Student Support and Advice
Study Plans
Study plans are provided below for each program with an extended major in Western Civilisation. If you receive credit or exemptions from prior studies, please contact the HASS Faculty Student Administration office for assistance with enrolling in courses.
- Bachelor of Advanced Humanities (Western Civilisation) (Honours)
- Bachelor of Humanities (Western Civilisation) / Bachelor of Laws (Honours)
Studying Language Courses
Although a sequence of study in a Language is not possible within either of the two programs, you can study Language courses via:
A concurent Diploma in Languages
The Diploma in Languages is a separate qualification you can study alongside your program. It comprises 16 units which can be taken as either one major or two minors. Information on the Diploma in Languages, including the range of Languages that can be studied, is here.
General Electives (BAdvHum(Hons) students only)
There are 14 units of general electives in the BAdvHum(Hons) program which may be used to take Language courses. The courses you choose will depend on your current proficiency of the Language. If you have any queries regarding the suitability of a course, it is recommended you contact the Course Coordinator.
Global Experiences
The Centre for Western Civilisation encourages students to participate in a global experience in the form of a semester-based exchange, short-term study (for credit or not for credit), or internship. The University has a team dedicated to assist students with global experiences, and we encourage you to look into this as early as possible so that you can take advantage of this opportunity.
Semester-based Exchange
We have built into our Study Plans a semester that best suits a semester-based exchange for both the Bachelor of Advanced Humanities (Western Civilisation) (Honours) and Bachelor of Humanities (Western Civilisation) / Bachelor of Laws (Honours). Core HUMN and all WCIV are not able to be taken on exchange as these are bespoke courses to UQ, and no equivalent courses are available elsewhere.
You can find your Study Plan in the first section of this 'Student Suport and Advice' page.
Following successful completion of your exchange, the Faculty will apply any eligible credit to your studies report. Please note, while you must pass your courses at the overseas institution for credit to be applied, the grades obtained from this study will not be applied to your UQ program and will not contribute to the GPA required to progress into the BAdvHum(Hons) Honours Field of Study.
BAdvHum(Western Civilisation)(Hons) students
When: For students of the single program, semester 2 of year 2 is the best time for this, which requires early planning in the first year.
What to study: Courses to take on exchange are general electives only.
Deadlines: For a semester-based exchange in semester 2, applications usually close in October of the year before. Check actual dates on the Global Experiences website.
Who to speak to: HASS Faculty
Information: Global Experiences and HASS Faculty
BHum(Western Civilisation)/LLB(Hons) students
When: Dual degree students are advised to undertake a semester-based exchange in semester 1 year 5.
What to study: Courses to be take on exchange are LLB(Hons) electives only.
Deadlines: For a semester-based exchange in semester 1, applications usually close in May of the year before. Check actual dates on the Global Experiences website.
Who to speak to: BEL Faculty
Information: Global Experiences and BEL Faculty
Short-term Study
Short-term study can be for-credit or not-for-credit and may be more flexible for you. Short-term study opportunities are taken over UQ’s Summer or Winter break. Check the Global Experiences website for the due dates to apply.
Following successful completion of your for-credit short-term study, the Faculty will apply any eligible credit to your studies report. Please note, while you must pass your courses at the overseas institution for credit to be applied, the grades obtained from this study will not be applied to your UQ program and will not contribute to the GPA required to progress into the BAdvHum(Hons) Honours Field of Study.
BAdvHum(Western Civilisation)(Hons)students
What to study: Courses to take on exchange are general electives only.
Who to speak to: HASS Faculty
Information: Global Experiences and HASS Faculty
BHum(Western Civilisation)/LLB(Hons)students
What to study: Courses to be take on exchange are LLB(Hons) electives only.
Who to speak to: BEL Faculty
Information: Global Experiences and BEL Faculty
Internship
An internship is a great advantage to your employability. UQ has a list of approved providers for internships over the Summer or Winter break. Information on internships, including the list of providers and due dates to apply can be found on the Global Experience website.
UQ Ramsay Scholarship Benefit
Recipients of a UQ Ramsay Undergraduate or UQ Ramsay Merit Scholarship may be reimbursed a return economy airfare to participate in a UQ approved global experience activity.
In instances where two experiences are taken concurrently (e.g.: a semester-based exchange followed by a short-term study experience over the winter or summer break) in separate locations, two one-way economy airfares may be funded. The combined duration of the two experiences will be taken into account to determine the number of personal days permitted, however the duration between the two experiences will be considered as personal days.
