The University of Western Australia
School of Humanities
 
 

School of Humanities

History

Further information

Co-ordinator

Dissertation

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Updated 28 Mar 2011

Honours in History gives you the opportunity to better your knowledge, research skills and career prospects.

  1. Benefits 
  2. Structure
  3. Eligibility
  4. Enrolling
  5. Majors
  6. Submission requirements

Benefits

Apart from the intrinsic interest of studying history at a deeper level, an honours degree in history can open many doors.

It demonstrates that a student has developed high-level written communication skills, as well as other abilities in critical thinking, analysis, argument and synthesis. It also indicates that a student has developed a sufficiently deep knowledge of the past to understand that it is essential to look to the past to understand the present.

 
Honours graduates in history have entered a variety of careers. These include ministerial policy officers, teachers, librarians, museum curators, public servants, archivists, as well as academics. History honours graduates from UWA include Kim Beazley, a former Federal opposition leader; Senator Louise Pratt; Mat Trinca, Deputy Director of the National Museum of Australia; Dr Felicity Morel-Ednie-Brown, Director Northbridge Study Project.
 

Our 2011 Honours Information Pack provides you with information about our honours course, including details of the seminars on offer in 2011 and how to apply.

All applications for History honours must be approved and counter-signed by the Chair, Associate Professor Jeremy Martens. 

Structure

The honours course consists of:

  • Level 2 and/or Level 3 units (total 24 points)
  • honours dissertation (24 points)
  • honours seminars (at the discretion of the discipline chair and subject to numbers).

Honours students taking these courses are expected to perform at a higher standard than students in the pass degree.

If there are insufficient units available in a given year that a student has not already completed in their pass degree, it may be possible, in consultation with the discipline chair, to arrange a reading unit or special honours unit (subject to student numbers and teaching commitments).

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Eligibility

The History discipline’s requirement for admission to honours is that you have attained an average mark of 70 per cent or above in the History units you have taken.

If you do not exactly meet those requirements you may still apply, but a special case would need to be made.

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Enrolling

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Planning your major

If you are thinking about doing honours in the future, you will need to take the availability of units into account when you plan the units in your major. The four Level 2 units will usually be run every year. For Level 3 units, two of the five are usually offered each year on a rotating basis (and subject to staff availability). Which two of the Level 3 units are offered in a given year will not usually be decided until the June of the preceding year.

If you have any queries about your major, contact the discipline chair. 

Honours students are welcome to discuss their coursework and research projects with any of the academic staff in History, especially their supervisor.

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Submission requirements

Dissertation

You will need to negotiate a topic and supervisor. In the first instance, this should be discussed with the discipline chair.

If you are still unsure, staff can suggest potential topics. 

  • A formal written proposal developed in consultation with your supervisor is due around week six of the semester. Your supervisor will give you the exact date.
  • The dissertation, of 10,000-15,000 words, is due on the last teaching day of the second semester.
  • All copies of the dissertation must include a declaration coversheet.

There will be two examiners, neither of which can be your supervisor. Students are expected to submit three copies of the dissertation and an electronic copy for archive purposes.

Students are also required to give a formal presentation on their dissertation topic at the end of the second semester. This presentation forms part of the assessment of the dissertation.

Due dates for formal written proposals in 2011 are Friday 18 March for Semester 1 and Friday 19 August for Semester 2.

Honours seminars

In addition to the final formal presentation, students may be required to participate in honours seminars throughout the year.

These may include discussions of research methodology, presentation and discussion of students' formal proposals, and presentations on students research topics leading up to the final presentation.

The honours program is viewed as part of a broad education in History, and students are encouraged to develop their knowledge across the discipline, beyond the dissertation topic and unit content. Students are expected to attend academic seminars presented by the History discipline, and are strongly encouraged to attend relevant symposia or conferences.

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