The Australian honours research degree plays an important role as a pre-requisite for direct entry into doctoral research programmes. The honours degree training is particularly important to health disciplines where there is a growing recognition of the importance of research training to embed evidence-based approaches to practice. This study…

The undergraduate honours-level dissertation is a significant component of many UK undergraduate programmes, as a key stage in the longer-term intellectual and career development of potential researchers and knowledge-workers, and also a critical contributor to immediate award outcome. This study aims to identify how dissertation supervisors…

Excellence ('honours') programmes are a relatively new way in Dutch higher education institutions to serve the needs of talented and ambitious students, but may also serve as a testing ground for educational innovations. Using the structural ambidexterity concept, this paper investigates if and how excellence education functions as explorative…

The study of classics has been part of Australian and New Zealand higher education from the beginnings of tertiary education in these countries, followed shortly after by the study of ancient history. This article offers an analysis of current units of study in each Australian and New Zealand public university that continues to teach classics and…

In honours programmes, teachers face the task of designing courses in which students feel challenged and learn from accomplishing demanding assignments. The aim of this study was to investigate students' and teachers' perceptions of challenge and learning in an honours programme. From 2016 to 2019, students and teachers rated the learning…

This study considers the value of honors programs by investigating alumni perspectives of learning goals relative to personal and professional development. Using a longitudinal cross-sectional survey instrument, authors track participants (n = 79) for four consecutive years (2017-2021). Qualitative measures indicate the importance of freedom to…

Undergraduate science degrees in South Africa seldom offer explicit courses focussing on improving the disciplinary writing skills required for effectively communicating scientific research. Similarly, most students entering the 'Honours' degree in Molecular Medicine at a South African university have not commonly been afforded opportunities to…

This collaboration between the dance and learning technology departments at Bath Spa University, sought to develop a dance repertoire module with the use of mobile technologies, in order to enhance collaborative and discursive opportunities for students. The introduction of mobile technologies into a face-to-face teaching environment initiated a…

Stellenbosch University students who graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Management Accounting or a Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Accounting may convert to a Bachelor of Accounting by completing a conversion year. The purpose of the conversion year is to meet the Bachelor of Accounting Honours admission requirements, which puts students…

How are students selected for higher education excellence programmes in the Netherlands, and which preferences do selectors have in the selection process? This article answers this question by using a questionnaire including vignettes among fifty selectors of excellence programmes from eighteen institutions, supplemented with in-depth interviews…

Honours programmes have successfully provided academic rigour, special scholarships, and better career prospects over a century. However, recruiting and retaining these exceptional students -- the key to creating a successful honours programme -- becomes more challenging when the national college enrolment declines significantly every year. Hence…

During the period of remote learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, honors programs were forced to innovate new digital possibilities for fulfilling the objectives of an honors education. Learning experiences offered during study abroad programs were among the most difficult to provide in a virtual format. The honors program at Eastern Michigan…

A novel learning intervention has been developed and tested in which honor's level Earth science students were tasked with conducting interviews with established geologists working in the Southern African minerals sector. The task was designed using Laurillard's conversational framework as a theoretical underpinning, which offers an iterative and…

Developing assessment and feedback strategies to assist students with progression and graduation is a key focus for many higher education institutions. However, student engagement with feedback is often poor and they can find it difficult to act upon; often stating the feedback is generic or of insufficient quality for improvement. Here, I present…

Cognitive injustice, which nourishes and sustains current political, social and economic injustice, has been at the centre of the knowledge production enterprise since the colonisers embarked on their project of dispossession and plunder. In order to achieve global justice, the quest for epistemic justice needs to be brought to the centre of…