Postgraduate StudiesHistory graduates enrolled within the Faculty of Arts will become members of a community with a wide range of scholarly interests and innovative research projects within the School of Social Sciences. Unlike many comparable institutions within Australia, there is a high degree of staff and student interaction. Access to Supervisors and Advisers is easy, productive and highly individualised. Having established a Supervisor within History, students are able to select an Advisory panel from staff members across the University. They are also members of the Graduate Program in History, which embraces History students from all parts of ANU and offers seminars on the postgraduate experience.
Of further advantage to graduate studies at the ANU is the constant flow of visiting academics, both within History and in other Centres and disciplinary areas. Students are also able to apply for courses run in other centres such as the Cross-Cultural Studies Centre and attend when accepted, free of charge or at greatly reduced rates from those paid by external scholars. ANU has a commitment to developing computer-assisted learning at all levels of teaching and research, and the Graduate Information Literacy Program offers courses designed to provide research students with the information searching and information technology skills needed to complete a research degree.
The History Department offers prospective students not only a stimulating, sympathetic and accessible academic environment, but also shared or individual office space, personal computers, stationery and photocopying access. These facilities are indicative of the high degree of professionalism and autonomy with which students are treated.
Importantly, students are also able to apply for significant funds from a Faculty budget administered by the Graduate Studies Committee for interstate and overseas research. The current maximum available for Fieldwork and Research funding over the entire duration of a student's course is $7,500 for PhD students undertaking fieldwork of more than 6 months duration, $6,000 for fieldwork of less than 6 months duration, $3,000 for MPhil students and $1,500 for MA (coursework and Research) students. This is a significant amount of postgraduate funding which enables students to effectively research topics both nationally and internationally, and compares favourably with most Australian universities.
As well as being part of the wider academic community, graduate students are involved with undergraduates through lecturing and tutoring in their fields of expertise. Wherever possible, History is committed to providing teaching experience to our graduate students. Once employed as tutors, students are eligible to apply for the Graduate Teaching Programme. This is a well regarded program designed to develop sophisticated teaching skills amongst graduate students and is run free of charge for those who are tutoring. It is an excellent qualification which complements the hands-on experience of tutoring in a formalised and constructive fashion. It also provides support and the opportunity for exchange amongst graduates from various disciplines.
Interdisciplinary, inter-school contact is another advantage of studying in History at ANU. The relatively large postgraduate student body provides a broader context for studying for students who are interested in areas of interdisciplinary exchange. Although firmly situated within the field of history, students can take advantage of other scholars and scholarship which may complement their work.
Archivally, the ANU is well situated. Students have easy access to the National Library, the Australian Film and Sound Archives, the Australian Archives, the War Memorial and the Noel Butlin Library. Excellent primary and secondary texts are also available through various libraries on campus, as is extensive CD Rom and internet access to national and international repositories and libraries.
Overall, the Department provides individual and accessible supervision, teaching experience, the opportunity to be part of a developing postgraduate and academic environment and generous funding and facilities.
For further information on the postgraduate program, please contact Dr John Tillotson