Begin your research journey in creative industries
Improve your career prospects and follow your creative passion with an intensive one-year Honours program. You’ll work one-on-one with a supervisor from USC’s School of Communication and Creative Industries to develop your own research project, produce an original creative work, or solve a real-world problem for an industry partner.
- Only a full-time option is available to international students on a Student visa. Online programs are not available to Student visa holders.
- * Estimated tuition fees are based on 2025 rates. Refer to international fees for more information.
- Not all majors/minors and elective options are available at every campus. You should refer to the What Can I Study tab, and the proposed study sequence for your chosen campus and intake for further information.
Improve your career prospects and follow your creative passion with an intensive one-year Honours program. You’ll work one-on-one with a supervisor from USC’s School of Communication and Creative Industries to develop your own research project, produce an original creative work, or solve a real-world problem for an industry partner.
- Build advanced research, critical thinking and written communication skills
- Specialise in screen and media; drama; creative advertising; creative writing; art and digital design; or interactive technologies and games
- Develop your presentation skills by delivering at least two lectures on your research progress
- Study relevant research methods and theories, and engage with experts in your field
Career opportunities
A USC Honours degree provides a pathway to further postgraduate or higher degree by research study.
The Bachelor of Creative Industries (Honours) allows you to work with an industry partner on a real-world problem, which gives you a competitive edge when applying for roles in creative communications, design, marketing, screen and media, multimedia, video game and digital entertainment design, or performance creation.
Admission requirements
Students will need to have completed a related undergraduate degree from a recognised higher education institution, with at least 8 courses completed in the area of study of their thesis topic. A level of achievement in the intended area of study will need to be demonstrated. These will be considered the minimum entry requirements and won't automatically guarantee a student's entry into the program. Enrolment is contingent upon the Faculty's capacity to provide appropriate supervision in the intended field of study. A cumulative GPA of at least 5.0 in the 200 and 300 level courses of the major area of the discipline the student wishes to study.
Special selection criteria
The research proposal accompanying the honours enrolment application is normally two to three pages in length. It includes an outline of the research topic, its rationale, an indication of the research methodology, and should refer to relevant literature in the topic area.
Program structure
The Bachelor of Creative Industries (Honours) structure is as follows:
1. a 48 unit coursework component (consisting of a combination of courses weighted from 12 to 24 units), and;
2. a 48 unit thesis component or creative work and exegesis.
Coursework component (4) 48 units
ART411 Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
HNC410 Research Design: Methodology and Literature Review
HNC411 Coursework 1 AR401/AR402 School of Communication & Creative Industries
HNC412 Coursework 2 AR401/AR402 School of Communication & Creative Industries
Thesis component 48 units
The thesis component consists of a sustained scholarly project developed from the research proposal a student submits with their Honours enrolment application. The nature and topic of this component is determined by the student's interests, the availability of specified industry research projects, the interests of potential supervisors and the availability of appropriate supervision.
The research proposal accompanying the honours enrolment application is normally two to three pages in length. It includes an outline of the research topic, its rationale, an indication of the research methodology, and should refer to relevant literature in the topic area.
The completed thesis is normally 15,000-25,000 words in length. The required length is determined by the precise nature of the research, in consultation with the supervisor and subject to the approval of the Executive Dean.
Satisfactory participation in the Faculty Honours Seminar is also required. If completing the Honours program part-time over two years, the first year will normally comprise coursework and the second will be dedicated to a student's thesis.
OR
Creative Work and Exegesis component
The combined Creative Work and Exegesis component is 24,000 words in total (or a work deemed to be equivalent depending on the creative work produced) consisting of a 6,000 word exegetical component in dialogue with an 18,000 word creative component (or a creative work deemed of equivalent word value). The Creative Work and Exegesis will be developed in response to a clearly defined research question developed from the research proposal a student submits with their Honours enrolment application. The Honours research question will arise from an original and innovative issue intended to research new knowledge scholarship in your chosen discipline. The nature and topic of such a research question, and its resultant course of investigation, will be determined by the student's interests, the interests of potential supervisors and the availability of appropriate supervision.
The Honours research proposal accompanying the Honours enrolment application is normally two to three pages in length. It includes the research question, a statement addressing how the accompanying research addresses new learning, the significance or value of such new learning, an indication of research methodologies, and should refer to the relevant creative work.
The 6,000 word Exegetical component of the thesis should fully develop the topics noted above: the research question, an outline of the research topic, a statement addressing how the accompanying research addresses new learning, the significance or value of such new learning, an indication of research methodologies, and detail the creative work.
The 18,000 word or equivalent Creative Work should be in response to, and in dialogue with, the research question posed in the exegetical component.
Note: Not all USC courses are available on every USC campus