Honours

The Honours course in the Discipline of Pathology is designed to ensure that the full potential of a student can be realised. It aims to provide a thorough training in both practical and theoretical aspects of research, providing the student with a sound scientific and research background which will enable them to proceed towards the acquisition of a higher degree, or to move directly into a career, for example, in industry, research, the government service or teaching.

Criteria for Admission

Admission is open to students who have a pass of sufficient merit in appropriate third year subjects, and who have the approval of the Head of Discipline. Under normal circumstances, a candidate for Honours in Pathology will have completed undergraduate studies in Pathology, Physiology, Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences and/or related topics. Generally, an average of credits or higher in third year subjects is considered sufficient. In exceptional circumstances, a candidate with a background in other related disciplines may be permitted to enrol as a candidate for Honours in Pathology, provided such enrolment is approved by the Head of Discipline. In such cases, the candidate may be required to attend additional undergraduate classes in the relevant discipline as directed by the Head of Discipline.

Honours Application Process

Each year, the Discipline of Pathology releases a list of Honours research projects available for the following year. Students who wish to enrol in the Discipline of Pathology Honours Program must download and complete the Honours Application Form and arrange to meet a potential Honours supervisor. This form must then be signed by the potential Honours supervisor and submitted along with a current academic transcript to the Honours Coordinator via and School of Medical Sciences Office (Room 131a, Medical School North Building).

Once the Honours coordinator has approved the application, the student is forwarded either the Domestic Student Faculty Honours Application Form or the International Student Faculty Honours Application Form which should be completed and signed and returned to the Honours coordinator who submits them to the Faculty Office. This then finalises the application process for domestic students. For International student applications, the application is forwarded to the International Student Office who processes the application and sends an official letter of offer to the student.

Students are strongly advised to complete the application process by the second week in December to ensure that they can be placed in a research area of their interest. Nonetheless, some Honours projects may still be available in January and students are still be able to apply for Honours in January. The Honours teaching program formally starts in the first week of February.

Course Structure

The Pathology Honours Course consists of a program of course work and a supervised research project. Final assessment will be based on performance in both areas. Assessment of the course work, which will constitute 20% of the final grade, will be based on a literature review (5%), research grant proposal (10%), and an interview for the grant proposal (5%). The remaining 80% of the final grade is allocated to the candidate's research project, and includes writing of a the thesis, oral presentations and a viva.

Course Work

Course work will comprise of (1) a formal and compulsory School of Medical Sciences course consisting of lectures given by academic staff within the Disciplines of Pathology, Pharmacology and Anatomical Sciences on various research topics including: research ethics, statistics and graphics, scientific writing (thesis and grants), library and database searches, presentation of seminars.The majority of these lectures are held in the first week in February; (2) a literature review based on the student's research topic; (3) a research grant proposal on an area of study that may be related to the research topic, and an interview by the Discipline's academic staff regarding the research proposal; and (4) attendance at research seminars and advanced lectures.

For further information about Pathology Honours, contact:

Dr Corinna Van Den Heuvel, Tel: (08) 8222 3370
Email: corinna.vandenheuvel@adelaide.edu.au

Dr David Haynes, phone (08) 8303 3180
Email: david.haynes@adelaide.edu.au

For information on Honours within the Faculty of Health Sciences click here