You are here: University of Sydney / Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences / Department of Indonesian Studies / Undergraduate Study / Honours

Honours in Indonesian Studies

Entry Requirements and Program Structure
Assessment
Seminars
Thesis
Thesis Supervision
Enrolment
Contacts

Overview

‘Honours’ is an intensive year-long program of advanced study with research at its centre. The Honours year enables students to engage with the subject of their major in depth by undertaking research of their own, under the supervision of an expert in the their field. For some students, Honours is the culmination of their formal education while for other students, Honours is the first step on the path to careers as professional researchers and academics. Many staff in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences find Honours teaching the most rewarding part of their job.

Entry Requirements and Program Structure

Students need to have results at Credit (65%) level or better in eight Senior units of study (48 credit points) in Indonesian studies if they wish to take Honours. Department permission is required for enrolment in honours. Candidates in Indonesian studies will have normally also completed one of the following: ASNS2661 History of Modern Indonesia; ASNS2663 Social Activism in Southeast Asia; ASNS2664 Southeast Asia Transformed. They are also encouraged to take ASNS3690 Approaches to Research in Asian Studies as part of their undergraduate study.

Students whose bachelor's degree was undertaken at another university, or students who completed their bachelor's degrees at the University of Sydney more than two years ago should contact the Honours Coordinator to discuss whether the classes they have taken are equivalent to these prerequisites.

Back to top

Assessment

Honours in Indonesian Studies consists of a thesis of 18000-20000 words and two seminars in each of which students are required to produce 6000-8000 words of written work. Each seminar meets weekly for 2-3 hours. The thesis is worth 60% of the final mark, and each seminar is worth 20%. While students will receive marks for all pieces of assessment, their academic transcripts will record only the final, overall Honours mark.

Seminars

The following seminars are on offer in the current year:

  • Semester One: Theory and Method in Asian Studies (Dr Olivier Ansart)
  • Semester Two: Engaging Asia (Associate Professor Michele Ford)

Thesis

The honours thesis constitutes an original piece of research and writing in a field that is supervised by a member of staff. It amounts to 18000-20000 words of writing in English, and must demonstrate both a command of a wide range of primary source material in Indonesian, as well as a command of a particular disciplinary or interdisciplinary approach to the topic of the research.

Thesis Supervision

Contact the Department's Honours Coordinator to discuss your preferred field of Honours study. The Honours Coordinator will then be able to suggest the most appropriate member of staff within the department to supervise the thesis. The list below, whilst not exhaustive, gives an idea of the areas of interest of staff from the Department.

  • Dr Dwi Noverini Djenar supervises in Indonesian language and linguistics, based on approaches in discourse analysis, semantics, pragmatics, stylistics (the analysis of literary and non-literary texts), and sociolinguistics.
  • Associate Professor Michele Ford supervises in * Labour * Social activism * Social change * Politics * Development.
  • Dr Keith Foulcher supervises in contemporary Indonesian culture and literature.
  • Vannessa Hearman supervises in History of Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia and East Timor * Southeast Asian activism * Violence and genocide in Asia * Cold War in Asia and its effects * Transnational activism.
  • Prof Adrian Vickers supervises in Australian and Indonesian relations * Indonesian art and culture * Indonesian history and politics * Southeast Asian history * Colonial history.
  • Dr Peter Worsley supervises in Islam, Trade and Society: Arabia to Southeast Asia * Research and Methodology.

Recent theses

Back to top

Enrolment

In the first instance you should discuss your intention to apply for Honours with the Honours Coordinator. Students will enrol in INMS4011, 4012, 4013 and 4014. These, however, are merely generic or ‘shell’ units for your coursework component.

Enrolments are completed online. Go to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Honours webpage for further information on Honours and on the online enrolment application procedure.

Contacts

The Honours Coordinator can answer any queries relating to the Honours program.

Back to top