed research topic;
• The name of a member of the ANU academic staff (could be some one outside the Faculty of Asian Studies) who has agreed to be your supervisor on this topic;
• Indicate what elective course(s) you plan to take. You are not required to stay with these choices, but to change them will need the approval of the Faculty Honours Committee. A list of all available courses can be found here. Make sure you check in what semester a course is running. Please note, however, that some courses listed here may not run after all because of a lecturer's illness, or him or her suddenly taking leave etc.

NB-1: it is recommended that the Honours supervisor/s are chosen from among the Faculty staff, or otherwise ANU's College of Asia and the Pacific.
NB-2: Students may, with the Dean's permission, take the Honours Program part-time, over four consecutive semesters. The Honours Committee may give special permission to combined degree students to begin their Asian Studies Honours while completing a single course needed to finish their other degree.

A convenience store in Tapshimni, Seoul

Successful applicants

Successful applicants are expected to subsequently obtain a letter of support from the potential supervisor(s) based on their research proposal before the Honours year begins. This letter should include a statement that the supervisor(s) is/are satisfied that the student is qualified to carry out the proposed research topic within the time available and that they are willing to supervise if appointed. If the potential supervisor will not be available for significant periods of the Honours year the letter should set out what additional supervisory arrangements will be made. This letter should be submitted to the Administrator of Graduate & Advanced Programs before the start of the 1st semester of the Honours year. The number of courses that a student has applied to do must also be assessed by the Honours Committee at the same time. Honours students will ensure that their proposed coursework, research topic and supervision arrangements have been submitted to, and approved by, the Honours Committee. For this they must also submit a Honours Program form by the start of the 1st semester of the Honours year (along with the above-mentioned letter of support from their supervisor and Honours thesis research outline).

The Pearl Sisters' good looks helped them to sell many records in Korea in the 1970s

NB: Students wishing to defer from an admitted place in the Honours year must submit a written request to the Administrator of Graduate & Advanced Programs. The letter of request should be made in consultation with the students Supervisor, and should state the reasons for the deferment. Requests for up to 12 months deferment are usually readily granted, but a persuasive case must be made for a longer deferment and should state how this period of deferment will contribute to the planned Honours program.

• The Honours year begins on the first day of the first semester of the academic year. It consists of two consecutive semesters when done full-time, four consecutive semesters when conducted part-time. Students who are accepted into the Honours Program enrol in either ASIA4000 Asian Studies IV Honours (Annual Full Time) 48 units or ASIA4010 Asian Studies IV Honours (Annual Part Time) 24 units. These course codes represent the Honours Program - students are not required to enrol in specific courses.

Samoan rugby legend Brian Lima at his final winning game

A convenience store in Japan

A convenience store in Hohhot, Mongolia

Structure and content of the Honours year

The work completed in the Honours Year consists of:

• An Honours thesis representing 60 or 70% of the total grade for the Honours Year. The Honours thesis is to be written in English and is 15,000 to 20,000 words in length.

• Two Honours seminars, one (currently Textual Strategies) assessed, one (Work-in-Progress) not assessed. All Honours Year students must participate in the unassessed Work-in-Progress Seminar. This Seminar Series covers approaches to academic research and writing, and discussion of each student's thesis proposals and the progress of their work. Attendance is compulsory, but there is no assessment applied to the final Honours grade.

• One or two other 6 unit semester-length courses of third year standard. These electives (taking one is mandatory; taking two is optional) may be taught in the Faculty of Asian Studies or, with the agreement of both Faculties, in another Faculty. They must be related to the field of study of the thesis topic. One course may be a supervised study course. NB: many students choose to do a reading course in the language important to their research. We do not usually recommend taking an elective in the second semester for obvious (time constraints and possible use) reasons.

NB: if you choose to do two electives, then the total of 4 courses will make up 40%; your thesis will count towards 60%. If you take only one elective, the total of 3 courses will count towards 30%, with your thesis making up the remaining 70%.

Working rules for the Honours year

These are the working rules for the Honours year in the Faculty of Asian Studies:

Thesis submission and format
Three copies of the thesis must be submitted to the Administrator Graduate and Advanced Programs by the due date. In 2009, the due date is 30 October. One hard copy will be retained by the Faculty. Thesis requirements and submission dates will be available from the first day of the first semester.

The thesis is required to be 15,000-20,000 words in length and written in English. It will comply with the specifications on format and binding as laid down by the Faculty. Requests to vary these requirements can only be considered by the Honours Committee in exceptional circumstances. For all requirements for Honours theses click here.

The examination of the thesis and the classification of the Honours degree
At the end of the Honours year the Honours Committee makes a recommendation to the Faculty on an overall grade and class for that student's Honours degree. The Honours Committee takes into account both the thesis and the assessed coursework for the Honours year. Coursework done for the pass degree or degrees is not taken into consideration.

The Honours seminars and all the assessed coursework, including the assessed Honours Year seminar will count for a total of 30%, and the thesis will count for 70%, to the overall grade. In the exception when an additional course is chosen to be taken by the student, and approved by the Committee, the ratios change to accommodate the additional course (40% from coursework and 60% from the dissertation).

The thesis will be examined by two examiners who have not taken part in the supervision of the thesis. Examiners will be approved by the Honours Convenor in consultation with the Supervisor/s. The student will normally be informed of the names of the intended examiners before they are appointed. An examiner will not normally be appointed when the student has objections.

Examiners are required to evaluate the thesis separately and independently. Each examiner sends a suggested mark for the thesis and a report in writing to the Honours Committee. The Committee, in consultation with the examiners when possible, addresses any differences in the proposed marks to reach an agreed grade for the thesis. The thesis grade is then aggregated with the coursework marks dependent on the approved weighting (normally 30:70 or 40:60). The resulting mark out of 100 determines the class of the Honours recommended by the Committee to Faculty in accordance with the following table:

80-100.............First class honours
70-79..............Second class honours (division A)
60-69..............Second class honours (division B)
50-59..............Third class honours
Less than 50.....Fail (but eligible to take out pass degree if not already taken)

Students will receive anonymous copies of the examiners' reports when notified of their final results. Students may request certification of their performance from the Faculty after the results are approved for any reason that the results are needed before receiving the University's testamur (degree certificate) on graduation. Depending on the pass degree completed, students graduate with the degree of Bachelor of Asian Studies (Honours) or Bachelor of Asian Studies (Specialist) (Honours).

List of theses of recent Honours students (2002-2007)

Please have a look at this list of previous Honours theses topics. It is not exhaustive, but it may be intriguing to know that it also includes our Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's excellent thesis, "Human Rights in China: The Case of Wei Jingsheng" (1980).

Scholarships

ANU offers Honours scholarships each year. For more information, click here.

Contact information

Our contact details can be found on the main page, here.