Future Honours Students - Information for Prospective Honours and Graduate Diploma Students

What's involved in Honours?

Objectives:

• Train students to carry out independent research.
• Enable students to develop a specialist understanding of one area of biology.
• Integrate specialist knowledge into a broad appreciation of biology.
• Enable students to research biology using skills in research methodology and philosopy.
• Continue to engender and encourage enthusiasm and curiosity in biology.

Honours:

Biology Honours is run as a one year full-time course.

Honours is a very intensive 2 semester (9 month) program that includes coursework and research. The School of Biological Sciences accepts students in both semesters. Many projects that have a large field component start in July so that field work may be conducted over the summer. The coursework component is the smallest component, comprising only 20% of the final mark.

A majority of your final mark, 80%, comes from your thesis. Your thesis is comprised of original research which through the guidance of your supervisor you have developed, carried out, and written up. Your thesis will be assessed by three academics, usually within the School of Biological Sciences.