Honours

Languages

Coordinator:  Tess Do and Lara Anderson

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

Coordinator: Dr Olga Maxwell

To qualify for admission to honours in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics students must normally have completed a major in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics with an average result of H2A across their second/third year linguistics and applied linguistics subjects.

Full details of the Honours program in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics is available from the relevant Linguistics and Applied Linguistics honours Handbook entry.

You should start thinking about your research project well before the start of the official semester of enrolment. Both beginning of year and mid-year starts are available. The beginning of year cohort of students is larger, as it ties in with honours Language 1 and 2 modules.

Choosing a workable (and rewarding) thesis topic is crucial to the success and enjoyment of your honours year. You should be thinking about this during your third year. Decide which area within the discipline interests you most, then start to try to identify a problem which could be investigated within the very limited time-frame of fourth year honours. Your supervisor is there to advise you, but ultimately it is your responsibility to define the topic - that is an important skill to learn in research training. Very few students hit on the one perfect idea straight away - most have to work to refine the idea over the first few weeks of their research - so be prepared to be flexible.

1. Look at research strengths and staff research projects
2. Make contact with prospective supervisors via email to discuss possible thesis topics and supervisory arrangements
3. Ask the question: is this the right supervisor and the right thesis topic for me?

You should start as early as possible, certainly before the official beginning of the academic year in March. Many of the most successful honours students start soon after the end of the previous semester in order to take advantage of the summer vacation.

Official deadlines are advised in detail at the start of the academic year, but you should take note of these general timelines:

• Mid November preceding your honours year
  Identification of potential supervisor/s and clarification of the thesis topic
• Beginning of Semester 1
  Clear statement of the research problem
• Beginning of October
  Full draft of thesis
• Mid October
  Honours seminar presentation
• 1 November
  Submission of final version of thesis

All honours applications are made online. For general information on eligibility, entry requirements, application procedures, and course structure, see the Faculty of Arts Honours web page and apply through that page.

1. Students need to apply through The Faculty of Arts Honours web page to formally be admitted to do Honours or a Graduate diploma equivalent program. Students must then formally enrol online through the Student Information system. Contact Stop 1 13 MELB (13 63 52) if you have any difficulties.
2. They will then receive the selection decisions signed by the Director of Academic Programs in the form of an offer letter and the "Fourth year thesis proposal form"
3. At this point students will need to consult with the relevant honours representative about their thesis topic and the choice of supervisor
4. Only then students will need to fill out the "Fourth year thesis proposal form" that states your thesis topic etc. Students will need to return the filled in form to the school at the appropriate deadline. All honours applicants are asked to submit the following (in addition to the application form, citizenship details and academic transcripts):
   • A 300 word thesis proposal
   • A 200 word statement if they wish to study part time (please note: may be approved by the selection committee at its discretion)
   • A plan of coursework subjects and thesis including any study abroad components
5. The honours coordinator will sign the "Fourth year thesis proposal form" and send it to Arts

What is a reasonable thesis schedule?

This is a proposed schedule for normal entry full-time honours.

• Before start of academic year
  Start doing bibliographical research and drafting of thesis research question
• First week of semester 1
  Discuss thesis topic, material collected so far and draft thesis research question of thesis with your supervisor
• Middle of April
  Discuss revised/amended thesis research question with your supervisor
• First week of semester 2
  Submit first draft of thesis to supervisor
• 30 September
  Submit final draft of thesis to supervisor. Your supervisor will endeavour to respond to the draft within two weeks
• End of semester
  Submit thesis by Friday of Week 12

Academic Skills has developed a Study honours booklet (3.3Mb pdf) which contains useful learning and research strategies especially targeted at honours students.

When is the thesis submission date?

• Friday of Week 12 Semester 2 for normal entry
• Friday of Week 12 Semester 1 for mid-year entry

If you require an extension, please consult with your supervisor and/or the honours coordinator. For a prolonged extension you also need to contact the Faculty honours coordinator.

You need to submit three hard copies to your Honours representative plus an electronic version (preferably pdf) to your supervisor.

What information needs to be on the title page? How is the thesis supposed to be formatted?

The binding of thesis should be plastic coil/comb. Please use double-spacing, 12 font, one and half inch left-hand margin, single-sided. Footnotes should be at the bottom of the page or at the end of each chapter. You need to submit three hard copies to your Honours representative and a pdf version
directly to your supervisor.

• Notes on the front cover presentation of fourth year theses (50kb pdf)