The entry requirements and structure of the Honours programs varies across the departments.
If you are considering the Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours) or Bachelor of Biomedicine (Degree with Honours) you will need to look carefully at the options available to you. Your background, research interests, program structure and location may affect your choice.
Whether or not you have the right entry requirements for a particular department’s Honours program will affect the range of choices available to you. While planning your early undergraduate years, or determining your eligibility for Honours, you need to look at the particular entry requirements of the
Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours) or Bachelor of Biomedicine (Degree with Honours) program as well as any additional requirements which exist for some Departments.
Please find the contact details of Departments/Institutes in the list below and find out as much as you can about the experience at the Departments/Institutes you are considering.
-
Choosing a Supervisor and Research Area
A critical element of success in Honours is choosing a research area that interests you. Department websites have information on the range of research areas they offer, as well as areas of interest of academic staff members who can supervise your project.
It is very important for you to talk to supervisors and current/previous Honours students. It’s one thing to be interested in the project but you need to get along with your supervisor too. If possible, try to get some work experience in the lab to get an idea about the environment.
If you are passionate about a particular area that is not offered by any department don’t be afraid to approach your lecturers and tell them about your interests and research ideas. In many cases, your lecturers will be thrilled that you are interested in something and might try to design a project that meets your interests.
-
Program Structure
The Advanced Coursework component is normally comprised of 400-level lectures and tutorials, journal clubs, literature reviews, oral presentations, and other departmental activities. The Research Project component comprises a research project in a specific area completed under the guidance of an academic who specialises in that area. The relative weightings of each of these components may vary between programs.
You may be interested in a number of disciplines or a study area (eg molecular biology) which is offered in several departments. Looking at the structure of the program may influence your choice and it is recommended that you talk over your ideas with the department honours coordinator or your lecturers.
-
Course Requirements
In order to be awarded an Honours qualification, students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours) or Bachelor of Biomedicine (Degree with Honours) must pass all components and obtain an overall average mark of at least 65% for both the Research Project subject and the Advanced Coursework subject. Some departments have other hurdle requirements. Refer to the departmental entries in the Honours section of the Handbook for further information.
- More information the Bachelor of Biomedicine (Degree with Honours) course structure is available.
- More information about the Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours) course structure is available.
-
Contact List of Disciplines/Research Institutes
Find out as much as you can about the experience at the departments or research institutes you are considering.
Discipline Location Contact Name Contact Details Email Anatomy & Neuroscience On-campus Dr Peter Kitchener 8344 6746 p.kitchener@unimelb.edu.au Ms Irene Koumanelis 8344 5918 i.koumanelis@unimelb.edu.au Biochemistry & Molecular Biology On-campus Dr Justine Mintern 8344 2976 jmintern@unimelb.edu.au Dr David Stroud 8344 7316 david.stroud@unimelb.edu.au Ms Irene Koumanelis 8344 5918 i.koumanelis@unimelb.edu.au Clinical Pathology On-campus Prof Frederic Hollande 8559 7023 frederic.hollande@unimelb.edu.au Ms Simone Stahli Quinn 9035 5244 Honours-Parkville@unimelb.edu.au Primary Care (General Practice) On-campus Prof Meredith Temple-Smith 8344 3371 m.temple-smith@unimelb.edu.au Ann-Maree Duncan 8344 7196 ann-maree.duncan@unimelb.edu.au Dr Patty Chondros 8344 4766 p.chondros@unimelb.edu.au Medical Biology (Walter & Eliza Hall Institute) Off-campus Dr Keely Bumsted-Obrien 9345 2984 bumsted-obrien@wehi.edu.au Kerry Ko 9345 2149 education@wehi.edu.au Medicine (Austin Health) Off-campus Dr Barbara Fam 9496 3257 bcfam@unimelb.edu.au Ms Jo Mayall 9496 3590 j.mayall@unimelb.edu.au Medicine (Royal Melbourne Hospital) Off-campus Dr Adrian Achuthan 8344 3298 aaa@unimelb.edu.au Ms Simone Stahli Quinn 9035 5244 Honours-Parkville@unimelb.edu.au; Medicine (Western Health) Off-campus A/Prof Damian Myers 0401766608 damianem@unimelb.edu.au Ms Aloka Carbone 8395 8119 aloka.carbone@unimelb.edu.au Medicine (St. Vincent's Hospital) Off-campus Dr Amanda Edgley 9288 3275 aedgley@unimelb.edu.au Ms Nora Hanafi 9288 3601 shanafi@unimelb.edu.au Ms Meredith Faragher N/A meredith.faragher@unimelb.edu.au Microbiology and Immunology On-campus Prof Scott Mueller 8344 9044 smue@unimelb.edu.au Prof Damian Purcell 8344 6753 dfjp@unimelb.edu.au Prof Katherine Kedzierska 8344 7962 