80-100: First Class Honours

Knowledge

A student who receives First Class Honours will demonstrate breadth and/or depth of

knowledge of the discipline(s) studied at a very high level, and the ability to place their

work in context, appreciating the implications and broader significance.

Skills

A student who receives First Class Honours will demonstrate:

• advanced or professional skills that equip him or her to function and solve

advanced problems within a profession or discipline under supervision and with

autonomy;

• a very high level of proficiency in the methods, techniques and subject matter

appropriate to the field or fields studied;

• a very high level of skill in the interpretation of results, data and appropriate

information sources;

• a high degree of sophistication in critical analysis and self-evaluation;

• outstanding written and oral expression, organisation, format and documentation;

• where relevant, highly innovative, creative and imaginative thinking; and

• a very high level of cognitive and technical skills to carry out a research project

with considerable independence.

Application of knowledge and skills

A student who receives First Class Honours will demonstrate the application of

knowledge and skills by demonstrating the following characteristics:

• significant independence in thinking and motivation;

• significant evidence of originality and insight;

• comprehensive critical analysis and synthesis at an advanced level;

• a skilful treatment and analysis of unexpected outcomes or inconsistent results,

and/or recognition of some limitation of the methodology, if relevant; and

• a well-developed logical approach to designing appropriate research strategies.

Graduates at this level will demonstrate the capacity to pursue further study, and show

the capacity for independent research at doctoral level.

75-79: Second Class Honours, Division I

Knowledge

A student who receives Second Class Honours, Division I, will have advanced

knowledge in the discipline of study and sound knowledge of the research principles and

methodologies appropriate to the field of study.

Skills

A student who receives Second Class Honours, Division I, will demonstrate:

• advanced or professional skills that equip him or her to function and solve problems

within a profession or discipline under supervision and with independence;

• a high level of proficiency in the methods, techniques and subject matter of the

field studied;

• a high level of cognitive skills to interpret results, data and other information

sources;

• mastery of the modes of expression appropriate to the field of study, enabling fluent

and succinct presentation of knowledge; and

• technical skills to plan a solid research project under supervision and execute it

with some independence.

Application of knowledge and skills

A student who receives Second Class Honours, Division I, will demonstrate the

application of knowledge and skills by demonstrating the following characteristics:

• design and plan a solid piece of research and scholarship;

• critically evaluate and synthesise material; and

• contextualize his or her work within the broader discipline of study.

Graduates at this level will demonstrate the capacity to pursue further study, and pursue

independent research at postgraduate level.

70-74: Second Class Honours, Division II

Knowledge

A student who receives Second Class Honours, Division II will have advanced

knowledge of an area of, or a problem in, a discipline in sufficient depth to understand

the range of scope of a defined topic, have a broad grasp of its theoretical underpinnings

and understand the general range of principal issues facing that area of the discipline.

Skills

A student who receives Second Class Honours, Division II will demonstrate:

• advanced or professional skills that equip him or her to understand problems within

a profession or discipline under supervision and with some independence;

• a broad understanding of the methods, techniques and subject matter of the field

studied and some proficiency;

• advanced cognitive skills to understand the interpretation of results and data and the

ability to apply this understanding with supervision;

• effective skills in the modes of expression appropriate to the field of study; and

• technical skills to contribute to the planning of a research project and to execute it

with direct supervision.

Application of knowledge and skills

A student who receives Second Class Honours, Division II, will demonstrate the

application of knowledge and skills by demonstrating the following characteristics:

• understand and be able to apply methodologies relevant to complex problems in

their area of investigation under supervision and have demonstrated some

independence of thought and autonomy; and

• with the guidance of a supervisor, draw valid conclusions based on investigation,

observation and/or experiment, and understand the scope and limitations of those

conclusions.

Graduates at this level will demonstrate the capacity to pursue further study and after

further research training, demonstrate the potential for independent research.

65-69: Third Class Honours

Knowledge

A student who receives Third Class Honours will have advanced knowledge of an area of

a discipline and understand relevant theory.

Skills

A student who receives Third Class Honours will have:

• skills that equip him or her to understand problems;

• some understanding of the methods, techniques and subject matter of the field

studied;

• cognitive skills to understand the interpretation of results and data with supervision;

• communication skills that are able to articulate a problem and an approach taken to

its solution; and

• technical skills to participate in the planning and execution of a research project

with direct supervision.

Application of knowledge and skills

A student who receives Third Class Honours will demonstrate the application of

knowledge and skills by demonstrating the following characteristics:

• understand and be able to apply methodologies relevant to complex problems in

their area of investigation under supervision; and

• with the guidance of a supervisor, graduates will be able to understand and draw

conclusions based on investigation, observation and/or experiment.

Graduates at this level, after undertaking further research training, will demonstrate the

capacity to pursue further supervised study.

Below 65: Fail

A fail to achieve Honours indicates that the student has not demonstrated the learning

outcomes for any of the classes of Honours available.