How research can help enrich your undergraduate degree?
Consider adding an honours year to your Bachelor of Design, a self-directed course allowing students to specialise in either:
- Architectural History, Theory and Criticism
- Urban Planning
As part of your honours degree, you’ll take on a research thesis – a topic that you’ll decide on with your supervisor. You’ll also take three elective subjects. This is a one-year program of advanced study where you can explore an area you’re interested in and develop graduate research skills.
Building on your experience in the Bachelor of Design, your honours year is different as you’ll have much more independence and flexibility to study and research your own interests. The project is yours.
These skills can be helpful when you transition to the workplace as you’ll be able to manage your own time, prioritise your work but have the creative and research skills to build a project of your own.
Bachelor of Design student Crystal Si Ning Tang shares her experience with an honours degree:
“The honours program caught my attention because the ability to do it part time enabled me to balance work and study commitments. More importantly, the honours program has a strong focus on an individual thesis, which appealed to me because of the freedom that students have to pursue a personal interest within the field. I am excited by the opportunity to undertake a project in a largely self-directed manner, which also contributes to a larger body of academic knowledge.”
“So far, the honours experience has allowed me to gain exposure to a range of faculty members and researchers within the University in a context that is very different to the undergraduate experience. The honours program is less about subject matter and more about autonomous discovery, so the advice and relationships with faculty members has a much stronger research lens. On top of academic exposure, the honours program really challenges students to advance their abilities in written communication, time management and project scoping, which are highly transferable skills.”
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