Faculty of Arts and Education
Deakin University
Honours in Drama offers students the opportunity to pursue particular areas of interest in Theatre and Performance. Honours projects might constitute the development of a work for performance, a laboratory-style exploration of a particular aspect of performance, the writing and/or direction of a play script, a cross-disciplinary investigation, or a more theoretical investigation. The Drama strand can offer expert practical and theoretical supervision in a range of areas, technical and design support, and the opportunity to explore aspects of performance which interest you.
Students who do Honours in Drama and Theatre Studies have postgraduate study in their sights and ultimately perhaps a job as an academic. Many have their sights set on professional work in the theatre or arts management.
An Honours degree can enhance students' career prospects in areas as diverse as the media and other parts of the cultural and communication 'industries', professional and community arts practice. Demand for advanced performative communication skills, and research and report-writing skills, the kinds of which our Honours graduates possess, are increasing in the twenty-first century.
Some find Honours to be a useful way of increasing the depth of their teaching methods in Drama or English, and in recent years, honours graduates in Drama and Theatre Studies who have gone on to complete a teaching qualification have jumped three increments (yearly advances in salary) because of having an Honours Degree.
Successful completion of an Honours degree also positions students for postgraduate study, whether immediately following or after settling into a career and wishing to develop further their expertise and prospects for professional advancement. Honours students have gone on to further study through Masters Degrees by Coursework, Masters Degrees by research, and PhD.
The normal pattern is to complete two core units comprising AAR410 (Research Methods in the Arts) and AAR411 (Art and Text), and 2 studio units which serve as pre-production units for the 4 credit points of thesis units, which are completed in second semester.
In Drama and Theatre Studies, students will produce creative work (e.g., play script, theatre workshop, production) which will constitute the major component (up to 70%) of the research. However, this creative component must be accompanied by a scholarly written component (an exegesis) which should be in the range of 4000 to 6,000 words.
The exegesis should demonstrate the student's analytical understanding of the discipline and sets the creative work within a disciplinary and developmental framework. Creative works can not have been submitted for credit in other units, courses or awards.
Course summary details including units of study
Honours Course Adviser
Tel (03) 9251 7652
yoni.prior@deakin.edu.au
Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9251 7652
yoni.prior@deakin.edu.au
Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9251 7269
glenn.dcruz@deakin.edu.au
Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9251 7642
simon.fisher@deakin.edu.au
Campus: Burwood
Tel (03) 9251 7649
john.jacobs@deakin.edu.au
'Honours is excellent as a pathway into further tertiary study. I am now applying for my Masters degree in teaching. Once you have an Honours degree, you have proved yourself to be a member of the academic community, and can re-train in any other field of study.' |
