School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
Honours Information 2012

An Honours degree in the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
The Honours program is a great challenge, with a rigorous period of sustained hard work resulting in a BSc(Hons) thesis which will hopefully be a source of pride. Honours is a period of independent research and training in advanced analytical and research skills in collaboration with an academic supervisor in a topic chosen in your area of interest, and in one of the research areas within the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. The Honours program is based on a research project and there are no formal subjects. The successful completion of this period of study will indicate that you have further advanced skills in research, report writing, oral presentations, project management and data analysis and interpretation. Therefore, Honours will provide you with further future opportunities, such as jobs which require a higher level of skills and possible entry into postgraduate studies, such as a PhD. Please see also the UOW Honours Website for additional information regarding honours.

There are two start dates for Honours in 2012:  Monday, 6 February 2012, or Monday, 16 July 2012.

Admission into Honours
Students must normally achieve a weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 70 for the 24 credit points of 300-level subjects of an Earth and Environmental Sciences major (e.g., physical geography, human geography, geology) relating to the honours discipline. Students must also have satisfied their degree requirements (please check with the Associate Dean of Science). Graduates from other Universities may also apply to undertake Honours at the University of Wollongong providing they meet equivalent requirements to those at the University of Wollongong.

Deciding on Honours Project Options
As soon as possible, students should approach academic staff members to discuss possible options for projects. It is a good idea to first decide on the general area of research that appeals to you. Please find the research area and interests of particular academics with in the School at: the School Research Page and the individual Academic Staff Page, Research Academics.

Applying for Honours
You need to have a suitable project and supervisor arranged prior to submission of your application. The Head of School will only approve entry into Honours if a suitable project and supervisor are nominated in the Honours application [attach a page with title of project, brief summary of project (< 200 words) and name(s) of supervisor(s)]. The summary of the project must be signed by the supervisor and added to your application.

Applications should be submitted no later than 2nd Friday in December in the year preceding enrolment; however, it is preferable to submit an application in October/November prior to the determination of your results. Late applications will be accepted, although this will result in delays with enrolment. Note that Honours projects can also begin mid-year and that applications should be submitted no later than 30 June. Application forms are available from Uniadvice in the administration building (36) or can be downloaded from: http://www.uow.edu.au/student/honours/applicationinformation/index.html. Applications are submitted to Uniadvice and will take probably at least one month to be processed.  BSc Adv (Hons) students are able to enrol directly in EESC401 on SOLS.

For any enquiries regarding your enrolment please contact Uniadvice (Building 36, Ph 1300 367 869) or see the following web site regarding Honours enrolment: http://www.uow.edu.au/student/enrolment/UOW008285.html.

Timeframe for Honours
The start date for Honours Students is 6 February 2012 and the finish date is 10 October 2012. (For students operating in a mid-2012 to mid-2013 cycle, the start date is 16 July 2012 and the finish date is 3 April 2013). The Faculty of Science has determined that the maximum length of a full-time honours project is 35.5 weeks (37.5 weeks for the mid-year cycle) with an official start date that can only be changed in exceptional circumstances by prior arrangement. Required materials which can take some time to organise, such as aerial photographs, should be ordered well before the start date. Requests for extensions as a result of failure to order essential materials in time will not be considered.

School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Honours Program Components
The Honours program in 2012 contains five components, namely, two seminars presented by the candidate; the production of a thesis; submission of an outline of the Honours Project including a literature review; and attendance at School and Research Centre seminars designated as benefiting Honours students.

1) Seminar 1
Length 5 minutes plus 5 minutes question time.
Presented by the candidate in weeks 5/12 March (13 August for students starting in Spring Session).
The subject is an outline of the candidate's Honours project.
No marks are given for this seminar.

2) Seminar 2
Length 15 minutes plus 5 minutes question time.
Presented by the candidate on or near the 6/13 August (28 January 2013 for students starting in Spring Session).
The subject to be based on thesis work, its progress to date, future work anticipated, and problems encountered.  A scientific rather than logistical talk is required but also with the intent of receiving feedback and advice from staff and your peers.
No marks are given for this seminar.

3) Outline of Honours Project including a review of relevant literature
To be completed in the Outline of Honours Project template as provided.
Due at noon, 19 March to be submitted to the School Administrative Assistant (27 August for students starting in Spring Session).
The Outline will be read by two markers (two academics in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences in addition to the student’s Supervisor).
It will be assessed as either Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory.

4) Thesis and associated materials
Topic to be approved by the Head of School in consultation with the proposed supervisor.
Thesis to be submitted by noon, Wednesday, 10 October 2012, to the School Administration Assistant.  [The submission date for students operating in a mid-2012 to mid-2013 cycle is noon, Wednesday, 3 April 2013.]
A single electronic copy of the thesis (pdf format including maps, figures, appendices, specimen lists on one of the following: CD-ROM, DVD) is to be submitted. This material constitutes the “assessable thesis”. An electronic copy will be kept within the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, and via the ‘Honours Thesis Declaration Digital Copy’ form, the open access digital archive in the University of Wollongong Library (after approval by the School assessment committee).
The thesis should not exceed 25,000 words and may well be less than this.
100% of final mark.

5) Attendance at Seminars
Honours students are encouraged to attend a wide range of School and Research Centre seminars.

Further information
For further information on Honours please contact:

Chris Fergusson, Honours Coordinator (02 42213860)
cferguss@uow.edu.au

Leah Gibbs, Honours Coordinator (02 4298 1547)
leah@uow.edu.au

Marina McGlinn, Honours Student Liaison (02 4221 4396)
mmcglinn@uow.edu.au

Please see also:
SEES School Research Page
SEES individual Teaching & Research Academic Staff Page, Research Academics
The UOW Honours Website
The Faculty of Science Honours Information
UoW Code of Practice – Honours: Policy which outlines all aspects of honours policy at UoW, including the responsibilities of supervisors and students.