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Honours Programs in Environmental & Life Sciences


Areas of Study

The Division of Environmental & Life Sciences offers Honours programs (BA(Hons) or BSc(Hons)) in each of its Areas (disciplines):

Further possibilities for honours in the near future are likely to include:

General Information

The Honours program is a fourth undergraduate year, rather than a postgraduate program, but gives you a valuable additional qualification which may help you find employment and which opens the way for postgraduate research in the future.

The 3-year Bachelor degrees at most Australian universities do not meet the requirements of many potential employers for specialist training and/or the demonstration of independent working and research ability. Our Honours program is one way of achieving such objectives; all students should be aware that 4-year training gives them a distinct advantage in job applications over graduates in the same field who have only the 3-year degree.

At Macquarie (unlike some other universities) entry to the Honours program does not require compulsory specialist units available exclusively to enrolled Honours students at 2nd and 3rd year levels. Entry to the Honours program is nevertheless selective, and you need to have demonstrated considerable academic achievement to be admitted.

Organising your Program

We strongly recommend that if you have any intention of proceeding to Honours in the Division of Environmental & Life Sciences, you should as soon as possible talk the matter over with a staff member in the area (or areas) in which you think you might wish to develop special competence. It is never too early to do this! In any case, it is a good idea to discuss your proposed Honours work in the semester before you plan to begin.

If you are starting in first semester, it is a good idea to undertake preparatory work during the summer vacation. The sooner you can establish a working relationship with a potential supervisor, the better.

Entry and Requirements

Area Information on Honours Programs

Further information about honours programs in each of the Areas can be found at: