Humanities and social sciences
What’s on offer for postgraduates?
Humanities postgraduate student profile
Humanities and social sciences is one of the largest, most diverse and most accessible of all fields of study.
A very high proportion of postgraduate students are first-degree graduates of the humanities and social sciences field who go on directly to further study, not least of all because so many have difficulty finding a full-time job. Other postgraduates — thanks to the diversity of the field and the absence of prerequisites — come from just about any academic and professional area.
There is a long tradition of research in humanities and social sciences and research students make up a significant proportion of all enrolled. However, postgraduate coursework programs are claiming an increasing share of the market. Many coursework programs are based on the traditional disciplines, such as philosophy, history, archaeology, to name only a few. Others are interdisciplinary (think population studies and strategic affairs) or relevant to a particular area of work, such as museum or library studies.
If you are contemplating a research degree, note that you can do a substantial amount of research in some coursework programs; this option might suit you better if you’re not sure that you want to dedicate yourself to one area.
The choice between departments usually comes down to what you can find out about its research program and particularly the academics who support it. If there is some strong work in your field of interest, that’s a good sign. But as always, the best way to find out more is to get in there and talk to those in the know, usually the postgraduate or research coordinators.
The experience and rewards
Visit the University Ratings section for humanities and social sciences course ratings or to see how humanities and social sciences rates in the Fields of Study Compared table.
The national Course Experience Questionnaire survey suggests that postgraduates in this field are very pleased with their experience, giving teaching quality and overall satisfaction five stars. Employment prospects are above average and salaries are around the average compared with those of recent postgraduates in other fields.
For more information
If you are interested in the humanities and social sciences field you may find programs of interest in a wide range of other fields: communications , environmental studies , economics , education and training , languages , law , psychology , social work and creative arts are all worth a browse.
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Sally Polack — Graduate Diploma of Information Management |
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