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Honours Degree Programs in Physics, Astronomy, Lasers and Photonics

What is Honours?

The Department of Physics offers one-year Honours programs in Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Photonics to suitably qualified candidates. The Honours program is a separate one-year full-time program offered after a 3 year Bachelor degree. It consists of a set of advanced coursework modules and a major personal research project in approximately a 3:5 ratio. In this project component, you will work under several academics as a fully-fledged member of a research group within the Department on an original topic. In many cases, Honours research leads to publication of an article in an international peer-reviewed scientific journal.

These programs offer you an opportunity to develop your research expertise and to do focused coursework to a more advanced level than that provided in the 3-year Bachelors degree. Honours is an exciting and challenging year tha allows you to test and demonstrate your capabilities on a scale beyond anything you will have attempted before. Honours degree is not just the first step towards a research career in industry or academia. Completion of the Honours year is highly regarded by employers and distinguishes candidates from other applicants as having independence, perseverance and raw talent.

What kind of research can I do?

Lots of different kinds of physics! Observational and theoretical astronomy or astrophysics; biophotonics, astrophotonics, laser physics, theoretical optics including photonic crystals and metamaterials; quantum optics, quantum plasmonics, quantum gravity and quantum computing to name a few. Please read through our full list of available research projects.

AAO Scholarships

Two scholarships are available, worth $5,000 each, to students undertaking a one year program for an honours degree in science and technology (particularly in astronomical instrumentation) at the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO). Read more...

Find out more...

• You can download our complete prospectus for students document. This contains full details about the course content, structure and assessment; lists available research projects and supervisors as well as summaries of coursework modules we offer; and provides full details on how to apply to enter the Honours year.
• Learn more about why you should consider an Honours year at Macquarie.

How to Apply

Honours programs in Physics, Astronomy or Photonics are open to students who have qualified for a B.Sc. or B.A. majoring in Physics, at Macquarie University or elsewhere to an equivalent standard. The normal admission requirement is a GPA of at least 2.5 overall and 2.5 in 300-level units. The program may be taken full time over 1 year, or, with special permission, part-time over 2 years, and may commence mid-year.

The closing date for Honours applications is 30 October 2011, and the application form and general application information is available here. Optoelectronics Honours students enrol in the 24 credit point unit titled PHTN400 (D3), and Physics and Astronomy Honours students enrol in the 24 credit point unit PHYS495 (D3).

Please speak to the Honours Convenor or relevant academic staff member (see project list) prior to this date if you are interested in pursuing the Honours degree or if you have any queries.

Late applications may be considered subject to University rules.  Contact the  Honours Convenor as soon as possible if you wish to discuss a late application.