Science Honours Program
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Science Science Honours Program Policy, Procedures and Guidelines for Good Practice 2013 Australia n China n India n Italy n Malaysia n South Africa www.monash.edu/science The Science Honours Program Policies, procedures and guidelines for good practice 1. Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 3 1.1. Scope of these guidelines ______________________________________________________ 3 2. Academic requirements of the Honours course ___________________________ 4 2.1. Basic program details ________________________________________________________ 4 2.2. Program objectives __________________________________________________________ 4 2.3. Areas of specialisation (disciplines) _____________________________________________ 5 2.4. Program structure ___________________________________________________________ 5 2.5. Admission requirements ______________________________________________________ 5 2.6. Repeating units for Honours admission purposes _________________________________ 7 2.7. Period of candidature and enrolment ___________________________________________ 7 2.8. Credit for previous studies, exchange, and cross-institutional studies _________________ 8 3. Assessment ___________________________________________________________ 8 3.1. Assessment requirements _____________________________________________________ 8 Coursework unit(s) ________________________________________________________________________ 8 Seminars and oral presentations ______________________________________________________________ 9 Research project thesis _____________________________________________________________________ 9 3.2. Publication of assessment requirements _________________________________________ 9 3.3. Feedback __________________________________________________________________ 9 3.4. Special consideration ________________________________________________________ 10 3.5. Late submission of assessment ________________________________________________ 10 3.6. Marking and grading _______________________________________________________ 10 Marking of coursework ___________________________________________________________________ 10 Marking of seminars, oral presentations and defence ____________________________________________ 10 Marking of literature reviews, essays and major written assessment tasks other than the thesis ____________ 10 Marking of the research project thesis ________________________________________________________ 10 Reconciling mark discrepancies _____________________________________________________________ 11 Submission of Honours results and grades ____________________________________________________ 11 Overall Honours mark and grade ____________________________________________________________ 11 Repeating and failing Honours units _________________________________________________________ 12 4. Roles and responsibilities _____________________________________________ 13 4.1. Faculty Education Committee ________________________________________________ 13 4.2. Faculty Board of Examiners (BoE) ____________________________________________ 14 4.3. Associate Dean (Education) __________________________________________________ 14 4.4. Faculty Academic Manager (FAM) ____________________________________________ 15 4.5. Faculty Honours Committee and Board of Examiners (FHC&BE) __________________ 15 1 4.6. Heads of Schools/Departments ________________________________________________ 16 Allocation of projects and supervisors to students _______________________________________________ 16 Provision of induction information and Honours Program Guide __________________________________ 16 Provision of adequate supervision ___________________________________________________________ 17 4.7. School Honours Coordinator ________________________________________________ 17 4.8. Academic supervisors _______________________________________________________ 18 4.9. Students ________________________________________________________________ 19 5. Enrolment administration ______________________________________________ 21 5.1. Admission and enrolment ____________________________________________________ 21 5.2. Deferment _________________________________________________________________ 21 5.3. Load management and quotas ________________________________________________ 21 5.4. Honours units ______________________________________________________________ 21 5.5. Scholarships _______________________________________________________________ 22 5.6. Graduation ________________________________________________________________ 22 Appendix 1 – Relevant university policies and procedures _____________________ 23 Appendix 2 – Full-time and part-time Honours unit structure ___________________ 24 Appendix 3 – Grade descriptors for the research project thesis ________________ 31 2 1. Introduction These guidelines, policies and procedures apply to the Science Honours Program which is offered through all of the following approved courses managed by the Faculty of Science: • Bachelor of Biotechnology • Bachelor of Environmental Science • Bachelor of Science (Honours) • Bachelor of Science Advanced with Honours • Bachelor of Science (Science Scholars Program) (Honours) 1.1. Scope of these guidelines In accordance with university Statute 6.1.2 – Courses and Degrees and the university Honours Year Programs Policy and the associated Honours Year Programs Procedures, the faculty has responsibility for: • making recommendations on course proposals; • determining requirements for entry into Honours Programs; • providing formal organisational and administrative structures for the Honours Program involving either a co-ordinator or an Honours Course Committee; • monitoring the structure and coherence of the Honours course offerings; • monitoring the effectiveness of the supervision provided; • establishing explicit criteria for the assessment of theses, including definitions of performance at the various grades of Honours; • monitoring assessment procedures; • ensuring where there are significant and distinct components of the Honours Program, with a start and finish date, that these receive a separate assessment including both a mark and grade; • ensuring the individual components within an Honours Program are identified as separate units and allocated points in multiples of six, where possible and appropriate; • approving Honours project proposals and the associated supervision. In effect some of these responsibilities are delegated to schools/departments – these guidelines are intended to make clear the relative responsibilities of schools/departments and the Faculty of Science. An index of where the university Honours Year Programs Policy and the associated Procedures are addressed in these guidelines is provided in ‘Appendix 1 - Relevant university policies and procedures’. 3 2. Academic requirements of the Honours course 2.1. Basic program details The Science Honours Program requires the completion of 48 points of study, including coursework and research. A key component of the course is the completion of a major project, which will normally contribute at least one third of the workload and assessment for the course. The program is normally completed in one year of full-time study, but part-time study is also available in some areas of specialisation. Depending on the area of specialisation, it is available for commencement in either Semester 1 or Semester 2 in any year and is normally completed in either one year of full-time study or two years of part-time study. The Science Honours Program is available in most science areas of study listed in the Undergraduate Handbook in which students complete majors and double majors as part of the Bachelor of Science. Cross disciplinary Honours studies are also possible. 2.2. Program objectives The Science Honours Program aims to provide students with a high level of experience in independent analysis and research in their chosen field of expertise. This experience has vocational aims but the course is not intended to provide specific vocational training in any discipline or in science in general. The program also provides a preparation for postgraduate study by coursework and/or research for the higher degrees of Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy. On completion of the course, students will have demonstrated a high-level of understanding of the key theoretical and practical aspects of their area of study, including to: 1. be able to critically review the scientific literature in their specialist area of study; 2. understand the processes involved in the design, development and implementation of a relevant research project; 3. be able to complete and analyse a set of laboratory-based, computer-based, theoretical or other appropriate studies; 4. be proficient in computer based data acquisition (where appropriate), critical analysis of results, appropriate presentation, and scientific word processing; 5. demonstrate communication skills in both oral and written presentations to both a specialist and a non-specialist scientific audience, including the ability to write and present scientific work in a potentially publishable way; 6. have acquired a range of advanced technical skills appropriate to their area of study; 7. have demonstrated the capability to perform a variety of scientific procedures and techniques that are essential to the satisfactory completion and reporting of a research project; 8. have acquired, where appropriate, sound knowledge of OHSE regulations, including hazardous and dangerous materials