kkedz@unimelb.edu.au Ms Irene Koumanelis : 8344 5918 i.koumanelis@unimelb.edu.au Optometry and Vision Sciences On-campus Prof Trichur Vidyasagar 8344 7004 sagar.t@unimelb.edu.au Dr Jia Jia Lek 8344 5156 jjlek@unimelb.edu.au Ms Charlotte Alldis 9035 5646 c.alldis@unimelb.edu.au Oral Health Science (Dental Science) On-campus A/Prof Glen Scholz 9341 1545 glenms@unimelb.edu.au Ms Janelle Christie 9341 1504 dental-office@unimelb.edu.au Otolaryngology (Hearing Sciences) Off-campus Dr Hayden Eastwood na haydente@unimelb.edu.au Ms Nora Hanafi 9288 3601 shanafi@unimelb.edu.au Paediatrics Off-campus Dr Belinda McClaren 8341 6415 belinda.mcclaren@mcri.edu.au Ms Helen D’Cruz 9345 6671 helen.dcruz@rch.org.au Pathology On-campus Dr Theo Mantamadiotis 8344 5861 theom@unimelb.edu.au Ms Irene Koumanelis 8344 5918 i.koumanelis@unimelb.edu.au Pharmacology and Therapeutics On-campus A/Prof Christine Wright 8344 8219 cewright@unimelb.edu.au Prof Danny Hoyer 9035 7119 d.hoyer@unimelb.edu.au Ms Irene Koumanelis 8344 5918 i.koumanelis@unimelb.edu.au Pharmacology Information 9035 7119 pharmacology-info@unimelb.edu.au Physiology On-campus Dr Angelina Y Fong 8344 6707 angelina.fong@unimelb.edu.au Prof Andrew Allen 8344 5838 a.allen@unimelb.edu.au Ms Irene Koumanelis : 8344 5918 i.koumanelis@unimelb.edu.au Population and Global Health On-campus A/Prof Louise A. Keogh 8344 0692 l.keogh@unimelb.edu.au Elizabeth Dent 9035 6304 e.dent@unimelb.edu.au Dr Alison Barr 9035 3403 abarr1@unimelb.edu.au Surgery (Austin Health) Off-campus Dr Theodora Fifis 9496 5468 tfifis@unimelb.edu.au Ms Jo Mayall 9496 3590 j.mayall@unimelb.edu.au Institutes / Centres
Students will enrol for Honours projects from the following research institutes via one of the nominated departments listed above.
Department
Location
Contact Name
Contact Details
Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute
Off-campus
Ms Leonie Cullen
Phone: 8532 1161
Burnet Institute
Off-campus
Dr Raffi Gugasyan
Phone: 9282 2108
Dr Megan Lim
Phone: 8506 2403
Florey Dept. of Neuroscience & Mental Health
Off-campus
Ms Jacquie Munro-Smith
Phone: 8344 8491
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Off-campus
Dr Belinda McClaren
Phone: 8341 6415
Email: belinda.mcclaren@mcri.edu.au
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
Off-campus
Ms Kerryn Westcott
Phone: 9496 5512
(formerly Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research)
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Off-campus
Dr Caroline Owen
Phone: 8559 5948
Honours Courses
-
Bachelor or Biomedicine (Degree with Honours)/Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours)
The Bachelor of Biomedicine (Degree with Honours) (Course Code: BH-BMED) or the Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours) (Course Code: BH-SCI) provides students with the opportunity to integrate their previous studies with advanced studies in their field of interest within the biomedical and health sciences, and focus their knowledge, skills and intellect on an exciting piece of original research.
Each program within the Honours program is comprised of two components:
- The advanced coursework component provides opportunities for increasing students’ depth of knowledge in their particular areas of interest and expanding the theoretical basis on which they will base their research work. It provides students with the opportunity to develop expertise in the broad scientific field in which their individual research project is placed, including the methodologies of the relevant field(s), and the use of the scientific literature in their specialist area of study.
- The research project provides students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and technical skills in a supervised research project and develop skills in experimental design, project implementation and in the communication of the outcomes of a research project. The project develops students’ technical and data acquisition skills, their problem-solving and critical thinking capacities in the context of research, their skills in communicating to a variety of audiences and the application of appropriate risk assessment and ethical approval processes.
- Bachelor of Oral Health (Degree with Honours)
- Honours/Graduate Diploma (Advanced) in Psychology
-
Honours projects in the following discipline areas are administered by the Faculty of MDHS:
- Anatomy and Neuroscience
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Clinical Pathology
- General Practice (Primary Care)
- Medical Biology (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute)
- Medicine (Austin Health)
- Medicine (Royal Melbourne Hospital)
- Medicine (St Vincent’s Hospital)
- Medicine (Western Health)
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Optometry and Vision Sciences
- Oral Health Science (Melbourne Dental School)
- Otolaryngology (Hearing Sciences)
- Paediatrics
- Pathology
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- Physiology
- Population and Global Health
- Surgery (Austin Health)
-
Honours projects in the following discipline areas are not administered by the Faculty of MDHS:
Applicants for these non-MDHS Honours streams as well as others are advised to contact the relevant departments/schools directly. More information can be found on the Faculty of Science webpage.