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Thesis, project & honours

Honours

The University awards honours at graduation to students who achieved a high level of academic performance throughout their degree, including a significant research component of the research thesis.

Honours is based on the Honours Weighted Average Mark (HWAM) using the formula HWAM = SUM(Mark*Credit Point*Year_Level)/SUM(Credit Point*Year_Level) incorporating each unit of study attempted (1000 level units not counted and research theses weighted double).

Completing the research thesis is an essential component of obtaining honours. Students are invited to do the research thesis in their final year based on their ISWAM being over 65.

ISWAM means the weighted average mark calculated from the results for all 2000 and 3000 level units of study (including non Engineering units) with a weighting of 2 and 3 for the respective levels.

ISWAM = SUM(Mark*Credit Point*Year_Level)/SUM(Credit Point*Year_Level) for 2000 and 3000 level units

See the Engineering Faculty Handbook for the formal resolutions

Research Thesis or Project

Thesis or Project is a core requirement for all students. It is generally taken in the last year of study and a prerequiste is successful completion of 30 credit points of 3rd year units of study.

  • There is no significant difference between the two subjects in terms of expectations or procedure, except that all Research thesis topics have to contain a genuine research component, and these can be expected to be more intellectually challenging projects.
  • For pre-enrolment purposes you should enrol in the pass thesis (project) units of study (CIVL4024 and CIVL4025). Students with an ISWAM greater than 65 will be invited to enrol in CIVL4022 Research Thesis A/CIVL4023 Research Thesis B at the beginning of the year.
  • Students will work in groups of 2 for Honours thesis and 2-3 for pass thesis. It is possible to have students enrolled in the Pass and Honours thesis units working on the same topic, but special permission from the thesis coordinator is required.
  • Selection of thesis topics and groupings will occur in the first week of semester 1 each year.
  • Units are taken consecutively in Semesters 1 & 2.
  • In rare circumstances and with special permission, they can be enrolled in Semester 2 then Semester 1. With this arrangement supervision will generally not be available over the summer break, and only a limited choice of topics will be provided. Special permission is required from the thesis co-ordinator.
  • For students who anticipate finishing their degree in Semester 1 of a given year, it is strongly recommended that they take Thesis in the preceding year (option 1 above) and complete outstanding core/elective units of study in the final semester.
  • Permission to complete the two units in a single semester will only be given in the case of exceptional and unforeseen reasons.