Honours - Government and International Relations

Course aims

Honours in Government and International Relations builds upon the educational experience that students have received by undertaking a major in International Relations, Politics, Public Policy or American Studies in either the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of International Relations.

The objectives and learning outcomes of the Honours year are consonant with those of the undergraduate degrees, but differ in this respect: that students are expected to demonstrate a high level capacity for independent and original research, to be displayed through advanced research essays and the completion of an Honours level thesis of 15-18,000 words.

Students elect to study one of three streams: American Studies, International Relations, or Politics and Public Policy

Learning outcomes

Graduates with Honours in Government and International Relations should be able to:

communicate in a professional and culturally aware manner through high quality written analytical and oral presentational skills
confidently adapt to challenges in different workplace environments
demonstrate a developed skill set that allows them to contribute effectively to specific specialist areas of Political Science, taken broadly to include politics, public policy, international relations, foreign policy, political theory, international political economy, studies of other countries, and societies and governance structures
apply their professional knowledge to the formulation of policies, the provision of policy advice, the preparation of political and policy analyses, and the undertaking of policy research and evaluation in the field of Political Science
apply analytical and research skills suitable for higher study or employment in the field of Political Science, including political, social and political economic analysis, normative evaluation, archival and historical research, documentary and data interpretation, and bibliographic compilation
be well-equipped for graduate-entry employment positions, especially within the public sector and in organisations with a public policy or international focus.

Program of study

Students undertake 18 units of thesis and 18 units of coursework topics.

Honours - Government and International Relations - Thesis and Core topics

Select 18 units from the topics listed below

INTR7015 Honours Thesis (18 units)
INTR7015A Honours Thesis (4.5/18)
INTR7015B Honours Thesis (4.5/18)
INTR7015C Honours Thesis (4.5/18)
INTR7015D Honours Thesis (4.5/18)

Plus 9 units of core topics comprising:

INTR7017 From Topic to Thesis: Honours Workshop (4.5 units)
BUSN7050 Research Methods (4.5 units)

Honours - Government and International Relations - Option topics

Plus 9 units of option topics selected from one of the following streams***

International Relations Stream

INTR7002 Debating International Relations (9 units)

American Studies Stream

AMST7016 Honours Internship Program: Washington DC (9 units)*
INTR7001 Honours Individual Supervised Study (4.5 units)
POLI7011 Honours Individual Supervised Study (4.5 units)

Politics and Public Policy Stream

POLI7004  The Politics of Climate Change (4.5 units)
POLI7007  Political Philosophy (4.5 units)
POLI7010  South Australian Cabinet Office Internship (9 units)
POLI7011  Honours Individual Supervised Study (4.5 units)
POLI7012 Parliamentary Internship (4.5 units)**

*AMST7016 Honours Internship Program: Washington DC may not be undertaken if AMST3016 Washington Internship has been completed

**POLI7012 Parliamentary Internship may not be undertaken if completed POLI3007 South Australian Parliamentary Internship

***Streams, and any variation to option topics, must be approved by the Course Coordinator.

Every effort has been made to ensure the information published on the Course Rule pages is accurate at the time of publication. Flinders University reserves the right to amend its curriculum without prior notice, and will update the Course Rules to reflect any amendments at the earliest opportunity.