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Master of Civil Ceremonies

Course description

The Monash Civil Ceremonies program established in 1997 provides the elite standard throughout Australia (also internationally) in professional training within Civil Ceremonies. The Master of Civil Ceremonies extends that program by promoting research in two critical areas: the significance of private and public ceremony in community life and, issues of effective practice in the design and presentation of ceremony. The course integrates four areas of study; civil celebrancy, cultural and religious traditions, oral history, and historical memory. This interdisciplinary approach reflects the breadth of professional expertise required of the community celebrant. Students who select the Civil Ceremonies Placement unit (CVL5090) will have opportunities to establish professional links within their chosen setting and to promote better understanding of ceremony in the community.

Graduates of the Master of Civil Ceremonies will be qualified to apply for registration as civil marriage celebrants, and will have the professional skills to design and conduct ceremonies to mark rites of passage and other ceremonies. They will also have gained advanced professional experience and theoretical expertise, and thus be able to make a significant contribution to the profession. The civil ceremonies program draws on teaching strengths across the school, and students have a number of opportunities to build professional networks through assessment tasks.

Course objectives

Students successfully completing this course will have:
1. the professional communication skills needed to be effective civil celebrants;
2. an understanding of legal and ethical obligations involved in being a civil celebrant, in relation to marriage and to celebrating other major life cycle events;
3. insight into the role of rites of passage within society for a range of groups;
4. an awareness of the range of ritual and religious traditions within contemporary Australian society;
5. awareness of the essential role of music, literature and life stories in the design and performance of effective ceremony;
6. (at 5th year) a capacity to reflect on the theoretical issues involved in ceremony and ritual across the community and the lifespan;
7. (at 5th year) a capacity to engage in original research relating to ceremony while attached to some community/professional group or organization.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline area with at least a 65% average in the final year, or successful completion of the Graduate Diploma in Civil Ceremonies.

Exit points

Students who have completed: