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Master of Geography (MC-GEOG) // Attributes, outcomes and skills
You’re currently viewing the 2023 version of this course
About this course
Contact
Currently enrolled students:
- General information: https://ask.unimelb.edu.au
- Contact Stop 1
Future students:
- Further information: http://science.unimelb.edu.au/
Coordinator
Associate Professor Russell Drysdale
Intended learning outcomes
At the completion of this course, students should:
- be familiar with the latest research developments in their chosen field of geographic inquiry;
- be able to develop research questions from a critical reading of a body of literature;
- be able to design and implement a field, laboratory and/or literature/archival-based research project; and
- gain an understanding of major conceptual debates in physical and/or human geography, and their implications for research methodology.
Generic skills
The Master of Geography allows students to enhance the following generic skills (depending on the course structure chosen):
- research skills, particularly in the conception, design and implementation of a research project.
- communication skills, particularly: the oral and written defence of a research proposal (including the intellectual basis of the research design, justification of the methods to be used, and potential shortcomings); oral communication of research results; written communication of entire research via the thesis; and development of presentation skills at conferences and workshops where such opportunities are made available to the student.
- project management, as it relates to the planning of the research, from conception, through implementation to presentation.
- critical analysis skills, specifically as it relates to reviewing literature and interrogating the student’s research results as well as those of others.
- observation and practical skills, particularly in relation to the conduct of field work, where such opportunities are available.
- self-assurance skills, particularly in developing a student’s confidence in tackling an independent research project and independent coursework study.
- team work and engagement skills, particularly as they relate to the enhancing of the intellectual relationship between student and supervisor, and between student, his/her peers and the wider academic environment.
Graduate attributes
Graduates will:
- have the ability to demonstrate advanced independent critical enquiry, analysis and reflection;
- have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship;
- have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s);
- reach a high level of achievement in writing, research or project activities, problem-solving and communication;
- be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning;
- be able to examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a broad range of disciplines;
- have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment; and
- be able to initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces.
Last updated: 14 February 2024