Honours

The coordinator of the Honours program in Germanic Studies is .

• What past honours students say about Honours in Germanic Studies
• What is honours?
• Why do Honours in Germanic Studies?
• The Honours Curriculum
• What do I need to get into the Honours program in Germanic Studies?

• "There are four reasons to do Honours. First, it develops your understanding of German literature and culture, indulging your passion for the language. Secondly, it allows you to hone your analytical and critical skills, increasing your value to future employers. Thirdly, it's an ideal opportunity to undertake extensive independent research on a topic that interests you. Above all, there are no good reasons not to do Honours!" (Daniel Selikowitz)
• "German Honours was, for me, an opportunity to spend a year focusing on improving my language performance skills and undertaking a substantial piece of written work. This experience was very helpful, in a variety of ways, in subsequent graduate studies in Germany (a masters of law at Humboldt-Universität in Berlin), teaching at that university, as well as my professional legal work in Germany and Australia." (Angus Lang)
• "[…] through the academic pursuits undertaken during Honours, a plethora of invaluable generic attributes are acquired: independent critical thought, clearly presenting ideas, deliberating and advocating standpoints, research both wide and deep, striking an analytical equilibrium whilst working independently and yet simultaneously in conjunction with critical input from a mentor… […] Your Honours year doesn’t have to be lonely nerd-dom. Nor should it be. In fact, no other year at uni matched the social intensity I experienced during Honours." (Ava Lam)

Honours (also known as Fourth Year) is a special program that will let you concentrate on Germanic Studies in a way that is not possible in the ordinary degree program. Honours students stay at university for an extra year to deepen their knowledge of their chosen subject area by taking advanced coursework and writing an Honours thesis. It is also possible to arrange joint Honours with another subject area (e.g., Film Studies, Performance Studies, any other Language & Culture Studies department etc.), provided that you qualify for entry to both Honours programs.

For the Honours thesis, you will undertake your own research project and write it up, using your creativity and demonstrating your ability to produce a substantial piece of scholarly writing. For many students the Honours thesis is the high point of their time at university. It's a challenge that will give you a new kind of independence, although you are by no means left to your own resources as you will have an individual academic supervisor to help you.

There are many reasons to do Honours, here are some:

• An Honours degree has more value with discerning employers than an ordinary pass degree. It certifies that you have skills and aptitudes that may be important to them.
• German is spoken as the native language in more European countries than English, French, Spanish or Italian. Around the world, some 100 million native speakers plus roughly 30 million non-native speakers speak German.
• In Europe many people speak better German than English. German is still the most important foreign language in Eastern Europe.
• Germany is one of the world’s largest exporters and importers. Germany is a centre of the world economy and one of the major trading partners of Australia.
• Profound knowledge of the German language and culture opens the door to jobmarkets in the German-speaking world.
• With a good Honours degree, you can apply for admission to a research degree (MPhil or PhD). If your results are outstanding, you may be awarded a postgraduate scholarship.
• A PhD, in turn, might equip you for a research career, perhaps combined with university teaching. PhD candidature is an excellent way of learning more about the issues that most interest you, and, in Australia, Honours is the normal pre-PhD training program.
• Research is fun! If you enjoy studying German language, culture and/or society, why not study it in greater depth and make exciting discoveries while participating in the Honours program of the department of Germanic Studies?

The Honours program aims to give students an indepth knowledge of German literature and culture, develop their analytical and writing skills, foster their research ability and prepare them for postgraduate studies.

The program in Germanic Studies comprises 60 per cent coursework and 40 per cent research thesis. You can begin your Honours program in Semester 1 or 2.

Coursework

Honours coursework comprises one seminar of 2 hours per week (timetabled in semester 1) on advanced level German language studies and four seminars on literature and linguistic topics (2 seminars per semester).

Click here for details of the literature and linguistic topics offered in 2009.

Thesis

The honours thesis constitutes an original piece of research and writing in a field that can be supervised by a member of staff. It amounts to 12000-15000 words of writing which may be in English or German and must demonstrate both a command of a wide range of secondary source material in German as well as a command of a particular disciplinary or interdisciplinary approach to the topic of the research. Intending students must discuss options for their thesis research with the coordinator of the Honours program in Germanic Studies: well in advance of the commencement of the academic year.

Recent Honours Theses Topics:

• Keine festen Beziehungen: Hybridity, Liminality and Universality in Emine Sevgi Özdamar’s Seltsame Sterne starren zur Erde.
  (No serious relationships. Hybridity, Liminality and Universality in Emine Sevgi Özdamar’s “Seltsame Sterne starren zur Erde” (Strange Stars Turn to Earth)).
  (Daniel Selikowitz)
• Geschichtliche und zeitgenössische Dimension von Ingeborg Bachmanns Lyrik und deren Intertextualität zu Paul Celan.
  (Historical and contemporary dimensions in Ingeborg Bachmann’s lyrik poetry and their intertextual references to Paul Celan.)
  (Sabina Zulovic)
• Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Das Experiment (The Experiment). A Study.
  (Patrick Caldwell)

Honours candidates will have fulfilled the Faculty of Arts requirements for admission into the Honours year. They normally have also completed a major in German as part of their undergraduate study with a Credit average in 48 Senior credit points of German including 12 credit points of special honours entry units (GRMN2680 level).

Students interested in doing Honours on a German-related topic in future years should contact the German honours program coordinator: .

For information on the application process click here.