Information for Future Students

ECPS offers units in each of its disciplines at undergraduate, honours and postgraduate levels. It also offers the Bachelor of Performing Arts at undergraduate level and specialised postgraduate courses in which all study is completed within a section of the School.

• Undergraduate students study units from one or more of the School’s disciplines (areas of study) for credit towards their course: often as part of a specialised sequence called a minor or major.
• Undergraduates wishing to take a greater concentration of performing arts units can enrol in the Bachelor of Performing Arts. For more information see the Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies webpage and the Arts Future Students webpage.
• Honours students study a discipline program comprising four units.
• Postgraduates enrol in one of the School’s specialised courses choosing from a range of coursework diplomas and degrees, 100% Research degrees, or 66% Research degrees which combine both coursework and research.
• Individual unit enrolment is available via single unit studies or cross-institutional studies.

Unit Offerings

For information on what units the School offers go to the unit offerings page To enrol in units go to the Web Enrolment System (WES) or consult your Faculty about enrolment procedures for your course/faculty. See also Enrolment and Re-enrolment in the ECPS Student Services/Administrative Information section.

Course Offerings

If you are not already in a course at Monash you will need to be enrolled before you can study units with ECPS. See the Monash Future Students and the Arts Future Students webpages for more information.

• To apply for the Bachelor of Performing Arts contact the Faculty or Arts and/or VTAC.
• If you already have a degree and wish to undertake honours or postgraduate study please contact ECPS about how to apply. The ECPS Graduate Studies Officer will assist you with course offerings, admission procedures and entry requirements before recommending an academic contact with whom you can discuss the course further.

During August-September, ECPS participates in a range of events aimed at providing information about Undergraduate, Honours and Postgraduate Admission including Monash Open Day, Monash Research Month, and Faculty and School-run information sessions. If you are interested in any of these events please contact the School in July.

Scholarships

Monash offers a range of different scholarships to both local and international students. For further information see the Monash Future Students and Arts Future Students websites. Research applicants should also go to the MRGS and ARGS websites.

Honours

Honours applicants contact their Section Honours Coordinator to discuss their thesis proposal and unit enrolment. For information on lodging an application, contact the ECPS Graduate Studies Officer. See ECPS Honours for more information.

Postgraduate Coursework

‘Coursework’ is used to describe programs which are unit-based. ECPS offers postgraduate coursework programs in Communications, English, Film and Television Studies and Theatre Studies. All programs combine set classes with the opportunity to specialise in your own area of interest under supervision via a research project.

Graduate Research

ECPS offers both 100% research Master and PhD programs in Communications, Creative Writing, Drama, English, and Film and Television Studies and a 66% research Masters in English. Research courses in ECPS provide the chance to develop an individual research project on a topic designed in consultation with a discipline and combine detailed work in a particular area with broader training in appropriate research skills. The School also encourages students to undertake interdisciplinary and comparative research.

Research support/facilities

ECPS balances one-on-one supervision and resource support with activities designed to provide a supportive environment for all postgraduate students. A recent enhancement has been the introduction of a postgraduate resource room, including designated workspaces and drop-in facilities. Candidates are encouraged to take full advantage of the ECPS research community by becoming involved in the school reading group, email network, research seminars, postgraduate events and conferences as well as by accessing support aimed at establishing a reputation as a scholar in your field (e.g. conference and publishing support).

How to apply

• To begin, please contact ECPS. You will be asked to submit a pre-application inquiry form which is downloadable from the “How to Apply” section of the Arts Research website.
• Based on the information you give us we will recommend possible course options and a potential supervisor with whom you can discuss availability and your idea for a thesis.
• Once you have decided what course you wish to study, agreed on a supervisor and written a research proposal you will need to submit an application form. The ECPS Graduate Studies Officer is able to help you select the relevant application form and which process to follow.

For more information about Graduate Research at Monash see both the Monash Research Graduate School (MRGS) and Arts Research Graduate School (ARGS) websites.

Finding the right supervisor

If you want to study with ECPS, but are still trying to find a supervisor in your area of interest you can browse staff’s research interests by going to their Staff Profile (found under ECPS Sections and Centres). NB: staff members’ interests range widely so if you wish to work in an area not listed it may be possible for you to do so: please discuss this with our Graduate Studies Officer. You can also explore previous PhD candidates’ theses topics and supervisors by going to the ARGS PhD Thesis Database.

Writing the research proposal

Writing a research proposal is a serious academic task. A well-crafted proposal not only makes the application process smoother, but also provides a map for your subsequent research project once you are enrolled. As such we recommend that you take the time to develop your proposal in the context of discussions with a prospective supervisor(s) before formally applying for admission. For further information see How do I write a research proposal?.