Honours is a widely recognised and highly regarded additional year of undergraduate study available to you after you complete your undergraduate course. It's a unique opportunity for you to explore your research potential and put the theory from your undergraduate studies into practice. An honours qualification is not only well regarded in academia, but also in industry where further, concentrated studies in a specialised area is highly sought after. Extend your knowledge of your undergraduate degree with a stand-alone Honours year in your subject area expertise. This course is available to students who have already completed their studies in this study area. Depending on your interests and the availability of honours projects, you might wish to undertake honours in anatomy, biochemistry, biology (genetics), cell pathology, histology and embryology, immunology, infectious diseases, microbiology, pharmacology or physiology. This course is also offered at the Westmead precinct. The Faculty of Science has an outstanding reputation for the quality of its postgraduate research programs across a wide range of science disciplines. With significant levels of funding from various research councils and bodies, and the provision of major research facilities, the Faculty is committed to providing leading education and research training to its students. There are a range of research programs available, depending on which stage you are at in your academic career. Whether at the doctoral or masters level, you undertake self-directed, supervised research in your specialised area of science, and produce a thesis considered to be a substantially original contribution to the subject concerned. The Honours year in Science provides a research training pathway to our higher research degrees, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Science (MSc). The postgraduate research programs offered by the Faculty attract a large number of domestic and international students each year.
The study of anatomy and histology is organised into four disciplines: topographical anatomy, neuroanatomy, histology and embryology. These disciplines consider cell structure and the basic tissues of the mammalian body, musculoskeletal anatomy, and the anatomy of the brain. Taking an honours year or graduate diploma in anatomy and histology will provide you with the opportunity to complete original research on a project supervised by a member of staff who is an expert in your specialist area. There are a range of projects on offer, in areas such as animal development, muscle research, structural cell biology, vision and cognition, reproduction, pain research, human molecular genetics and more. During your honours year, you will have access to research facilities and resources including a molecular biology facility, electron microscopes, advanced imaging facilities and laser capture microdissection equipment. To qualify for admission to honours or the graduate diploma, you must achieve suitable results in senior anatomy and histology or neuroscience.