Conditions to this funding are that the airfare is:
- for a UQ approved global experience,
- not for dates that include personal days before and/or after the activity that total more than 50% of the days of the approved activity,
- a return economy flight to and from the location of the overseas activity or the nearest travel hub to the activity if direct travel to the location of the activity is not ideal,
NB: it is required that the return flights are on the same tax invoice. If this is not possible, contact the Centre (westernciv@uq.edu.au) to ensure the cost of the airfare is reasonable and the split flight is permitted,
- paid for in AUD, and
- not inclusive of travel insurance or other fees associated with your booking.
The process:
- Email us at westernciv@uq.edu.au with:
- a copy of the approval letter from either the Faculty pre-approving your credit, or the Global Experience Team,
- an acceptance letter or information from the host institution showing dates of the overseas activity, and
- your proposed travel dates, advising of any personal travel both before and/or after the activity.
- Approval for funding of an airfare will be confirmed provided this is an approved UQ Global Experience and the airfare funding conditions (above) are met.
- Once you have approval you can book your flights and forward to us a copy of the tax invoice showing proof of payment.
- We will complete a reimbursement form for you and send this to you to complete your bank account details, sign and date.
- Return the reimbursement form for the funds to be transferred to your bank account.
Interruption of Scholarship
If there are circumstances impacting your studies and you need to take a break for a semester or two, you will require approval from the HASS Faculty Associate Dean (Academic) to interrupt your UQ Ramsay Scholarship. If you do not apply for, and receive approval to, interrupt your Scholarship you will not meet the conditions for retaining your Scholarship and your Scholarship may be terminated.
You may only interrupt your Scholarship for a total of two semesters; however, they do not need to be consecutive semesters.
Use this form to apply to interrupt your Scholarship. Requests to interrupt your Scholarship must be received by 15 March (for an interruption in semester one) or 15 August (for an interruption in semester two).
If you are planning to interrupt for two consecutive semesters, you must apply by the due date of the first semester of interruption.
If there are circumstances affecting your studies, please contact westernciv@uq.edu.au to discuss your options, or view the University’s Student support resources.
Submit form to: westernciv@uq.edu.au.
Transfer of Scholarship
A UQ Ramsay Scholarship can only be transferred between the two Western Civilisation Programs of Study at UQ.
Your Scholarship has been awarded for the program you commenced at the time the scholarship was awarded. Should you wish to transfer to the other Program of Study you will need to make a request to the Executive Dean of the HASS Faculty to transfer your Scholarship to the other program. A Request to Transfer Scholarship form needs to be submitted to the Centre by 15 December of the year prior to your intended commencement of the new program.
Submit form to: westernciv@uq.edu.au.
Approvals to transfer a Scholarship are not made lightly, and you will need to make a strong case for a transfer to be approved.
Once we have all transfer applications and know which students have received a QTAC offer for the new program, the Executive Dean will consider all applications to transfer the Scholarship. You will be advised of the outcome by the end of January.
As you may not be advised of the Scholarship transfer decision before you are required to respond to your QTAC offer, we recommend you accept the QTAC offer. If a Scholarship transfer is not approved, and you wish to remain in your original program (on Scholarship) you may decide to do so.
After you have accepted a place in, and decided to continue with, the new program you will need to request a transfer of credit for previous studies. All core HUMN courses and all WCIV courses must be carried over as credit. Credit for general elective courses (if applicable) is optional, however, we recommend you apply for credit for all courses that can contribute to the new program, including general electives (if applicable). Information on transferring credit between UQ programs can be found here.
Note: If you:
- do not receive an offer for the new program, the request to transfer your scholarship will not be processed and you will remain on scholarship in your original program.
- do receive an offer for the new program, but your request to transfer your scholarship is not approved you will lose your scholarship if you proceed with the new program. You can elect to remain in your original program, on scholarship.
Honours
This information is for students in the single BAdvHum(Hons) program only. Students of the dual BHum/LLB(Hons) will complete honours towards the LLB(Hons) component of the program. Information on how honours is calculated for the LLB(Hons) can be found here.
Honours in Western Civilisation is a year of high-quality study in an area of your choice from the courses you have taken throughout the first three years of your program. For those who choose not to continue onto a postgraduate or research higher degree, Honours still provides a significant competitive edge in the job market.
Honours in Western Civilisation is a distinct 16-unit Field of Study comprising a 4-unit coursework course and a 12-unit Honours Research Thesis, and is only available for students of the Bachelor of Advanced Humanities (Honours) program who have completed an extended major in Western Civilisation.
