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.
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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
- Download and read the latest 2020 Honours Handbook
- 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
- Complete a Supervisor Agreement form to submit with your application
- Apply online through your chosen honours course.
Current Scholarships
The School of Environment, Science and Engineering currently offers scholarships for students interested in working on the following honours projects:
- Deciphering signals of the past - geochemical investigation of human remains - $2,500 (Associate Professor Renaud Joannes-Boyau)
- Decoding coccolithophores - calcification at the base of marine food webs - $2,500 (Associate Professor Kai Schulz or Associate Professor Renaud Joannes-Boyau)
- Groundwater nutrient and pesticides in the Great Barrier Reef - $5000 (Dr Douglas Tait)
- Waste to profit, new ways of value-adding to organic wastes in the Northern Rivers - $5000 (Dr Dirk Erler)
- Understanding the biochemical basis for the delicious taste and smell of coffee - $5000 (Dr Lei (Ben) Liu)
- Lipid changes during macadamia nut development - $5000 (Dr Lei (Ben) Liu)
- Can nest boxes assist the post-fire recovery of threatened glider populations? $5000 (Dr Ross Goldingay); project partners NSW DPIE, WWF, NPWS, SoS, Owl BnB (commencement mid-2020).
- MSc Scholarship in Coffee Varietal Trialling - $28,000 per annum (Associate Professor Tobias Kretzschmar)
Honours projects
Marine invertebrates
- Marine molluscs and intertidal biodiversity - Professor Kirsten Benkendorff
- Seaweed and invertebrate ecology - Professor Symon Dworjanyn
- Examining the symbiosis between sea anemones, anemonefishes and zooxanthellae in a changing climate - Dr Anna Scott
- Investigating the reproductive biology and developing captive breeding techniques for host sea anemones - Dr Anna Scott
- Elucidating the impacts of the marine ornamental aquarium trade - Dr Anna Scott
- The biology and ecology of marine molluscs - Professor Stephen Smith
- Age and growth studies of molluscs and crustacean - Associate Professor Daniel Bucher
- Feeding and movement of sea cucumbers - Associate Professor Steve Purcell
Marine productivity
- Respiration of new and old carbon by algae - Dr Matheus Carvalho
- Manipulation of iron bioavailability by marine cyanobacteria - Professor Andrew Rose
- Climate change and marine phytoplankton - Associate Professor Kai Schulz
Marine sustainability
- Marine and Terrestrial Protected Area Management - Associate Professor David Lloyd
- Marine biodiversity - Professor Stephen Smith
- Turtle movement in sub-tropical estuaries using drones and land-based survey - Dr Debra Stokes
Marine mammals
- Marine mammal and wildlife biology - Professor Brendan Kelaher
Coral reefs
- Tropical and subtropical reef and sediment biodiversity - Associate Professor Daniel Bucher
- Coral reef nutrient cycling - Associate Professor Dirk Erler
- Reproduction in coral reefs - Professor Peter Harrison
- Stress effects on corals and coral reef management - Professor Peter Harrison
- The ecology of subtropical reefs - Professor Stephen Smith
- Coral Reef dissolution in an acidifying ocean - Professor Brad Eyre
- Coral Reef biogeochemistry - Professor Brad Eyre
- Nutrient cycling in cryptic reef systems - Dr Sander Scheffers
- Effect of deep water upwelling on coral communities - Associate Professor Kai Schulz
Marine chemistry
- Marine chemical ecology - Professor Symon Dworjanyn
- Marine natural products - Professor Kirsten Benkendorff
- Role of ocean upwelling in acidification of coastal waters off Byron Bay - Professor Brad Eyre
Fisheries and aquaculture
- Aquaculture - Professor Symon Dworjanyn
- Age and growth of fish - Associate Professor Daniel Bucher
- Optimising coral aquaculture and giant clam aquaculture - Dr Sander Scheffers
- Fisheries, shark and marine protected area monitoring - Professor Brendan Kelaher
