Postgraduate coursework programs - Faculty of Arts

An Arts master's degree by coursework is a unit-based course that provides graduates with the opportunity to enhance their career prospects, update or add to their skills, or simply follow their interest in an area of the arts.

Completed in 2 years, 1.5 years or 1 year, an Arts master’s degree by coursework is designed to build professional competency in a range of specialist fields, delivering academic excellence with an emphasis on professional outcomes and engagement. All postgraduate coursework degrees allow qualifying students to enrol in a research project, internship or thesis. Project and thesis study allows students to research an area of their own area of interest under academic supervision. The Arts professional internship program combines academic supervision with workplace engagement designed to develop a career in the field.

The Faculty of Arts currently offers master's by coursework courses in ten different disciplines, and one 144-point double master's course.

Candidates can complete their master's course in one of three ways depending on previous study and experience:

• 2 full-time or 4 years part-time years (96 points)
• 1.5 years full-time or 3 years part-time (72 points)
• 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time (48 points)

Students can exit from these courses with a graduate diploma after successful completion of 48 points, or with a graduate certificate after completing 24 points.

Credit for prior studies

Students may be eligible for credit to a maximum of 50 per cent of the course requirements for previous graduate-level studies.

Credit or exemptions up to a maximum of 24 points is available for a bachelor degree level qualification in a related discipline, and a further 24 points is available for honours degree level qualification in a related discipline.

Therefore, students who have completed an:

• undergraduate degree and a graduate certificate (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline must complete 72 points
• honours degree with a major in a relevant discipline must complete 48 points.

In all cases, the granting of credit is at the final discretion of the course coordinator.

Application forms are available online or from the Arts faculty office on any campus.

Additional course-specific criteria regarding credit

Master of Bioethics

Applicants for the Master of Bioethics who have already completed a unit in ethics equivalent to APG5393 (Ethics), with at least a distinction result, may apply for exemption with credit for that unit. Normally, the equivalent unit cannot have been part of a degree on the basis of which the entry requirement for the course are met; if this is the case, an exemption without credit may be given for APG5393.

When to apply for credit and details of documentation required

Credit must be applied for at the time of entry into the course and will not be granted retrospectively. Applicants must provide certified copies of academic transcripts for all previous studies to be considered as well as unit/course syllabuses which indicate the number of points each unit is worth, the total number of points for the whole course and what percentage the unit in question was of the total course.

Coursework scholarships

For information on scholarships available to postgraduate coursework students at Monash, refer to the Monash Scholarships website.