Handbook

If you are doing, or have done particularly well in your Bachelor of International Studies degree, you should consider an Honours year. This normally involves one additional year of study following the successful completion of a three-year undergraduate degree. Your Bachelor of International Studies degree would have introduced you to a wide range of topics and problems, and an Honours project enables you to explore one in much greater depth. Honours research topics are various and negotiable—if you are really interested in a topic and want to find answers, you'll be encouraged and supported by our expert staff. 

From a potential employer's perspective, whatever your topic, being able to demonstrate the ability to achieve a complex goal, meet deadlines, investigate independently, use resources effectively and write coherently, are all highly desirable qualities.

The Honours year has two functions at UOW: as an in-depth project at the end of undergraduate study, and as a bridge between undergraduate study and advanced research. Studying Honours is about:

• learning research skills, navigation skills and information systems (archives, the Library, databases, electronic research networks);
• the opportunity to practise articulating complex ideas orally and in writing. It provides the experience of working closely with a supervisor on a project and in preparing a major project to meet a deadline;
• experiences in devising, researching and writing up an individual topic of study in an extended argument/thesis of approximately 15-18,000 words.

Areas of Study

An Honours year in the Bachelor of International Studies is available in the areas of International Relations, Global Development and Environment, Global Media and Communication and Peace and Conflict Studies. 

For more information on undertaking Honours in International Studies, students should contact the Discipline Leader, Politics and International Studies, who will be able to guide on possible topics and recommend a potential supervisor.