- Abalone and oyster nutritional and immune health - Professor Kirsten Benkendorff
Nutrient cycling
- Novel nitrogen cycling pathways in aquatic environments - Associate Professor Dirk Erler
- Carbon cycles in aquatic environments - Professor Isaac Santos
- Carbon and nitrogen cycling in estuaries, mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs - Professor Brad Eyre
- Controls on phosphorus export to coastal systems - Dr Naomi Wells
- Nutrient enrichment and food web dynamics - Associate Professor Joanne Oakes
- Effect of weed plants in the coastal zone on macrofauna communities and nutrient cycling - Associate Professor Joanne Oakes
- Water quality and pollution - Dr Douglas Tait
- Historical water quality trends in south-east Queensland estuaries - Dr Naomi Wells
- Managing water quality during the blueberry farming bloom - Professor Isaac Santos
Groundwater
- Groundwater geochemistry - Professor Isaac Santos
- Effect of rainfall on catchment nutrient losses - Dr Naomi Wells
- Groundwater nutrient inputs to the Great Barrier Reef - Dr Douglas Tait
Palaeosciences
- Palaeo-biogeochemistry - Associate Professor Dirk Erler
- Palaeoecology - Associate Professor Kathryn Taffs
- Paleo-indicators of change: Sea surface temperature, heavy metals and rare earth elements - Dr Sander Scheffers
Vegetated aquatic systems
- Wetland ecosystems - Associate Professor Kathryn Taffs
- Wetland nutrient and greenhouse gas cycling - Associate Professor Dirk Erler
- Greenhouse gas emissions from coastal vegetated systems - Associate Professor Damien Maher
- Greenhouse gas emissions from estuaries - Dr Naomi Wells
- Water quality and bioindicators - Associate Professor Kathryn Taffs
- Measuring surface elevation change and impacts of sea level rise on estuarine wetlands /mangroves - Dr Debra Stokes
- Vertebrate ecology of mangrove ecosystems - Dr Debra Stokes
- Carbon and nutrient uptake and processing within vegetated coast systems (mangroves, seagrass, saltmarsh) - Associate Professor Joanne Oakes
Metals and toxicology
- Ecotoxicology and trace metals in the environment - Professor Amanda Reichelt-Brushett
- Iron cycling in the environment - Professor Andrew Rose
- Effect of cattle in the coastal zone on macrofauna communities and nutrient cycling - Associate Professor Joanne Oakes
- Environmental risk assessment - Professor Amanda Reichelt-Brushett
Plant genetics
- Unravelling the genetic control of traits of interest in commercial passionfruit - Dr Peter Bundock
- Restoration genetics of rainforest plant species of the Big Scrub - Dr Peter Bundock
Medicinal plant chemistry
- Botanical origin and sample conformance in herbal authentication - Mr Peter Mouatt and Professor Kirsten Benkendorff
- Chemical diversity in citrus or passionflower extracts - Dr Joshua Smith
- Novel applications for black cumin seed - Mr Ashley Dowell
- Novel uses for Australian medicinal plants - Mr Ashley Dowell
- Development of a standard for Eremophila mitchellii (Buddha wood) oil - Mr Ashley Dowell
- Anti-cancer alkaloids from bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis - Dr Ben Liu
Bioinformatics
- Computational gene identification in subtropical rainforest species - Dr Abdul Baten
- Differential expression of Dicathais whelk genes - Dr Abdul Baten and Professor Kirsten Benkendorff
Plant biochemistry
- Basmati rice grain proteins - Adjunct Associate Professor Daniel Waters
- Distribution of rice grain protein - Adjunct Associate Professor Daniel Waters
- Wheat grain lipid and protein effects on kernel hardness - Dr Ben Liu
Plant nutrition
- The influence of nitrification inhibitors and urease inhibitors on soil function - Associate Professor Terry Rose
- The impact of nitrogen and phosphorus on oil yield and quality in tea tree - Associate Professor Terry Rose
Ecology and Environmental Management
- Socio-cultural environmental management - Professor Bill Boyd
- Vegetation ecology, threatened species conservation, ecological restoration - Dr Claudia Catterall
