Earth Sciences Research Project

Subject ERTH40006 (2014)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2014.

Credit Points: 50
Level: 4 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2014.

Time Commitment: Contact Hours: This subject is an individual research project and weekly contact hours will vary depending on the nature of the project.
Total Time Commitment: Students should discuss total time commitment with their supervisor but as a guide, a student would be expected to be engaged in their research for an average of thirty hours per week over two semesters.
Prerequisites:

A major in a field relevant to the research project being conducted.

Enrolment in the subject will only be approved if the student has met entry requirements for the course, including having a supervisor who has agreed to supervise this research project.

Permission of the Honours coordinator in the School of Earth Sciences.

Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements for this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Contact

Email: kevin.walsh@unimelb.edu.au

School of Earth Sciences

Subject Overview:

The School of Earth Sciences is home to a large and diverse range of research programs. Interests include the solid Earth, the fluid Earth (including our atmosphere and oceans) and processes that operate at the interface between these upon which all life on our planet depends. Current research activities include: Climate Variability and Change, Atmosphere and Ocean Dynamics, Synoptic and Mesoscale Meteorology, Hydrogeology and Aqueous Biogeochemistry, Sedimentary Geology and Palaeontology, Palaeoclimate and Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction, Thermochronology, Neotectonics and Landscape Evolution, Ore Deposit Geology, Geochemistry and Geochronology, Structural Geology, Tectonics and Geodynamics, Thermodynamics of Metamorphic Systems (THERMOCALC), Geochemistry and Geochronology of Magmatic Systems, Noble Gas Geochronology and Geochemistry, Computer Simulation of Geological and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth's Deep Interior, and Energy: Resources and Futures.

This subject comprises a major piece of original supervised research on a topic as agreed by the student and their supervisor. A literature review is conducted in the first six months of candidature and includes a research proposal describing the aims, significance and approach of the project.

Students enrol in a total of 75 points of research project across the duration of the Honours program. This is achieved by enrolling in a combination of the following subjects in appropriate semesters to achieve a total 75 credit points.
  • ERTH40001 Earth Sciences Research Project
  • ERTH40003 Earth Sciences Research Project
  • ERTH40006 Earth Sciences Research Project
This subject (ERTH40006 Earth Sciences Research Project) is the 50 point version for one semester.
Learning Outcomes: The objectives of the research project are to provide students with the opportunity to:
  • synthesise existing literature on a topic of interest and devise an appropriate research project that addresses key outstanding questions in the field;
  • plan an appropriate program of data acquisition and manipulation (e.g. modelling) in order to constrain the questions being addressed;
  • interpret the results of their work, perhaps suggesting further avenues for research beyond the scope of their project;
  • prepare a written report of their results.
Assessment:

Assessment is based on a literature review of no more than 4,000 words (12.5% due around the end of the first semester of study), a 15 minute long project-related oral presentation within two months of the conclusion of the project (hurdle); and a thesis of no more than 15,000 words (62.5%) due at the end of the course.

These assessment requirements are applicable to the entire 75 point Research Project component.

Prescribed Texts: None
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills: On completion of their research project students will have had the opportunity to gain new skills in:
  • planning and conducting a program of research
  • exercising critical judgement
  • undertaking rigorous and independent thinking
  • adopting a problem-solving approach to new and unfamiliar tasks
  • developing high-level writing report and oral presentation skills
  • interrogating, synthesizing and interpreting the published literature and
  • field-work (where applicable)
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Honours Program - Earth Sciences

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