
Studying honours gives you the chance to develop your research and professional skills in a specialised area. It represents the highest level of training in an undergraduate degree within the Australian tertiary education system. Honours is an extra year of study that combines aspects of undergraduate study with those of postgraduate research.
Honours introduces advanced research training through the completion of a thesis or a creative or practice-based research project. Throughout your study, you’ll be guided by staff who are passionate about research and the development of new researchers. An honours year provides the satisfaction of advanced study, a close supervision relationship with an academic, the ability to engage in specialised research and enhanced job opportunities upon graduation.
Undertaking an honours year allows you to get your first real glimpse of what’s involved in being an academic. You’ll have the opportunity to devise your own thesis/research project and conduct an original investigation, analysis and reporting to complete your project.
Completing an honours degree brings many rewards, including:
At UNSW School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, the following disciplines can be combined with honours:
"Our recent graduates consistently reveal that the employment prospects of honours graduates are markedly superior to those with pass degrees, which suggests that employers, including those outside the biological field, value the extra training of the honours year."
Honours is a pathway to a postgraduate research degree such as a Masters by Research or a PhD. Studying honours is available to students who’ve attained a specific level of academic achievement in a particular program of study.
The general entry requirements into honours include the following:
If you have any unresolved WD, WC or NC grades, it’s your responsibility to sort these out with the relevant course coordinator and communicate this to your prospective supervisor and honours coordinator.
Assessment item | Value (%) |
---|---|
Paper-based on research project (8,000 words*) | 82.5 |
Project proposal (4,500 words*) | 12.5 |
Final seminar and interview | 5.0 |
Weighted total | 100 |
Notes: *These are absolute maxima and apply to all projects.
Considering BEES Honours? A good place to start is by reading through the application process and seeing what’s involved. Find out how to get started with our step-by-step guide.
There is a broad range of honours projects to ignite your interest, from plant ecology to paleo (and everything in between). Explore available projects and find contact details for the academics leading them.