Progression to the Honours Field of Study in Western Civilisation
Students who commenced the BAdvHum(Hons) in 2020 or 2021:
- Successfully complete all 48 units of courses that comprise the Core, Extended Major, and General Electives, and
- Obtain a minimum GPA of 5.5 across 46 units (those listed above excluding HUMN3300), or
- Obtain a minimum GPA of 5.5 across all courses in the Western Civilisation extended major.
The highest GPA between 2 and 3 above will be used to determine progression into the Honours Field of Study in Western Civilisation.
Students who commenced the BAdvHum(Hons) in 2022 or later:
- Successfully complete all 48 units of courses that comprise the Core, Extended Major, and General Electives, and
- Obtain a minimum GPA of 5.5 across all courses in the Western Civilisation extended major.
Duration
Honours is taken over one year of full-time or two years of part-time study, commencing in semester one only. There is no mid-year commencement of Honours in Western Civilisation.
How to progress to Research Honours
- Make an appointment with your proposed supervisor to discuss your interests and proposed thesis topic. Your proposed supervisor will be the academic staff member in the discipline of your intended thesis topic.
- Download and complete the Western Civilisation Field of Study Honours Proposal Form (2026 form to be uploaded soon).
- Have this form signed by your proposed supervisor.
- Submit the form to advhum@uq.edu.au by the last Friday of November.
Honours Proposed Supervisors
Classical Studies | Professor Alastair Blanshard |
| Alastair Blanshard is the Paul Eliadis Professor in Classics and Ancient History. Alastair is a cultural historian interested in the interplay between the ancient and modern world. He has published work on the impact of classical aesthetics on ideas about the body, ancient Greek masculinity, homosexuality and the history of sexuality, Greek warfare, Ancient inscriptions, the collecting of antiquities in the 18th and 19th century, and the representation of ancient Greece and Rome in cinema. He is happy to supervise on any topic that explores the ancient world or representations of antiquity in the modern world. | |
American Studies | Dr Tamlyn Avery |
| Dr Tamlyn Avery is a Lecturer in American Studies, specialising in literary studies and modernism. She is the author of The Regional Development of the American Bildungsroman, 1900–1960 (Edinburgh UP 2023), and the co-editor of the Australasian Modernist Studies Network’s journal, Affirmations: of the Modern. Her research appears or is forthcoming in PMLA (Cambridge UP), American Literature (Duke UP), Modernism/Modernity (Johns Hopkins UP), The Mississippi Quarterly (Johns Hopkins UP), and elsewhere. She welcomes Honours projects on any topics adjacent to modern literature and film; American and African American studies; modernist studies; musico-literary and sound studies; or critical race studies, postcolonialism, and cultural studies of the Black Atlantic and Global South. She also teaches Australian Studies, and welcomes projects in this area, too. | |
Interdisciplinary Humanities | Dr Karin Sellberg |
| Karin Sellberg is a Lecturer in Humanities specialising in late-twentieth century and contemporary feminist fiction, feminist philosophy, medical humanities and queer and trans* theory. She is particularly interested in the embodied poetics of Margaret Atwood, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Jeanette Winterson and Angela Carter, transgender transition narratives, posthuman and new materialist feminist theory. She also has a separate research interest in early modern history and philosophy of medicine, early modern midwifery manuals and theories of congenital deformity, ‘monstrosity’ and teratology. She would be very happy to supervise projects within any of these general research areas, and she has supervised honours projects in disciplines ranging from history and philosophy to literary and gender studies. | |
English Literature | Dr Jennifer Clement |
| Jennifer Clement is a senior lecturer in English Literature and a specialist in early modern English literature. She is the author of Reading Humility in Early Modern England (Ashgate, 2015) and of numerous articles on early modern literature, religion, and rhetoric; Shakespeare and film adaptation; Shakespeare and reception; and early modern women’s writing. She would be very happy to supervise projects in any of these areas, and is willing to consider other literature-focused projects as well. | |
European Enlightenment Studies | Associate Professor Ryan Walter |
| Ryan Walter is Associate Professor in Political Economy. He is an intellectual historian who studies economic and political ideas in Britain, c. 1500-2000. His most recent book examines the contest between Robert Malthus and David Ricardo to define the role of the political economist amidst widespread hostility to the very idea of a science of wealth. He is happy to supervise any topic in intellectual history, including methodological topics. | |
Legal History and Philosophy | Dr David Kearns |
| David Kearns is Lecturer in Legal History and Philosophy. He is a legal historian interested in the early modern English common law and its Australian reception. David’s research focuses on the early modern relationship between common law and sovereignty, Thomas Hobbes’s legal writings, the relationship between theory and law, and the role of natural law and common law in contemporary native title jurisprudence. He is happy to supervise on any topic that explores early modern legal history or philosophy, or contemporary indigenous rights law. | |
