Entry Requirements

Undergraduate Entry Requirements

Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria for their course, and who are not seeking consideration under the provisions of any of the Educational Access Schemes, are competitively ranked for admission solely on the following academic selection criteria:

1. Applicants with an HSC or equivalent and no tertiary record will be ranked by their UAI, irrespective of the year in which their secondary studies were completed.
2. Applicants with an HSC or equivalent and less than one year of full-time tertiary study, or equivalent, will be ranked by their UAI alone, irrespective of the year in which their secondary studies were completed.
3. Applicants who have completed an approved preparatory course or form of prior learning will be ranked by their results in that course or prior learning.
4. Applicants who have completed at least one year of full-time tertiary study, or equivalent, will be ranked on the basis of 50% of their secondary record (UAI or equivalent) plus 50% of their tertiary record. Any applicants in this category who lacks acceptable secondary qualifications will be ranked on the basis of 100% of their tertiary record.

Applicants who completed their secondary studies before the introduction of the UAI will have a UAI equivalent calculated.

The faculty does not offer interviews as part of the ranking or selection processes, nor does it consider any material additional to the UAC application, other than documentation in support of an Educational Access Scheme application. This ensures all applicants have equal assessment opportunities and all applications are assessed against common criteria.

Postgraduate Coursework Entry Requirements

Masters (MA), Graduate Diploma (GradDip) and Graduate Certificate (GradCert)

Admission Requirements

An applicant for admission to candidature for the degree shall:

• be a Bachelor of Arts of The University of Sydney or equivalent and
• have completed a three year sequence (undergraduate major) within the subject area in which the applicant seeks to proceed, provided that the applicant’s work is of sufficient merit, or
• have completed at a satisfactory level courses deemed by the faculty to be equivalent to the undergraduate major.

General Completion Requirements*

*Completion requirements may vary within a program. See course listings for details. Some subject areas include compulsory core units of study.

Master of Letters (MLitt)

Admission requirements

An applicant for admission to candidature for the degree shall:

• be a Bachelor of Arts of The University of Sydney or equivalent or, in special cases, hold another degree of the University, and
• have demonstrated high achievement in the undergraduate courses, and
• have completed courses specified by the department concerned, or courses deemed to be equivalent to those specified.

Upgrade from an MA, MApplLing, MCW, MMuseum Stud, MPACS to an MLitt

Candidates in the degrees of MA, MApplLing, MCW, MMuseum Stud, MPACS may apply to upgrade to the degree of MLitt. Candidates should have a good credit point average result in postgraduate units of study undertaken during their candidature. Upgrade from a Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate is not permitted.

General Completion Requirements*

The degree comprises 12 units of study (72 credit points), including a treatise of approximately 25,000 words on an approved topic. The treatise is written under the supervision of an academic member of staff, and comprises 2 units of study (Treatise Part 1 and Treatise Part 2), each worth 12 credit points.

*Completion requirements may vary within a program. See course listings for details.

Postgraduate Research Entry Requirements

Master of Arts (Research)

The Master of Arts (Research) is designed to meet the needs of students who wish to extend their studies beyond their undergraduate degree primarily by thesis, but who do not have an undergraduate honours degree or other qualification that would allow entry into a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The satisfactory completion of the MA (Research) degree is a qualification for admission to higher degree research candidature.

The MA (Research) can be undertaken in a range of subject areas by research and thesis only, or a combination of thesis and coursework, as outlined below. It is not possible to upgrade from an incomplete Master of Arts (Research) degree to higher degree research candidature. The MA (Research) has different admission requirements from both the MPhil and PhD degrees.

The MA (Research) may be undertaken in the following ways:

• two postgraduate units of study (12 credit points) and a thesis of 26,000–28,000 words, or
• one postgraduate unit of study (6 credit points) and a thesis of 28,000–30,000 words, or
• a thesis of 30,000–35,000 words.

A thesis on an approved topic is researched and written under the supervision of a member of the academic staff. The course may be undertaken full-time (1-2 years), or part time (2-4 years).

Doctor of Arts and Doctor of Social Sciences

The Doctor of Arts (DArts) and Doctor of Social Sciences (DSocSci) are professional doctorates which allow candidates to pursue a higher degree of rigorous scholarship as well as advance their professional practice.

The professional doctorate is designed to respond to the rapid changes taking place in the workplace which create demands on professionals such as journalists, creative writers, anthropologists, linguists, policy advisers, managers, and others to upgrade their qualifications. Leading employees are increasingly expected to be more aware of the changing environment of their professional practice, more focused on the specific developments of their field, and more skilled in research and analytical techniques. Further training at the upper levels of the discipline such as that offered to professional doctorate candidates can develop sophisticated intellectual and applied knowledge and skills that are in increasingly high demand.

The professional doctorate comprises 5 units of study (including the core unit WMST 6902 Arguing the Point) and research and writing toward a thesis of 50,000 words under the supervision of a member of the academic staff. The course may be undertaken full-time (3–4 years) or part-time (3–8 years).

Admission Requirements

Candidates have a minimum of three years recent, full-time employment or professional experience in a relevant field, and hold either:

• bachelor's degree with honours I or II.1 from the University of Sydney in a relevant field of study,
• an undergraduate degree deemed to be equivalent,
• a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sydney together with a substantial portfolio of published/professional work (e.g. books, films, TV programs, creative work, government reports etc.),
• an undergraduate degree deemed to be equivalent together with a substantial portfolio of published/professional work (as above),
• a master’s degree by research from the University of Sydney,
• a master’s degree by coursework from the University of Sydney with merit, or
• a postgraduate degree deemed to be equivalent.

Master of Philosophy

Candidates for the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) research and write a thesis of 40,000-60,000 words on an approved topic under the supervision of a member of the academic staff. The course may be undertaken full-time (1-2 years), or part time (2-4 years).

Upgrade from an MPhil to a PhD

Upgrade from MPhil to PhD is not 'automatic' and may not be used to gain extra candidature time. It is recommended that:

1. MPhil candidates seeking to upgrade should demonstrate an ability to conduct research at PhD level by:
   (a) providing a detailed thesis outline that is satisfactory to the department
   (b) providing satisfactory chapter drafts of not less than a total of 35,000 words or equivalent (completed during the MPhil candidature)
2. the application to upgrade from MPhil to PhD should normally be made prior to the fourth semester (full-time equivalent) of MPhil candidature.

Doctor of Philosophy

Candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) research and write a thesis of 70,000-100,000 words on an approved topic under the supervision of a member of the academic staff. The course may be undertaken full-time (3-4 years), or part time (3-8 years).

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements to research programs can vary between disciplines and departments. The requirements are detailed under each subject area in the following pages. Candidates are admitted at the discretion of individual departments or centres and are subject to the final approval of the Dean of the Faculty.