What can you do with an Honours degree from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences?
Our graduates end up all over the globe undertaking PhD's, working for governments, the private sector, non-for-profits, galleries, they go on to do teaching, researching, being project managers and undertaking many other roles! Having your Honours gives you a step up from the competition and opens you up to a world of opportunities.
Check out some of our graduates and be inspired to undertake 'One year. One extraordinary research experience'.
9. Bryonie White, BSocSci (Hons) in Criminal Justice
What was the best thing about your Honours program at UQ?
What I liked best about the Honours program at UQ is that it allows for interdisciplinary collaboration amongst students. For me this not only helped me learn different skills, but also reflected what is required from most jobs in the 'real world'. I also liked that the program is designed to move along with you while you create your thesis. This made sure that you could keep to your deadlines and remain somewhat stress free.
Any final tips for Honours students?
My biggest tip for Honours students is have to FUN! Now I know that this may sound like a cliché but to be honest my Honours year was my favourite year whilst at Uni because it allowed me to study something I was interested in and work alongside others who had similar passions.
I would also suggest finding a supervisor that you work well with. My supervisor really helped my Honours year be as smooth as possible. She created a reasonable timetable for me, which outlined all of my chapter deadlines throughout the year. This allowed me to stay relatively stress free and have time to present full drafts of chapters before presenting the full thesis draft. This also made the final edit a lot easier. I would also say to make time to meet your supervisor in person as it was often more productive to have an hour meeting once a week then going back and forth via email.
Finally, I would also recommend to any student to reach out to different organisation and see if you can volunteer for them. This not only allows you to learn on the job skills, but also shows prospective employers that you are interested in their work and that you are prepared for when your Honours year is over.
What advice would you give to students in the same degree you studied?
For students of the Criminal Justice discipline I would recommend broadening your knowledge by taking a wide variety of criminology classes. This will allow you to understand all of the areas that make up the criminal justice system and how they function and connect with each other. For my current role this is imperative because although I work mostly with people who are at the end of the criminal justice system I need to understand the process they have gone through to this point.