- Conservation genetics, biodiversity and landscape connectivity - Professor Les Christidis
- Conservation of threatened and endangered wildlife - Associate Professor Ross Goldingay
- Ecology and management of forest wildlife - Associate Professor Ross Goldingay
- Road impacts on wildlife and their mitigation - Associate Professor Ross Goldingay
- Marine conservation and management - Professor Brendan Kelaher
- Water quality and bioindicators - Associate Professor Kathryn Taffs
- Impacts of the marine ornamental aquarium trade - Dr Anna Scott
Forestry
- Forest restoration - Professor Bill Boyd
- Evolutionary biogeography of the Australasian fauna - Professor Les Christidis
- Domestication of subtropical and tropical tree species - Associate Professor Doland Nichols
- Tree regeneration in Border Ranges - Associate Professor Doland Nichols
- Silviculture and forest health in subtropical eucalypt plantations - Associate Professor Doland Nichols
- Modelling competition in mixed species stands - Professor Jerry Vanclay
- Plantations and water use - Professor Jerry Vanclay
- Incentives for sustainable private native forestry - Professor Jerry Vanclay
- Evaluating the biodiversity value of mixed species restoration systems throughout the agricultural landscapes of the Northern Rivers - Dr Kevin Glencross
Geology and geography
- Quaternary geology and Geoarchaeology - Professor Bill Boyd
- Evolutionary biogeography of the Australasian fauna - Professor Les Christidis
Society, culture and education
- Environmental interpretation/education - Associate Professor David Lloyd
- Community and Indigenous consultation - Associate Professor David Lloyd
- Higher education and teaching and learning - Professor Bill Boyd
- Transitions to sustainability - Dr Hanabeth Luke
- Social license for industrial development - Dr Hanabeth Luke
- Social dimensions of land management - Dr Hanabeth Luke
- Social resistance movements - Dr Hanabeth Luke
Carbon and climate
- Coal seam gas - Professor Isaac Santos
- Climate adaptation - Professor Caroline Sullivan
- Carbon cycling and sequestration - Dr Douglas Tait and Associate Professor Damien Maher
- The influence of increased temperature and CO2 on benthic metabolism - Associate Professor Damien Maher
- Contribution of benthic microalgae to carbon burial ("blue carbon") - Associate Professor Joanne Oakes
- Carbon sequestration in mangroves and wetlands - Associate Professor Christian Sanders
Environmental polymers and plastics
- Antibacterial polymer surfaces - Dr Lachlan Yee
- Environmentally sustainable, responsible or biodegradable materials - Dr Lachlan Yee
- Assessing microplastic contamination in estuarine sediments - Dr Debra Stokes
Spatial sciences
- Geographic information systems and database management - Dr Michael Whelan
- Remote sensing and agricultural software - Dr Michael Whelan
- How useful are small drones in monitoring estuarine plants and animals? - Dr Debra Stokes
- Ray population assessments; with drones - Dr Debra Stokes
- Cutting-edge drone monitoring of wildlife and habitats - Professor Brendan Kelaher
- Exploring NDVI videography to map mangroves in the tweed - Dr Debra Stokes
Regional and urban planning
- Delivering affordable housing - Dr Elizabeth O'Brien
- Local government, infrastructure and services - Dr Elizabeth O'Brien
- Planning for population ageing - Dr Elizabeth O'Brien
- Planning for sustainable communities - Dr Elizabeth O'Brien
Environmental economics
- Ecological and environmental economics - Professor Caroline Sullivan
- Ecosystem service valuation - Professor Caroline Sullivan
- Resource use by Indigenous people - Professor Caroline Sullivan
Environmental engineering and waste management
- Wastewater greenhouse gas production - Associate Professor Dirk Erler
- Mine tailings slurry transition to soil: Case study on changes of water content and effective stress - Dr Mona Malekzadeh
- Assessment of mine tailings modification by bio-cementation method: Feasibility study - Dr Mona Malekzadeh