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Arts Research Degrees

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The PhD program enables you to complete an extensive, independent research project under the supervision of an expert academic. When completed this research should make a valuable contribution to the current body of knowledge on your chosen topic.

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Master of Arts

A Master of Arts degree by research enables you to undertake substantial independent research project (30,000–40,000 words) on a chosen topic under the supervision of an academic.

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Master of Arts (Creative Writing)

This research course involves the development of creative writing of 20,000–25,000 words along with an exegesis (a scholarly, self-reflective critique) of 10,000–15,000 words. The creative writing component may be in the form of a novel, a novella, a group of short stories, a play, a group of plays, a sequence of poems or a portfolio of creative works of various genres.

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Master of Arts (Music Composition)

The degree enables composers to develop a distinctive compositional voice and to research and acquire a range of compositional techniques. Students must create a folio of original compositions that demonstrates the ability to work in various media including traditional, electro-acoustic and contemporary solo and chamber combinations. Students will also write a critical commentary that demonstrates their capacity for research into compositional approaches and musical aesthetics in the context of contemporary music. Through regular work in the studios, students acquire knowledge of music technology and an understanding of music technology as a compositional tool.

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Master of Arts (Theatre Performance)

The degree offers the opportunity to combine creative output with practice based research. This can take a variety of forms including plays, productions, films or musicals. Students will be required to develop and present a live performance in a public venue and submit a critical commentary. The performance will normally be 50–60 minutes and the commentary 10,000–15,000 words. The equivalent combined word total is 35,000 to 40,000 words. The performance will normally be in directing, theatre making, dramatic writing or theatre design. It will embody the results of the research, including the contexts, theoretical influences, aesthetic elements and performance making processes of the project. The critical commentary will be an explication and analysis of the performance research project which will address methodological and theoretical issues that arise during the research investigation.

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Master of Bioethics

This research program focuses on ethical issues raised by medicine and the biomedical sciences. It will be of interest to health care professionals, teachers in the health care field and those with a general interest in the area. Areas of research strength include ethical issues in patient care, the ethics of clinical trials, ethical problems of resource allocation, medical end-of-life decisions, new reproductive technologies, nursing ethics, surrogacy, disability and discrimination, moral psychology and moral development.

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Master of Environmental Science

Candidates undertaking the Master of Environmental Science by research are expected to submit a thesis of 30,000–40,000 words. Minimum candidature for all research students is one year full-time or two years part-time. Research topics are decided in consultation with staff in the student’s chosen discipline.

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Research and Coursework Degrees

The Faculty of Arts also offers a range of coursework degrees with substantial research components.

Find out more about Arts research and coursework degrees.

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