Honours at UNSW Business School
Expand your opportunities with an honours program.
Deepen your expertise and gain advanced research skills. Studying honours gives you a competitive edge when you graduate.
With an honours degree, you’ll complete an independent research project and advanced coursework in the area of business that you’re passionate about. Honours programs add one-year of study to your undergraduate degree (when studied full-time). They can be a springboard into new career opportunities, postgraduate study, and higher degree research, both in Australia and overseas.
Why study honours at UNSW Business School?
As an honours student with UNSW Business School, you’ll join a cohort that’s recognised and valued for its contributions to research. You’ll develop your own research thesis, connect with our world-renowned thought-leaders, and benefit from a career-focused education.
Develop your
Research skills
Your honours thesis is an independent research project that combines theory, methods, creativity, and communication skills.
Deepen your
Expertise
Honours gives you the opportunity to become an expert in the field of business that interests you the most.
Advance your
Career
With advanced research, problem-solving, communication, and analytical skills, you’ll stand out in the eyes of employers.
Explore our honours degrees
Explore by study area
There may be a number of paths into an honours degree in your area of study. For example, if you want to study Finance, you might study a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) with a major and honours thesis in Finance. You can explore our study areas below to find out what path you could take.
Honours Alumni Stories
Karen Tian: Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), Marketing, 2017
“My Honours year was the best investment that I had for myself. It was a great opportunity to gain both soft and hard skills in a short time.”
Wilson Hua: Bachelor of Information System (Co-op) (Honours), 2017
Honours inspired Wilson to become an entrepreneur and helped kick-start his career in academia.
Find out how Felicia's Hnours experience contributed to her career success.
Alan Xian: Bachelor of Commerce and Science (Honours), Actuarial Studies, 2015
Honours helped Alan develop skills in deep critical thinking and analytics that helped him in his career journey.
Lucy Gao: Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), Finance, 2014
A Bachelor of Commerce Honours, majoring in Finance kept Career Options open for Lucy.
For Tom, studying Economics at UNSW is more than numbers, growth and budgets – it's a way to make real improvements to many peoples’ lives.
How to Identify a Research Topic and Question
Research is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge.
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Browse through recent articles published in top journals. The Honours thesis is written in the style of a journal article. Reading articles from top journals will not only help you to identify a research topic that may interest you, but it will also provide guidance on how to construct and write the thesis.
UNSW provides access to a number of search engines that can be used to find papers and conduct literature reviews. JSTOR and Web of Science are particularly useful databases.
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Past theses will give you a sense of what students have been able to accomplish during the Honours year. Reviewing these will give you an indication of what top theses look like (University Medals recipients) and the range of topics that academic staff have supervised in the past which may help you identify a suitable supervisor for your topic of interest.
You can find an example list of past honours theses and students here.
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It is easier to put in the effort needed if you are genuinely interested in the topic.
Passion and drive are two of the key characteristics that employers look for in graduates. The ability to talk with passion and enthusiasm about your project topic in general has great significance to employers.
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Talk to your lecturers and other academics about your ideas and possible supervision. An Honours thesis requires a minimum of one supervisor and your research topic should be aligned with your supervisors’ research interests. This relationship between you and your supervisor(s) involves obligations on both parties. Your supervisor will assist you with advice, guidance and criticism and help you to achieve your personal academic goals. Your supervisor may help you choose and design the research project, guide the research in a practical and productive way, and advise you on how to best write your theses.
Read about our academics to learn more about their research interests and recent publications
Read about the Honours experience in our Alumni stories and talk to current and former honours students.
How to Apply
Your eligibility will depend on your academic performance (WAM) and thesis proposal. Usually, an application for an honours program will require:
Completion of a Bachelors degree with minimum WAM requirements
A current academic transcript in electronic format
A thesis proposal (specific discipline requirements differ)
A CV with at least one academic referee/letter of support (specific discipline requirements differ)
As an option, you could also consider including a statement of purpose highlighting research interests and academic strengths or any other relevant supporting documents (e.g. awards, research papers)
Applications for individual honours programs may vary. To find out about specific requirements for individual programs, please refer to the for that honours program, or discuss your application with the program coordinator.
Applications for honours are submitted through our portal. We encourage you to submit your completed application as early as possible to ensure it will be processed in time for your preferred term
Honours Scholarship
The UNSW Business School Honours Scholarships provides financial support for outstanding students in their honours year. If you’re motivated, passionate, and meet the entry requirements to study honours, we encourage you to apply.
Looking for more information?
If you have any questions or need personalised advice, get in touch with us. We’re here to help.