In Progress

A long document, which is the program guide, contains a variety of key statements about the honours program. Some parts are boilerplate that have to be copy and pasted from existing university documents, but other parts are all ours. Below I have put the key bits for comment and feedback:

Objectives of the Program
This program intends to develop research capable graduates who will be leaders in media and communications for the twenty first century. The emphasis within honours is on research, whether within a specifically academic, or professional context, and the key objective of the program is to develop sophisticated research skills, as well as the ability to understand and articulate the importance of research to media and communication professionally. Within a time of immense change within these fields, both academically and professionally, this program will help to create individuals who are capable of understanding, negotiating and contributing to knowledge in contemporary media and communication systems. This program will help you learn how to do this through its model of ‘process based learning’ within an interdisciplinary research context, because these provide the skills relevant for managing and understanding such change within industry and research. The program has an emphasis on themed, collaborative investigations that are undertaken in interdisciplinary laboratories because the ability to work collaboratively, across different professional and academic groups, is a key objective for future academic and professional work.

Statement of Capabilities
Honours graduates will be able to contextualise, problem solve and respond to critical and creative questions relevant to communication, technology and various media. They will engage with and respond to ideas from their disciplinary base and extend this using their interdisciplinary and collaborative skills. They will have a deep understanding of research as a creative and critical practice as it relates to their individual field and discipline. They will be investigators who demonstrate academic rigour in their understanding of their own and other disciplines. They will bring skills and leadership to complex situations including the development of projects and learning and research activities in individual or group pursuit. They will have a deep knowledge of their field and of research praxis, an enhanced capacity to identify and investigate problems in contemporary media, communications and creative fields and will offer applied as well as theoretical approaches in responding to these.

As a graduate of honours you will:

• be able to creatively and critically develop meaningful problems within media and communication
• apply research skills and practices to complex problems
• work within interdisciplinary teams and be capable of making significant contributions as a collaborator
• have deep knowledge of your field and how it relates to contemporary media and communications
• know how to use research as an integral part of creative and critical practice
• demonstrate leadership skills in your ability to develop projects and through your understanding of the processes that enable collaboration
• understand the strengths and contributions of your own discipline to projects and the value and significance of other disciplines
• be able to undertake sophisticated self directed research
• know why your research matters and how to express this in a variety of discipline relevant ways

Approach to Learning and Assessment
Your learning experiences will contain a mix of learning modes. This will include lectures, seminars, workshops, and individual supervision. They will generally employ a mix of large and small group learning activities, with an emphasis placed upon problem and process based learning in the context of laboratory (studio) based learning. All of your key teaching experiences will involve face to face classes. Your learning activities will be a mix of group experiences, individual supervision, individual research, writing, making artefacts, and a variety of forms of scholarly, reflective documentation practices.

Course assessment in honours is intended to be formative and to help you develop your capabilities as a researcher, whether in a clearly academic or professional/practitioner capacity. Assessment forms and modes will vary across courses, however all assessment is directed to assisting you in achieving the highest possible outcome for your research project. Assessment will consist of class presentations, essays, and a variety of assignment based tasks. Some will require you to demonstrate an ability to work individually, and others will require you to demonstrate your ability to understand the roles and activities within a collaborative task. The major assessment activity in honours is your research project or thesis. This is generally undertaken individually, and is expected to demonstrate a high level of research and ability. It is worked on throughout your honours year. A thesis is usually in the order of 15,000 words and project based research must have a durable outcome, an exegesis, and the project itself. All research outcomes, whether by thesis or project, will be examined according to the University’s honours research examination criteria. While such work is always assessed by independent examiners, and so is summative assessment, a variety of formative assessment and learning activities are undertaken to support the development of your research. These may include a literature review, class presentations, critiques of ongoing work, presentations of work in progress and specific support within your laboratory group.

A significant part of your learning experience will happen within the laboratories. This is a ‘studio’ mode of learning where “learning through action – an investigative and creative process driven by research, exploration and experimentation; making and constructing; and critique and reflection” (Studio Teaching Project, 2010) is the model adopted. As a part of this laboratory model forms of self and peer assessment and critique will be modeled and implemented. In addition, self reflective documentation practices, both for the purposes of project and research development, and to develop a critical, self aware research practice, will be undertaken. The laboratory mode is used because it relates strongly to the sorts of abilities that industry and universities require, and is able to help emphasise for you all the ways in which research is relevant to what you will go on to do in the fields media and communications in general.