Honours in  the School of Sport & Exercise Science
(Updated for 2012)

                                    Contents:

Research in the School of SES
Student research
What is an honours research degree?
Entrance Requirements
Mode of Study
Honours Scholarships   (Closing date: 25 November, 2011)
Applying for the Honours Program   (Closing date: 11 November, 2011)
Examples of previous honours research projects

The School is multidisciplinary in its research with particular strengths in:

• exercise sciences including exercise psychology, exercise physiology, exercise metabolism, exercise biochemistry and molecular biology, biomechanics, exercise rehabilitation, motor learning and skilled performance and motor control
• sport sciences including athlete performance enhancement, development and application of emerging technologies, and the treatment of sport injuries
• exercise and health including understanding of disease/injury effects, and of prevention, treatment or recovery, with a strong focus on skeletal muscle and exercise capabilities
• sport and recreation management including sport management and marketing, drugs in sport and event and recreation management
• sport and culture including sport history, sociology, philosophy and ethics, gender and sexuality in sport
• active living, including physical activity and active transport 

Click here for details of research undertaken in the School and for specific research interests of staff in the School.

• HHHM   Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) in Human Movement

• HHSA    Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Sport Administration

• HHRM   Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Recreation Management
   

Honours Research Topics (new 2012 projects recently added): Click here to view  some of the research projects available in the School for honours students in 2012 and click here for projects that were available in 2011 (note: some of the 2011 projects may be available in 2012 - check with the staff member indicated).   

What is an honours research degree?

An HONOURS DEGREE  in the School is a fourth year of study in which the student essentially undertakes a research apprenticeship.  Within the apprenticeship, the honours student works closely with their research supervisor to design and conduct a research project which culminates in the student submitting a thesis for assessment. 

Typical tasks undertaken by the student during the course of the honours year include:

1. Negotiate with supervisor the topic of the research project
2. Undertake a review of literature
3. Develop and submit a research proposal
4. Where required, submit an ethics application to the appropriate Faculty or University research ethics committee
5. Recruitment of participants for the project
6. Data collection
7. Data analyses
8. Write and submit thesis (approximately 10-12,000 words)

Formal class contact for honours students is a weekly 2 hour Honours Seminar. In addition, and on the advice of the supervisor, students may be required to undertake coursework study to acquire or develop the knowledge and skills required to successfully complete the research project and/or write a thesis.

For the rest of the time, most honours students work with their supervisor and/or other research students (other honours students or Masters/PhD students) in a research lab or dedicated postgraduate research room in the School . Some students choose to undertake part of their honours work outside of the University environment, at home or in the field (e.g. library archives, sporting club), but this is usually determined by the type of research they are undertaking and the stage of their project  (e.g.,  data collecting at a sporting club, write-up of thesis at home).

Entrance Requirements

The minimum requirement for admission into one of the School’s honours courses is the completion of Victoria University’s Bachelor of Exercise Science & Human Movement or Bachelor of Sport & Recreation Management, or their equivalent, with a Credit (C) standing overall and a Distinction (D) standing in subjects directly related to the intended discipline of Honours research.

Students who wish to apply for honours should discuss potential research projects of interest to them with one of more staff members in the School who undertake research in the relevant research discipline (e.g., biomechanics, exercise physiology, sport & exercise psychology, motor control, sport history).  Students will only be accepted into the honours program if a member of staff has agreed to supervise their honours research project.

Mode of Study

The courses are offered full-time over one year (or equivalent part-time over two years), on-campus at the Footscray Park campus.

 

Honours Scholarships

In 2012, four Honours Scholarships will be offered by the School of Sport & Exercise Science to students who are successful in gaining entry into one of the three honours courses in the School. These scholarships cover all HECS fees associated with enrolment in the course, and are open to students intending to undertake honours research in any of the School's research disciplines in 2012. 

Students who wish to be considered for one of the Scholarships are required to submit an Honours  Scholarship Application Form to the Honours Course Coordinator by Friday 25 November, 2011.  The scholarships are highly competitive and applicants are judged on academic achievements  and  previous research (or equivalent) experience . 

 DOWNLOAD   2012 Honours Scholarship Application form.

Applying for an Honours Course

Before applying for entry into one of the School's Honours Courses, you will first need to organise a supervisor for your honours project. The name of your honours supervisor needs to be included on the Application form (in Section F). 

DOWNLOAD  2012 Application form.   Note that the closing date for applications is Friday 11 November 2010.

DOWNLOAD 2012 Advice to Applicants.

Sections in the form that you will need to complete include:

Section A:            Personal details
Section B (ii) :     Course details - refer above for course code ( HHHM, HHSA, HHRM); campus is Footscray Park)
                            (Ignore VTAC course code)
Section C:            All sub-sections
Section D:           Referees
Section F:            Honours information - include discipline area for intended honours research (e.g. biomech, sport history) & supervisor's name 
Section H:           Special consideration - tick No
Section I:             Student declaration

• Physiological responses to accumulated fatigue from repeated cycling exercise.

• Placebo vs Nocebo: Performance effects of simulated altitude in elite race walkers.

• Physiological demands and movement patterns of sub-elite Australian football.

• Influence of stance width on movement time in field hockey goalkeeping.

• For ‘Duty and Pleasure’: The Development of Competitive Swimming in Victoria, 1900-1908

• Comparison of commonly used recovery modalities on neuromuscular fatigue in elite athletes.

• Neural adaptations in children and adolescents following strength training.

• Adapting the overreaching principle to cognitive skills: Expertise differences using speed manipulations in a video-based decision making task.  

• Gait pattern changes due to treadmill walking.

• Ball-Foot Interaction of preferred and non-preferred legs during Australian rules kicking.

• The effect of time constraints on the coordination patterns of preferred and non-preferred foot kicking in Australian Football.

• Quantifying tackle impacts in rugby league.

• Acceleration patterns and sprint demands of elite youth soccer players using a global positioning system.

• Physiological responses and movement analysis of sport karate.

• Neuromuscular control of foot trajectory during human locomotion in healthy young adults.

• Exercised-induced Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS): the endogenous Insulin sensitiser. 

• Physiological responses and movement patterns of moderate-elite women playing Australian Rules football.

• Efficacy of resistance training on an unstable surface.

• Press coverage of sport in Melbourne: a content analysis of The Age, 1925 - 1975.