• Offered by Department of International Relations
  • ANU College ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
  • Classification Research
  • Course subject International Relations
  • Areas of interest International Relations, Political Sciences
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Course convener
    • Dr Benjamin Zala
    • Dr Nicolas Lemay-Hebert
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in First Semester 2020
    Second Semester 2020
    See Future Offerings

All activities that form part of this course will be delivered remotely in Sem 2 2020.

The Thesis (Part Time) course is based on substantial independent research project. A thesis might apply an established theory to a new body of evidence or set of cases. It might try to develop a new theory about well-known evidence. A major part of the thesis writing process is establishing what research question to ask and how to go about answering that question. The thesis should be an extended argument addressing an intellectual question, problem or issue. The skills that are required to write a good thesis build on those developed through essay writing for other courses. The main difference is that for the thesis the student takes the lead in identifying their research puzzle, articulating a question and developing an argument based on research they have carried out by themselves. The project should be limited enough in scope to be completed within the relevant timeframe. This course requires a permission code to enrol. Students need to be (1) enrolled in Master of International Relations (Advanced) program and (2) provide written agreement from an identified supervisor willing to supervise the thesis commencing in a specified semester.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

  1. Pose a significant research question relating to the discipline of International Relations
  2. Investigate this question creatively, and critically through use of appropriate theory and methodology
  3. Communicate their research and its findings through an appropriate medium

Indicative Assessment

  1. Approximately 20,000 words, including cumulative assessment. This will include approximately 5,000 words of preparatory work and a 15,000-word thesis. (null) [LO null]
  2. Thesis Proposal (15) [LO 1]
  3. Literature Review (15) [LO 1,2,3]
  4. Thesis (70) [LO 1,2,3]

In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle. 

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Workload

This course is based on independent research and writing and therefore does not have formally scheduled classes. Instead, significant personal study, research and ongoing contact with a supervisor is required.

Inherent Requirements

Successful completion of 72 units of coursework in the Master of International Relations or the Master of International Relations (Advanced) Program with a minimum weighted overall average of 70%

Requisite and Incompatibility

This course requires a permission code to enrol. Students must obtain the written agreement of an identified supervisor and have maintained a 70% average over the course of the degree in order to enrol.

You will need to contact the Department of International Relations to request a permission code to enrol in this course.

Prescribed Texts

Not applicable

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
12 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
12.00 0.25000
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $8100
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $11520
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

First Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
2492 24 Feb 2020 02 Mar 2020 08 May 2020 05 Jun 2020 In Person N/A

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
7459 27 Jul 2020 03 Aug 2020 31 Aug 2020 30 Oct 2020 In Person View

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