What is honours? (1 Viewer)

[pungpui]

sorry but not too sure exactly what honours are? do you need to be the absolute top of your class to do em?? or just distinctions or something? and whats the percentage average of people doing honours in commerce?

 

[Survivor39]

honour is an additional year to some degrees that is invovled with a research project, or just normal coursework.

generally speaking, you need a credit average to get into an Honours year, however, you are also competing a spot with others who also wants to get into honours. so they take the top, say 5 students, for this particular project and you would have to choose some other projects (which you might not like).

 

[Survivor39]

It doesent really give you any extra benefits in regards to qualifications, but it does look nice on ur resume and would probably set you apart to potential employers

maybe in the faculty of Commerce and economics....
but in science, it does wonders!

 

[§eraphim]

I dont know, im just saying what ive been told

Another benefit is that if in the long-term performing well at your Honours year (1st class honours awarded - wam >85) allows you to pursue a PhD (otherwise a strong Masters in research, not coursework). These postgrad qualifications can lead to employment in the uni in research which can suit ppl in the later yrs of their life.

Honours does give you advantage over other candidates because:

- they are selective in their choice of candidates. Not only do you to have demonstrated strong academic performance, you need to show that you are genuinely interested in research which means giving a considered proposal on your research topic.
- an Honours year provides you high-quality training in research (referring to journals, learning and applying new computational techniques, etc) as well your general communication skills, especially written and speaking skills.
- a person in their Honours year may be offered part-time work as a tutor or research assistant at the uni which can potentially lead to some full-time, permanent position in the uni for the lucky or exceptionally bright.

However, you do miss out on a year's worth of work experience and pay.

Summing up, honours is good. But for those who know how to make use of that extra yr.

 

[Generator]

My cousin does a finance honours at UWS. You dont do the full workload that undergrads do. I think you only do 1-2 units. You have an advisor to guide you with ur research project. It doesent really give you any extra benefits in regards to qualifications, but it does look nice on ur resume and would probably set you apart to potential employers

Ah, I hope that you realise that the thesis/research project is a part of the workload for an Honours student? Your post seems to imply that the year is far from difficult/demanding and that the year only leads to an improved resume... Great stuff.

I'm applying for an Honours year at the moment. My SciWAM isn't that bad, and with the current lack of a competitive entry process for the school... For me, the extra year is primarily a way to study something interesting for a change, but I cannot deny that it is also useful as a way to graduate with more than a basic BSc without having to complete my BA (one year rather than two, in other words).

As for employment prospects... Eh, what happens, happens.

 

[1000words]

Based on my understanding, there is a huge difference between honours depending on the discipline.

In science, particularly in the biomedical sciences, it's an extra year where you basically work full-time on a project. It's very practical, research based.

In commerce, I believe it can be a year of coursework (lectures/subjects) or thesis or both. Same with arts.

In engineering, it is an optional project in fourth year.

In law, honours is awarded on the basis of the average mark of your entire undergraduate studies. You would graduate 'with honours' as opposed to being awarded an honours degree.

I hope that helps! I am sure that others will be able to provide more detail and clarification according to their personal experiences.

 

[Minai]

Commerce is a combination of coursework (usually research seminar's and advanced topics) and a research thesis that is supervised

 

[doe]

Based on my understanding, there is a huge difference between honours depending on the discipline.

...

this varies between universities.

 

[doe]

As for employment prospects... Eh, what happens, happens.

its a good second chance for those who forgot to apply for those graduate recruitment programs too

 

[Zarathustra]

What are these graduate recruitment programs, Doe?

 

[doe]

many companies (big and small) have specific programs for hiring people who have just graduated from uni. these programs are what all the law/finance fanboys are hoping to get into. applications usually open in the middle of the year. each position has thousands of applicants, so it takes a long time to wade through them. i know the macquarie uni careers development office has a list of all the comapnies graduate programs, the fields they recruit from and the application dates. you can probably find more info at http://www.gradlink.edu.au/

[edit] also have a look at this thread http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?t=52465

grad recruitment programs are pretty dodgy