4038 - Master of Civil Ceremonies

This course entry should be read in conjunction with information provided in the Faculty information section of this Handbook by the managing faculty for this course

Abbreviated title	MCivCer
Managing faculty	Arts
Study location and mode	On-campus (Caulfield) Students who select CVL5090 will be required to take an off-campus community placement.
Total credit points required	72
Duration (years)	1.5 years FT, 3 years PT
Minimum grade for completion	To graduate with the masters, students must gain a credit (60 C) or above in core units and a minimum credit average overall.
Contact details	Judy.McNicoll@arts.monash.edu.au
Course coordinator	Judy McNicoll

Description

This course acknowledges both the complex nature of the role of community celebrant and the significance of ritual and celebration in the private and public spheres. Students develop research skills relating to civil ceremonies within a workplace as well as an academic environment.

Objectives

Students successfully completing this course will have:

acquired the professional skills needed to be effective civil celebrants
demonstrated awareness of legal obligations involved in being a celebrant, in relation to marriage and to celebrating other major life cycle events
demonstrated awareness of the role of rites of passage within society for a range of groups
demonstrated awareness of the range of ritual and religious traditions within contemporary Australian society
demonstrated awareness of the role of music, writing literature and other elements essential to effective ceremony
demonstrated capacity to reflect on the theoretical issues involved in ceremony and ritual across the community and the lifespan
demonstrated capacity to engage in original research relating to ceremony while attached to some community/professional group or organisation.

Structure

Students complete four compulsory 12-point core units, one 12-point elective unit and either a community placement or a research paper (each worth 12 points).

Requirements

Core units

CVL4010 Rites of passage: Culture and celebrating life cycle events
CVL4020 Life cycle events in literature, music, and life stories
CVL4030 Celebrant and client: Legal, ethical and personal Issues
CVL4040 Professional celebration of rites of passage

Elective units

Students complete an approved elective from the following:

HYM5200 History and memory
HYM5270 Research methods in biography and life writing
HYM5820 Local and community history
RLM5140 Confronting death through ceremony and symbol: a cross-cultural analysis

Plus one of:

CVL5090 Civil ceremonies placement(attached to a community group)
RLM5000 Research paper in religion and theology

Professional recognition

Registration as a civil marriage celebrant is not automatic upon completion of an approved training course. Information about the registration process is available on the Attorney-General's website at http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Marriage_Becomingacelebrant_Becomingacelebrant.

Alternative exit(s)

Students who complete the four core units at fourth year level can exit with the Graduate Diploma in Civil Ceremonies.

Students will also exit the masters with the appropriate award if they do not maintain the required academic level.

Award(s) received on completion ^*

Master of Civil Ceremonies

* Where more than one award is listed, or in the case of double degrees, where more than one award is listed for one or both components of the double degree, the actual award/s conferred may depend on units/majors/streams/specialisations studied, the level of academic merit achieved (eg in the case of 'with honours' programs), or other factors relevant to the individual student's program of study.

13 October 2017 23 July 2024