Honours information

The Faculty of Science and Engineering is home to a variety of honours projects across its four science focuses - Marine, Earth, Plant and Environmental. Completing honours work can be challenging but is a rewarding way to begin your career.

Admission criteria

If you are working towards your honours degree, you need to maintain a grade point average of a Credit or its equivalent, preferably have a distinction for your integrated project, can demonstrate improved academic performance or have professional experience in the area you wish to research.

Study mode and commencement dates

Whether you choose to study your Honours full-time or part-time there are three commencement dates - the start of session 1, 2 and 3.

If you have any further questions you can contact the Honours Program Coordinator.

How to apply

  1. Download and read the latest 2023 Honours Handbook
  2. Decide what area of interest you would like to study. Be inspired by our honours students, review the available honours projects and then find out which academic staff member may be qualified to supervise you
  3. Complete a Supervisor Agreement form to submit with your application
  4. Apply online through your chosen honours course.

Current Scholarships

The Faculty Science and Engineering currently offers scholarships for students interested in working on the following honours projects:


Honours projects

Ecology and Environmental Management

Environmental engineering and waste management

  • Recycling organic wastes into soil amendment products – impacts on greenhouse gas production - Associate Professor Dirk Erler
  • Recycling organic wastes into soil amendment products – impacts on soil nutrient cycling - Associate Professor Dirk Erler
  • Use of iron minerals to recover phosphorus from dairy processing wastewater - Professor Andrew Rose

Groundwater

  • Groundwater nutrient and pesticides in the Great Barrier Reef - Dr Douglas Tait
  • Uncovering the role groundwater discharge has in coastal greenhouse gas and nutrient cycling - Dr Douglas Tait

Medicinal plant chemistry

  • Analysis of biologically active metabolites in medicinal plants (scholarship available) - Dr Ben Liu
  • Understanding the biochemical basis for the delicious taste and smell of coffee (scholarship available) - Dr Ben Liu

Metals and toxicology

Palaeosciences

Plant biochemistry, nutrition and pathology

  • Analysis of nutritionally important compounds in food (scholarship available) - Dr Ben Liu
  • How does microbial redox activity in the root zone of plants influence phosphorus availability? - Professor Andrew Rose
  • Studies into stem blight diseases of Horticultural Crops - Dr Jay Anderson

Regional and urban planning

Society, culture and education

Spatial sciences

Vegetated aquatic systems

 

Coral reefs

Fisheries and aquaculture

Marine chemistry

  • Heavy metal deposition in estuaries downstream of intensive horticulture activity - Christian Sanders
  • Climate change mitigation by ocean alkalinity enhancement (enhanced weathering) - Associate Professor Kai Schulz
  • Manipulation of iron bioavailability by marine cyanobacteria - Professor Andrew Rose
  • Biogeochemistry of reactive oxygen species - Professor Andrew Rose

Marine Invertebrates

Marine productivity

Marine sustainability

Pest and Disease

  • Managing American Foulbrood Disease in smallholder Pacific Island beekeeping systems - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Novel methods for marking Small Hive Beetle (Athida Tumida) - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Managing Greater Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella) in smallholder Pacific Island beekeeping systems - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Understanding and improving honey bee biosecurity strategies in Pacific Island countries - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Development of a bee hive design for the Small Asian Honey Bee (Apis cerana javana) - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Understating impacts of Apis cerana on managed Apis mellifera honey bees in far north QLD - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Novel approaches to sterilizing beekeeping inputs following bacterial brood infection - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Enhancing pest and disease management strategies for Varroa and Tropilaelaps in Pacific Island countries - Dr Cooper Schouten

Nutrition

  • Developing a floral resource database for the beekeeping industry in Pacific Island countries - Dr Cooper Schouten

Technology

  • Investigation of alternative frames/foundation configuration systems for smallholder beekeepers in Pacific Island countries - Dr Cooper Schouten

Training, Education and Extension

  • Factors influencing income and resilience in small-holder beekeeping enterprises in Fiji and Papua New Guinea - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Factors influencing income and resilience in queen bee breeding operations in Fiji - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • A scoping review of Australian honey bee industry levied research - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Evaluating the effectiveness and opportunities for improving working conditions for Pacific Island people under the Pacific Labour Mobility Scheme - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Identifying challenges and lessons learnt by young professionals in international agricultural research for development - Dr Cooper Schouten
  • Limitations to women’s involvement in beekeeping: A case study of Australian women in apiculture - Dr Cooper Schouten

 

Beekeeping

  • Integrating poultry in beekeeping systems for integrated pest management control - Dr Cooper Schouten (scholarship available)
  • Evaluating the nutritional value of pollens of significance to the Australian Honey Bee Industry - Dr Cooper Schouten (scholarship available)
  • Exploring regenerative beekeeping principles and practices - Dr Cooper Schouten (scholarship available)

Physiology

Nutrients and recycling

  • Antibiotics in pesticide residues in composted wastes (scholarship available) - Professor Terry Rose
  • The value of raw and composted manures as nitrogen fertilisers (scholarship available) - Professor Terry Rose
  • Struvite as a recycled phosphorus fertiliser (scholarship available) - Professor Terry Rose

Contact the Faculty of Science and Engineering

Executive Assistant to Executive Dean

T: +61 2 6620 3557

E: kristy.cocks@scu.edu.au

Please direct all faculty enquires to:

T: +61 2 6620 3650

E: fseinfo@scu.edu.au

National Marine Science Centre

T: +61 2 6659 8100

E: nmsc@scu.edu.au

+