Honours in Information Technology

What is it?

It is further study worth 24 credit points undertaken after completion of an ordinary degree. The honours program aims to broaden and deepen the individuals' knowledge of their chosen areas, to provide an introduction to research methods (including the development of research skills, the planning and writing of research reports and oral presentation of research results) and to develop an awareness of the nature of research in general.

The study at honours level can be seen as an apprenticeship for further research and the class of honours bestowed is taken to be a clear indicator of your ability to undertake further research. This has not been well understood by some students, who see Honours simply as a further year of study, a chance to study advanced topics in more depth than the ordinary degree. However, its use as a research training ground and research-ability indicator means that students must be prepared to start analysing and criticising the ideas and writing of others and to accept criticism of their own ideas. Whereas, in their undergraduate studies students generally accepted what has been written in text books, now students will be reading advanced texts and journals and be expected to analyse, compare and contrast the proposals and hypotheses of experts in the topic area of interest to the students.

It aims to extend individual training in independent research and the analysis of advanced problems in the theory and practice of their chosen area. Honours graduates develop advanced analytical and critical skills that are relevant to many areas of employment.

The Structures of the Honours in Computer Science and the Honours in Information Systems Programs are given in the University Handbook. Both Honours courses are composed of 50% coursework comprised of Honours coursework Topic units, and 50% research thesis and project under the supervision of an academic staff member.

Entry to the Honours program will require a three-year Bachelor's degree, or equivalent qualification, from either Murdoch University or another tertiary institution of appropriate standing. A satisfactory level of achievement and an aptitude for a programme of honours level studies must be demonstrated. The degree awarded to successful candidates will be B.Sc. (Honours).

Honours may also be taken by part-time study. A flexible study plan can be arranged so that students can study as well as work.

Further general information about Honours studies at Murdoch is found at http://www.murdoch.edu.au/fsa/honours/

and about Honours studies in the School of IT at
http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/teaching/honours/honshandbook.pdf

Courses

For full time students, generally 2 Honours Topic units are taken in first semester together with preliminary work on the research project. In the second semester only one unit is taken, and most effort is spent on the thesis and project. Please confirm this with the Honours chair and co-ordinator by email T.Mcgill@murdoch.edu.au

Thesis

The Honours thesis is based on the research project. It is assessed in two stages. After the initial semester of project work a proposal is submitted. Then, near the end of the final semester of enrolment in the Honours program, students submit the full thesis that presents the entire research project.

Honours projects

Some past projects can be viewed using this link.

Some suggested project areas are shown below. Clicking on the person's name may provide further details about their areas of expertise. Students should also feel free to suggest alternative topics in consultation with potential supervisors. Potential supervisors can be found from academic staff at the staff page. Prospective students can discuss any topic of interest (to the student) with any potential supervisor.

Staff suggested topics
Staff	Suggested Research Areas
Email Jocelyn Armarego for more informatio	Requirements engineering: Practitioner perspectives Soft skills Methodologies Education
Matthew Bellgard	Developing intelligent (software) agents for Bioinformatics analyses of whole genomes Bioinformatics analysis (data mining) using available whole genome sequence data A general purpose command-line language for Bioinformatics analyses Design and implementation of parallel algorithms for Bioinformatics analyses Developing useful graphical Bioinformatics manipulation tools
Email Richard Boddington for more information	Computer forensics with emphasis on validation and inferential analysis of digital evidence Information security management with emphasis on human directed technical attacks on information holdings Cyber-terrorism and information warfare
Email Pyara Dhillon for more information	Object-oriented Software Development Parallel Computing
Email Michael Dixon for more information	Network protocols Wireless networks Voice over IP Queuing and congestion
Email Sam Downes for more information	Gender Issues in Information Technology Curriculum issues associated with students studying Information Technology
Email Lance Fung for more information	Application Intelligent Systems and Technologies Knowledge-based systems Object-based parallel computing systems Ubiquitous Computing and Network Uncertainty Assessment and Risk Analysis
Email Val Hobbs for more information	Data modelling Databases
Email Chris Klisc for more information	E-Learning
Email Terry Koziniec for more information	Network protocols Wireless networks Voice over IP Queuing and congestion Microcontrollers / Embedded systems
Email Yurek Kulski for more Information	Evaluating and remodeling algorithms that are used for the reconstruction of genomic tandem duplication histories
Email Graham Mann for more information	Artificial Intelligence Robotics Human-Computer Interfaces Ethics and Technology Games Design
Email Tanya McGill for more information	End user computing E-Learning
Email Christian Payne for more information	Security Operating System security models Applied Cryptography Vulnerability Analysis Secure Development methodologies Other areas - open to suggestions
Email Shri Rai	Areas in computer vision, image processing and pattern recognition Biometrics Online collaborative group-work E-Learning and Online education Web and Internet Technologies and applications Automated document analysis (conventional and/or Web documents) Other areas - open to suggestions
Email Nicola Ritter	Specific Topics: Image Segmentation (scholarship available 2006) Shape Identification within Images Image Registration Optimisation (neural networks, genetic algorithms etc) General Areas of Interest: Image Processing Software Engineering and Re-engineering Object Orientation Graph Theory
Email Danny Toohey for more information	Data modelling Databases
Email Kevin Wong	Multi-Player Online Games Effect of Educational Games for the Learner Personalized Difficulty Level Adjustment for Games Intelligent Data Analysis for Petroleum Exploration Using Web Services Intelligent Personalized E-Commerce Fuzzy Systems for Complex Structure Data
Email Hong Xie	A fast and distributed system for genetic linkage analysis for the identification of disease genes in human. Parallel volume rendering of 3D medical data (from CT and MRI scans etc). Parallel algorithms for determination of 3D structures of proteins. A new performance prediction model for parallel programs based on the Bulk Synchronous Parallel model. A distributed banking application based on CORBA.

For more information please email T.Mcgill@murdoch.edu.au.

A small research allowance (approximately $200 - may vary from year to year) is provided to honours students to help cover such costs as photocopying, interlibrary loans and stationery students will need during the year. It is only permissible to spend these funds on items directly related to students' Honours studies.

External scholarships may also be available. Please see http://www.research.murdoch.edu.au/rds/scholar.asp and look for any applicable scholarships. Honours students usually do some tutoring as well.

At this time, honours study (for Australian students) is covered by the HECS scheme. This situation cannot be guaranteed in future years. It is possible that students coming back to do honours in a few years time might find that the government requires them to pay fees up front or that the amount of HECS to be eventually paid has increased.

How to apply

Application forms can be downloaded from http://www.murdoch.edu.au/fsa/honours/

Prospective students can also call Tanya McGill on (61 8) 9360 2798 for an initial chat or email T.Mcgill@murdoch.edu.au.

Applications will be processed for as long as possible, but to ensure that they are not too late should be submitted by early December for enrolment in semester 1 of the following year.

Announcements

For further information on the School of Information Technology Honours program, please contact the Honours Subcommittee Chair and co-ordinator Dr Tanya McGill
email: T.Mcgill@murdoch.edu.au
Telehone: (61 8) 9360 2798