GCST6922, Dissertation 1 and GCST6923, Dissertation 2 are departmental approval units. In order to apply for them, your proposal needs to be sent to the Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator (who is also coordinator of the units), who will determine whether your project is feasible and can be supervised within the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies. The proposal form is available on the PG coursework e-community site on elearning. Alternatively, contact Dr Shawna Tang by email to get it: shawna.tang@sydney.edu.au. GCST6922 and GCST6923 are normally taken in consecutive semesters but can on by special permission be taken together.

Supervision - Your supervisor will provide guidance about the processes of defining, developing and writing up your project. As the investigator/author you are responsible for undertaking research and generating the ideas you present to your supervisor for their feedback. Any final decisions about your work are yours to make. Think of your supervisor as an educated interlocutor rather than an instructor. Their role is ultimately advisory and you need to be proactive in producing work, setting goals and letting them know what guidance you require.

You need to agree how the time your supervisor has available for your supervision is used for meetings, reading work, and email correspondence, in a pattern that suits you both. You should meet regularly, and early on you should come to an understanding about how frequently. This could vary depending on the periods when you may need more support (e.g. writing up), or when one of you is more or less available. Note that supervisors may be away or on leave for periods of time and you need to plan around this, especially regarding feedback prior to submission.

Please refer to the Faculty Code of Practice for Supervision of Masters Dissertations.

Department of Gender and Cultural Studies Academic Skills Workshops – The Department runs an annual series of short skills workshops open to all postgraduate and honours students. Students enrolled in the MCS dissertation must attend at least 4 of these over their candidature. Details of sessions are circulated on the GCS email list.

Ethics approval – Some dissertation research projects involving research with humans will require approval by the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). If you are doing fieldwork (such as surveys, interviews or ethnography) your supervisor will advise and help you to apply. See: http://sydney.edu.au/research_support/ethics/human/ The committee aims to have a fast turnaround for student projects. Projects that do not involve complex or sensitive forms of research may be approved in one meeting of the committee, or if minor queries or modifications arise these applications can often be approved over two meetings. Meeting dates are listed here: http://sydney.edu.au/research_support/ethics/human/deadlines.shtml

Postgraduate Coursework Thesis Library – Selected previous Master of Cultural Studies dissertations are available for viewing and short term borrowing.

The Quarter (https://news.library.sydney.edu.au/the-quarter-has-opened/) is a PG coursework only study area.

Time management - Dissertations require you to work independently. It is therefore important to plan your time. Create a schedule that is adapted to other demands on your time and block out the periods necessary to complete goals you have set. Always ensure you have something to work on. For instance, if you have sent something for your supervisor to read, and are waiting for feedback or a chance to discuss it, make sure you have another task in the meantime.

Discuss your timeline for achieving goals—such as when you plan to complete data collection/analysis, individual chapters, or the first draft—with your supervisor. While each project will vary, it is generally advisable to start writing earlier rather than later, so that you can then spend more time revising and editing. If you have agreed with your supervisor that they will read some of your work, establish when they will be able to do so, and how much time they need to read it. Don’t forget you will also need to leave time to revise your work in response to feedback.

General philosophies of assessment practice

Departments within the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry follow Academic Board and Faculty of Arts guidelines in awarding a determined percentage of each grade.

1. The School favours ‘deep learning’ over ‘shallow learning’. In other words, we are more interested in evidence that students have made conceptual developments in their ways of understanding and interpreting the world than in their familiarity with 'facts', figures and dates.
2. Original and thoughtful argument is valued more highly than polished regurgitations of lectures or set reading.
3. Evidence of a thoughtful response to the conceptual framework of any individual unit is valued more highly than pre-existing skills of, for example, debate and expression.
4. Students are encouraged to explore areas of particular interest to themselves, and will be rewarded for initiative and ingenuity in discovering relevant material.
5. An idea that cannot be expressed clearly probably has not been understood clearly. We therefore value evidence of logical, coherent thought, argument and expression in essays.
6. While recognising that the political and ethical values of students vary widely, the School does not reward or condone unreasoned polemic or racism or sexism.

• monitoring the student-supervisor relationship and working to resolve any problems with it
• making Masters Dissertation students aware of people within the department or program, the faculty, and the wider university to whom they can turn for advice
• ensuring that students and supervisors are aware of the university’s policies and procedures with respect to intellectual property, including questions of authorship and exploitation of inventions and other intellectual property.

Departments and programs supervising Joint Masters Dissertations should maintain close contact with the student to ensure that expectations are met.

II. Responsibilities of the Supervisor

Supervisors must:

• ensure that the student is aware of the standards expected for a Masters Dissertation
• identify with the student the particular research methods and analytical skills that will need to be developed and recommend enrolling in relevant methodology coursework units
• negotiate with the student a plan for the researching and writing of the dissertation, which may include a deadline for submitting a complete draft, arrangements for supervision meetings, and so on
• make themselves available to meet with a dissertation student for half an hour every two weeks, on average, during semester; meetings may be shorter or less frequent while the student is concentrating on coursework, and longer or more frequent in the later stages of the dissertation
• at the discretion of the supervisor, meetings may be scheduled during semester breaks, however, this is not a requirement
• return written work with constructive criticism within three weeks or a shorter agreed time
• provide the student with feedback on progress, identify any problems, and suggest ways of addressing them
• keep the Chair of Department, Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator, or Masters Dissertation Unit Coordinator informed of any problems that occur during the researching and writing of the dissertation
• provide appropriate and timely advice on requirements regarding content, style, presentation and production of the dissertation
• work with the student in preparing an application to the the University’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) if the dissertation research involves human subjects or for any other reason requires consideration by the Ethics Committee
• be aware of the support services for students which exist within the University.

III. Responsibilities of the Student

The student:

• is solely responsible for the content, style, presentation and production of the dissertation that is finally presented
• is expected to devote at least 8 to 10 hours per week during semester to researching and writing the dissertation
• must ensure that there is sufficient time allocated to write up the dissertation and to ascertain what is necessary in terms of content, style and presentation
• should negotiate with the supervisor a plan for the researching and writing of the dissertation, which may include details of a deadline for submitting a complete draft, arrangements for supervision meetings, and so on
• should draw the attention of the supervisor, Chair of Department, Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator or Masters Dissertation Unit Coordinator to difficulties being experienced
• must be familiar with any departmental, faculty or other university written rules or guidelines relating to Masters Dissertation including ethics requirements for research with human subjects
• must work with the supervisor in preparing an application to the he University’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) if the dissertation research involves human subjects or for any other reason requires consideration by the Ethics Committee. Further details are at: http://sydney.edu.au/research_support/ethics/human/committee.shtml