Information for Prospective Postgraduate Research students
The Media and Communications Department welcomes inquiries about its postgraduate research programs. These include Master of Arts (Research), Doctor of Arts/Doctor of Social Sciences, Master of Philosophy, and Doctor of Philosophy. Staff in the department are active researchers. You are encouraged to browse through our staff pages to get a sense of our research interests and strengths.
The Postgraduate Research contact is currently Dr Tim Dwyer. Students interested in Postgraduate coursework should contact Dr Fiona Giles. A short dissertation can be written in the Master of Media Practice and Master of Strategic Public Relations and Master of Publishing upon approval to enter two dissertation units.
What is the difference between coursework and research programs, you might ask? This distinction is not always clear outside of Australia. Postgraduate coursework programs consist of units of study rather than research work. Students usually attend seminars. Graduate certificates, graduate diplomas and master’s degrees can all be obtained by coursework. In postgraduate research programs, students undertake supervised research leading to the production of a thesis or other piece of written or creative work over a prescribed period of time. The research component must comprise 66 per cent or more of the overall course requirements. Master of Arts (Research), Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Social Sciences, Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy can all be obtained by research.
In general terms, and with the exception of the Master of Arts (Research) and Doctor of Arts, enrollment in a postgraduate research degree requires:
- completion of a prior degree in the areas of media and communications, or an area related to your thesis work;
- completion of a Bachelor degree plus degree such as Honours that involves a substantial research component;
- high achievement in your previous study.
International students will require an acceptable academic qualification equivalent to the above and a demonstrated English language competency.
Before making an application for entry, you must have your proposed course of study and research approved by the relevant department or discipline as being:
- suitable in scope and standard for the research degree;
- a program in which you have the competence to satisfactorily complete the proposed course of study and research;
- one in which adequate supervision and facilities for carrying out the work can be provided.
This web page is structured into several parts.
