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Honours in Communications & Media Studies

The BComn (Hons) and BArts (Hons in Communications) courses equip students with a level of research skills far beyond that acquired in studies for the pass degree. An Honours degree is a prerequisite for entry into postgraduate research degrees. It is also highly valued in the employment market as evidence of an applicant’s ability to undertake independent work, to think critically, and to produce clearly written reports.

Professional Skills and Graduate Pathways Enrolling in Communications Honours Scholarships and Awards Program

Professional Skills and Graduate Pathways

The Honours degree is intended to foster students’ development of the following skills:

  • Skills of analysis - being able to sort and distinguish information according to logical criteria, becoming more aware of causal links, and acquiring a more sophisticated sense of intellectual discrimination;
  • Skills of synthesis – being able to make connections, sometimes unexpected, to devise conceptual frameworks of your own, and to be able to re-organise facts or ideas in different and improved ways;
  • The capacity to marshal ideas and arguments in the form of a thesis.

Research shows that people who have these generic skills usually have a greater degree of intellectual flexibility, are more adaptable, and more capable of learning new materials and concepts. Also, in so far as they have learned more about the complexities of social and political life, they will have acquired a greater capacity for reasoned communication and judgements. There is no doubt that employers value people with more flexible, better informed and more creative minds. An Honours degree qualifies you for higher-level employment and for a more interesting range of jobs in research, communication, administrative or critical spheres—-in either the public or private sector.

Graduate Pathways

The communications industries in the twenty-first century are rapidly changing and have recently witnessed exponential growth. As a result, there is a need for new research to respond to the development and uptake of digital technologies, the transformations in the cultural uses of traditional media technologies, the changing policy and regulatory environment in the shift towards globalisation, and the emergence of new audience formations. Undertaking Honours in Communications enables students to contribute to this growing body of knowledge, and also provides students with a strong platform from which to engage in higher degree research in these areas. Opportunities for further research in the field of communications are extensive.

Postgraduate Studies in Communications & Media Studies

Enrolling in Communications Honours

Scholarships and Awards

For information on scholarships available to Communications Honours students see the ECPS Scholarships and Prizes webpage.

Honours Prize

The Communications & Media Studies section has established two prizes to recognise and reward outstanding academic achievement in the fourth-year Honours program: the Best Honours Thesis prize and the Best Overall Honours Result prize. These are decided by the Honours Coordinator on the basis of final results, and are awarded annually.

Program

The Communications & Media Studies Honours co-ordinator is Associate Professor Gil-Soo Han.

Further information regarding what is generally required of Honours students can be referred to on the ECPS Honours webpage.

Course Structure

For information on how to build your Honours in Communications & Media Studies see the Arts Areas of Study – Honours section.

Units available:

To check the availability of units, and to their view current handbook entries, please enter the relevant unit code and click submit.

Progression

The Honours program is deliberately designed to facilitate cross-pollination of thesis and coursework units: ideas/methods/approaches/theorists introduced in your coursework units should always be weighed for their usefulness to your developing thesis plans. Progress from first semester to second semester enrolment is demonstrated in the following ways:

Progress in your thesis is recorded on the Honours Thesis Interim Progress Report which your supervisor will discuss with you.

Honours Dissertation Topic Seminar

The Honours dissertation is researched over the course of two semesters but is written up (in the form of a 15,000-18,000 word thesis) in the second semester of full-time Honours enrolment. As part of normal progression through the thesis, students are expected to present their research proposal to the Communications section staff and students at the mid-year Dissertation Topic Seminar in June. This event is designed to showcase your research proposal and dissertation design to a community of staff and peers; detailing the theoretical and methodological approaches you plan to use, how your research will complement existing research in the field, and any additional outcomes you plan from the completed project. The seminar allows you to receive constructive feedback on your research project prior to the writing-up period.

Presentation Format

You will formally present your proposed topic for 10 minutes, followed by a 10-minute question and answer session where you will field queries from both staff and fellow students. At the beginning of the presentation all students should distribute a 1-2 page A4 handout summarising key aspects of the proposed topic and including a list of references consulted (examples from previous years’ students will be circulated).

The seminar will run for a full day, and students are expected to attend their peers’ presentations so they are aware of other students’ projects and potential common ground with their own research.

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