Program Requirements
The Bachelor of Political Science (Honours) requires the completion of 48 units, which must consist of:
36 units from completion of the following course(s):
POLS4011 Research Training: Scope and Methods
THES4103 Thesis
12 units from the following list:
POLS4019 Democracy and its discontents
POLS4038 Comparative Political Institutions
POLS4039 Comparative Political Behaviour
POLS4041 Special Topics in Comparative Politics
POLS4043 Violence and Political Order
POLS4047 Interpretation, Method, Critique: Interpretivist Methods in the Social Sciences
HONS4100 Final Honours Grade will be used to calculate the Class of Honours and the Mark. It will be calculated using the formula: S (mark x units) / S units, giving NCN and WN a nominal mark of zero
N/A - Update due to course addition and disestablishments.
N/A - Update due to course addition and disestablishments.
Elective Study
Once you have met the program requirements of your degree, you may have enough electives to complete an additional elective major, minor or specialisation.
Study Options
Admission Requirements
At a minimum, all applicants must meet program-specific academic/non-academic requirements, and English language requirements. Admission to ANU is on a competitive basis as the number of places available in a program is limited. Admission to Honours is also subject to supervisory capacity and approval from the relevant Delegated Authority within the Academic College.
AQF Level 7 Bachelor of Political Science from the ANU, or equivalent from another institution, completed within the last two years:
With a weighted average mark equivalent to an ANU 70 per cent calculated from the 36 units (i.e. 0.75 EFTSL), excluding 1000-level courses, with the highest marks, which must include 18 units from the following courses which are compulsory in the Bachelor of Political Science:
- One course from the minimum 6 unit "3000 level course" list
- And with the written approval of an identified supervisor for THES4103 Thesis
The National Register of higher education providers is an authoritative source of information that will help you confirm your institution of choice is registered to deliver higher education in Australia.
The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) website is HERE. Based on surveys done by thousands of students across Australia you can find out about universities that interest you, doing side-by-side comparisons.
Adjustment Factors
Adjustment factors are additional points added to an applicant's Selection Rank (for example an applicant's ATAR). ANU offers adjustment factors based on performance and equity principles, such as for high achievement in nationally strategic senior secondary subjects and for recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies.
Selection Rank adjustments are granted in accordance with the approved schedules, and no more than 15 (maximum 5 subject/performance-based adjustment factors and maximum 10 equity-based adjustment factors) can be awarded.
You may be considered for adjustment factors if you have:
- applied for an eligible ANU Bachelor degree program
- undertaken Australian Year 12 or the International Baccalaureate
- achieved an ATAR or equivalent at or above 70
- not previously attempted tertiary study.
Please visit the ANU Adjustment Factors website for further information.
Indicative fees
Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
For more information see: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/costs-fees
- Annual indicative fee for international students
- $48,035.00
For further information on International Tuition Fees see: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/fees-payments/international-tuition-fees
Fee Information
All students are required to pay the Services and amenities fee (SA Fee)
The annual indicative fee provides an estimate of the program tuition fees for international students and domestic students (where applicable). The annual indicative fee for a program is based on the standard full-time enrolment load of 48 units per year (unless the program duration is less than 48 units). Fees for courses vary by discipline meaning that the fees for a program can vary depending on the courses selected. Course fees are reviewed on an annual basis and typically will increase from year to year. The tuition fees payable are dependent on the year of commencement and the courses selected and are subject to increase during the period of study.
For further information on Fees and Payment please see: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/fees-payments
Scholarships
ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.
Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are. Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.
For further information see the Scholarships website.
The Bachelor of Political Science (Honours) degree exemplifies the ANU commitment to research-led education. Building on the Bachelor of Political Science, it gives you high-level preparation for professional life or a higher degree by research through the development of an advanced knowledge of the research principles and methods and theoretical concepts of political science, and through the design and implementation of a research project, typically a 20,000 word thesis, that leads to the development of new understandings or that provides solutions to complex problems.
Career Options
ANU ranks among the world's very finest universities. Our nearly 100,000 alumni include political, business, government, and academic leaders around the world.
We have graduated remarkable people from every part of our continent, our region and all walks of life.
Learning Outcomes
- pose a significant research question relating to political science;
- investigate this question creatively, critically, ethically, and independently, including through sophisticated use of appropriate theory and methodology as appropriate to political science, and place these investigations in the context of the relevant intellectual tradition; and
- communicate their research and its findings through an appropriate medium.
Inherent Requirements
Information on inherent requirements is currently not available for this program.
Further Information
If a person seeking acceptance into a Bachelor Honours program satisfies or exceeds the minimum requirement for admission to the Bachelor Honours program, the Delegated Authority is not obliged to admit the person to the program only because the person has satisfied the minimum requirement for admission.
The Delegated Authority for the Bachelor of Political Science (Honours) plan HPLSC is the CASS Associate Dean (Education). All admissions to this plan must be approved by the Delegated Authority.
Applicants should in the first instance contact their discipline’s Honours convenor; names and contact details are at: http://cass.anu.edu.au/current-students/honours/honours-convenors.
