Honours in Accounting and/or Finance

Benefits of fourth year honours

The Honours Program offered by The Department of Accounting and Finance provides students with an enhanced opportunity for careers in industry and/or academia, by providing advanced studies in accounting, finance, a combination of both and finance/econometrics. It is an opportunity to challenge and extend your knowledge and is different from anything you have previously experienced in your undergraduate studies. An honours degree provides you with analytical skills, problem-solving, strategic thinking, presentation and communication skills as well as benefits/opportunities such as:

Careers

An Honours degree provides you with enhanced employment opportunities. While some employers require an honours year, others recognise the attributes an honours graduate brings to the workforce. Also an Honours degree is the first step towards a position at a university as well as higher degree (PhD) studies.

Self-development

Honours classes are typically small and involve a high degree of staff and student interaction. Students in Honours are exposed to the latest research and knowledge in the units chosen and develop research and presentation skills, as well as improving self-confidence and develop networking skills for the future.

Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) (Caulfield/Clayton campus)

The Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in accounting, finance and finance/ econometrics is offered across the Caulfield and Clayton campuses, with classes being taught at either campus on any given day. The Honours program has a semester 1 intake only and commences on 8 February 2010 with an induction week, which all students are required to attend.

Course Structure

Accounting and/or finance specialisation*
Students must have their enrolment approved by the head, or nominee, of the Department of Accounting and Finance.

* Students wishing to complete an honours year specialising in both accounting and finance should select one core unit from each discipline in first semester.

Finance and econometrics specialisation
Students must have their enrolment approved by the heads, or their nominees, of the Departments of Econometrics and Business Statistics, and Accounting and Finance.

Please note that it is possible to do the honours year part-time however units are only available during the day. For accounting and finance students undertaking the program part-time this involves the completion of two core "issues" units in first semester and the elective unit in second semester of your first year. In the second year, research methods and research proposal are taken in first semester and the research dissertation (thesis) is completed in the second semester.

For finance and econometrics students this involves completion of one AFX unit and one ETC unit in the first semester of each year. In the second semester of the first year the elective unit is taken and the research project is completed in the second semester of the second year.

Admission requirements

Admission in the Department of Accounting and Finance Honours program is competitive and selection is at the discretion of the Head of Department or nominee. Whilst meeting the minimum application criteria is essential, this does not guarantee admission into the Honours program. The minimum requirements are as follows:
Accounting and/or Finance specialisation
Applicants must have completed a bachelor degree, with a major in accounting and/or finance offered by the Faculty of Business and Economics or an equivalent qualification from another university; and have achieved an average equivalent to at least 70% in discipline specific second and third year units.

Finance and Econometrics specialisation
Applicants must have completed successfully a bachelor degree offered by the Faculty of Business and Economics or an equivalent qualification from another university; and have achieved an average equivalent to at least 70% in relevant second and third year units.
Applicants should have completed at least three third year finance and three third year econometrics units including ETC3400 and ETC3410. Other appropriate third year units are ETC3450, ETC 3460, ETC3480, ETC3500 and ETC3510. Applicants should have completed ETC3470 (Econometrics (pre-honours)). Applicants who have not completed ETC3470 and who have obtained at least a credit average in relevant third year units may be considered in special circumstances. These applicants will be expected to complete additional work during either the long vacation or concurrently.

How to apply:

Domestic student application forms for the honours program can be obtained from http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/student/forms/index.html.

International student application forms are available from http://www.monash.edu/study/international/apply/  and submitted to International Recruitment Services (Note that if you have or are going to apply for PR you must complete an International student application form).

Please note that when applying for the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in the Department of Accounting and Finance your application must include a one to two page summary addressing the following: why you would like to do honours at Monash, your areas of research interest and, if known, which topic you would like to pursue in your honours research project.

Faculty scholarships

The Faculty of Business and Economics offers scholarships in the form of Awards for Excellence to outstanding students who are undertaking an Honours program in the Faculty. Scholarships are awarded based on academic merit to CSP and fee-paying students. Applications open 1 August 2009 and close 31 October 2009 for 2010. Information regarding 2010 scholarships will be available at http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/student/scholarships/

Departmental scholarships

The Department of Accounting and Finance offers a limited number of scholarships to outstanding students undertaking an Honours program within the Department. The final selection will be by competitive panel interview. The panel will consist of the Head of Department, a deputy head, the department's honours coordinator and the department's higher degrees research coordinator. Potential recipients will be selected for interview based on:
Grades obtained in accounting and/or finance units during the final two years of their degree(s);
Prize(s) awarded for academic achievement(s); and
The one to two page written component of the application.

Contacts

Honours Administrator:
Kim Miller: Kim.Miller@BusEco.monash.edu.au
Honours coordinator:
Axel Schulz: Axel.Schulz@buseco.monash.edu.au
 
Bachelor of Business and Commerce (Honours) (Berwick, Gippsland and Peninsula campuses)