‘To develop research skills’: Honours programmes for the changing research agenda in Australian universities

Abstract

Within Australian universities the results of Honours have traditionally been used as the main entry requirement for a research degree and as a means of ranking for research scholarships. But despite the critical role of Honours, there has been little research about Honours. There is an untested assumption that universities offering Honours programmes, staff teaching them, and students undertaking them share common assumptions about their purpose. To test this assumption the researchers undertook an initial study across five Australian universities in two different disciplines, to identify the extent to which staff and students in different disciplines and different universities held varying views about the purpose of the Honours. Honours coordinators and students in the sample universities were interviewed and Honours information for the universities examined. Results indicate that indeed the aims of an Honours programme and the reasons for enrolling in Honours do vary. However, more significantly, there have been identifiable changes in the structure and nature of Honours programmes over recent years that may not support some of the traditionally held views of Honours, particularly as a selection mechanism for enrolment in, and scholarship ranking for, higher degrees by research.