Music | Dr Anne Levitsky |
| Anne Levitsky (Lecturer in Music) is a scholar and performer of medieval vernacular song and its connections to the larger cultural milieu of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. She has published work on personification and embodiment of song in troubadour lyric poetry, grammatical gender in medieval vernacular song, and intersexuality in the Middle Ages, and her current book project looks broadly at the way medieval natural philosophy appears in troubadour songs, seeking to change our understanding of the relationship between Latin scholastic sources and lyric poetry. She is happy to supervise on any topic that explores medieval European musical cultures (very broadly defined). | |
Western Political Thought | Professor Richard Devetak |
| Richard Devetak is Professor in the School of Political Science and International studies. Richard is an intellectual historian and political theorist. He is happy to supervise topics broadly under the headings of international relations and the history of political thought. The focus of his most recent research has been concerned with intellectual and practical political developments in early modern international relations (1800-1800), but he is also interested in twentieth century political and international theories and their attempts to analyse contemporary global problems such as globalisation, humanitarianism, war, the laws of war, and terrorism. | |
Western Religious Traditions | Dr James Lancaster |
| James Lancaster is Lecturer in Studies in Western Religious Traditions in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry. James is an intellectual historian with a specialism in early modern religious and scientific history. He has interests in the history of Judaism and Christianity, the history of atheism and irreligion, the history of science, and the psychology of religion. He is happy to supervise any topic concerning Jewish, Christian or irreligious thought, the history of science from the sixteenth century to the Enlightenment, or the philosophy and psychology of religion. | |
Women's Writing | Dr Lisa Walters |
| Lisa Walters is Senior Lecturer in Women's Writing. She has published on Margaret Cavendish, early modern women, and William Shakespeare, and is interested in the ways that Renaissance literature intersects with science, gender, philosophy, folklore, sexuality, and political thought. Dr Walters is also interested in the ways Renaissance and early modern women are represented in modern films, documentaries and TV. She is happy to supervise on these topics as well as authors studied in the Women and Gender course (WCIV3000). | |
Honours Coordinator
Dr Lisa Walters is the Honours Coordinator for the Centre for Western Civilisation and is available to answer questions.
Class of Honours in Research
All students who graduate with the BAdvHum(Hons) will receive a Class of Honours.
Students who commenced the BAdvHum(Hons) in 2020 or 2021*: The Class of Honours is calculated based on the GPA of the grades obtained by a student in the first attempt at all 18 units from the BAdvHum(Hons) Honours Courses (HUMN3300 and all level 6 WCIV courses).
Students who commenced the BAdvHum(Hons) in 2022 or later: The Class of Honours is calculated based on the GPA of the grades obtained by a student in the first attempt at all 16 units of BAdvHum(Hons) Honours Courses (all level 6 WCIV courses).
* Due to the change of rule pertaining to Class of Honours in 2022, students who commenced prior to 2022 will have their Class of Honours calculated against the rule in place at the time they commenced the program, and the current rule. The best GPA will be used to award the Class of Honours.
Based on this GPA, students will receive a Class of Honours in accordance with the table below:
| GPA | Class of Honours |
|---|---|
| 6.200 - 7.000 | Class I |
| 5.650 - 6.199 | Class IIA |
| 5.000 - 5.649 | Class IIB |
| 4.000 - 4.999 | Class IIIA |
| <4.000 | Class IIIB |
Honours is awarded in accordance with the University's Bachelor Honours Degree Procedures.
Queries with Honours
If you are experiencing any difficulty during your honours year, or have any questions about completing or progressing to the honours year, contact the Honours Coordinator, Dr Lisa Walters.
Where to go for assistance
As a student studying an extended major in Western Civilisation you are enrolled in a program administered by the HASS Faculty. As such, any query regarding credit and exemptions, course enrolment, dropping a course, exchange study, program changing, adding a concurrent Undergraduate Diploma, Dean’s Honour Roll, graduation or progression checks should be made to the HASS Faculty Student Administration office.
If you have a question about the extended major more specifically, your scholarship including travel for a Global Experience, timetabling, or assessment and results please contact us via email at westernciv@uq.edu.au.
Contact
Centre for Western Civilisation
Student Enquiries:
Email: westernciv@uq.edu.au
Staff and External Enquiries:
Email: managerwesternciv@uq.edu.au
HASS Student Administration
Room E207, Forgan Smith Building (1),
The University of Queensland,
St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
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