Media and Communications

The BA (Honours) (Media & Communications) is an advanced and specialised course of study requiring a higher standard of performance than for the pass degree. It enhances your ability to acquire advanced skills of analysis, to develop original ideas, and to apply innovative solutions to complex problems. The Honours program involves one additional year of study at fourth-year level. Commencement of honours must occur within five years of the completion of your degree course.

The prerequisites for entry to fourth year honours in Media and Communications are:

• completion of all the requirements of the BA (Media and Communications); or
• completion of Bachelor of Arts with a major in Media and Communications with an average of at least H2A (75%) in second and third year subjects within the major, or equivalent.

In order to meet the requirements for the BA (Media & Communications)(Honours) degree, you must complete 100 points of study at fourth-year level. Pure honours consists of 62.5 points of coursework and a thesis of 37.5 points. Combined honours usually consists of the thesis and two coursework subjects in one area of study (37.5 + 25 = 62.5 points) and three coursework subjects in the combined area of study (37.5 points). Students intending to complete combined Media & Communications Honours with the thesis in Media & Communication enrol in this course stream. Students intending to complete combined Honours with the thesis in the second area of study enrol in the BA (Honours) course stream (104AA). In most cases, BA (M&C) combined degree students who meet the required academic entry standards can enter the Honours program. However, before you are admitted to fourth-year level studies you must complete your Media & Communications component as well as enough relevant subjects from your combining degree to allow you to take out the pass degree if you were to discontinue your combining degree. You will not be eligible to graduate with the BA (Media & Communications)(Honours) degree until all the requirements of the combining degree or program are met.

Students undertaking the pure honours stream complete:

• three fourth-year level Media and Communications core subjects (*see note below) (37.5 points); and
• two optional fourth-year level subjects (25 points); and
• a Media and Communications thesis of 12,000 words (37.5 points).

Double major students may complete one of the following combined honours streams:

• two fourth-year level Media and Communications core subjects (*see note below) (25 points); and
• three fourth-year level subjects in the combining discipline (37.5 points); and
• a Media and Communications thesis of 12,000 words (37.5 points).

OR

• three fourth-year level Media and Communications core subjects (37.5 points); and
• two fourth year-level subjects in the combining discipline (25 points); and
• a thesis in the combining discipline (37.5 points).

Please note: students undertaking the second option will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) NOT a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications Honours).

*Note: Students electing to undertake MULT50001 Research Principles and Practices should undertake this subject in the first semester of their Media and Communications Thesis enrolment.

Media and Communications thesis subject:

Note: the thesis requires two consecutive semesters of enrolment.

Media and Communications core honours subjects:

Media and Communications optional honours subjects: