• Section 1 - Purpose and Context
• Section 2 - Definitions
• Section 3 - Policy Statement
• Part A - Structure of Postgraduate Courses
• Part B - Admission
• Part C - Advanced Standing
• Part D - Progression, Completion and Graduation
• Part E - Postgraduate Students Undertaking Undergraduate Subject
• Section 4 - Procedures
• Section 5 - Guidelines

Section 1 - Purpose and Context

(1) This policy should be read in conjunction with the current UWS Policies governing the Admission, Enrolment, Progression and Graduation of students.

(2) This policy provides coherent guidelines for the structure of postgraduate awards. The following principles underpin the guidelines for the structure of postgraduate awards:

1. Flexibility and student choice;
2. High quality;
3. Accommodation of professional requirements;
4. Coherence and defined areas of concentration;
5. Consistency, where appropriate, across the University;
6. Variation, where there are strong reasons for it;
7. Facilitation of student movement across the tertiary education sector.

Section 2 - Definitions

(3) Nil.

Section 3 - Policy Statement

Part A - Structure of Postgraduate Courses

(4) Normally, all taught postgraduate courses will be structured to have embedded exit points of Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Masters.

(5) A Graduate certificate award is normally at least 30 credit points, with 60 credit points as the ceiling, with the expectation that most Graduate Certificate awards would be either 30 or 40 credit points in length.

(6) A Graduate Diploma award is normally at least 60 credit points, with 60 credit points regarded as the norm and 80 credit points as the ceiling.

(7) A Masters award is normally at least 80 credit points.

(8) UWS postgraduate awards conform to the nomenclature for award titles prescribed in the Australian Qualifications Framework.

(9) Postgraduate courses are specialised and highly structured, and student free choice of units will, of necessity, be non-existent or restricted. Free choice of electives may be permitted within some courses but will always be less than 25% of the units the student takes.

(10) Postgraduate courses and units may be offered in a variety of delivery modes - full-time, intensive, part-time, external, off-shore - according to perceived demand. The academic requirements and the standards expected from students will not differ according to the mode of presentation.

(11) Postgraduate units are assigned either 10 credit points or multiples of 10. Values of multiples of 10 credit points will attach primarily to special long-term research units or thesis preparation units in Honours or postgraduate research degrees.

Part B - Admission

(12) As per the Admissions Policy - Postgraduate coursework admission.

Deferred admission

(13) As per Admissions Policy - Deferred Admission (Postgraduate Coursework).

Part C - Advanced Standing

(14) Students will not be given Advanced Standing for units previously taken to meet undergraduate award requirements. No Advanced Standing will be granted for study completed more than ten years ago other than in exceptional circumstances.

(15) Irrespective of any credit that may be given, at least 50% of the credit points required to gain a postgraduate award must be achieved through formal study at UWS, and be subject to the policy in the UWS Admissions Policy.

(16) Credit is not given for mandatory units within a course unless the student has completed clearly comparable units at an equivalent tertiary institution. Where a student has not completed clearly comparable units, credit can only be given for non-mandatory units (if any) in the program.

(17) Where applicants are seeking credit based on non-credentialed learning, the granting of credit must be approved by the Head of School and Unit Coordinator. For more information see Advanced Standing and Recognition of Prior Learning Policy.

Part D - Progression, Completion and Graduation

(18) Each Postgraduate coursework award has specified completion requirements that students must attain. (see Structure of Postgraduate Coursework awards above).

(19) Conceded passes are not permitted in any postgraduate coursework award. (see UWS Assessment and Examinations Policy - Grading Standards - Table 1 - Final Grades). Students who have received a fail in the final unit of their degree may apply to the School Academic Committee to undertake a supplementary assessment for that unit. (see UWS Assessment and Examinations Policy - Supplementary Assessment in the final unit of a Course).

(20) UWS students, upon completion of a lower level nested award, can apply for transfer to the higher level award. If a student chooses to graduate from a lower level award, they will then need to re-apply for the higher level award. The previously completed nested award will be noted on the academic transcript as advanced standing (see Admissions Policy - Postgraduate Coursework ).

(21) Where a student is given provisional enrolment in a Graduate Certificate, instead of a Graduate Diploma or Masters award, because of lack of prior knowledge of the area, transfer to the higher award will be automatic where the student passes all of the units in the Graduate Certificate at their first attempt.

(22) Any variation to the above must be requested at the time of course approval. Arguments supporting the variation must be presented in writing to the Courses Approvals and Articulations Committee.

(23) Students who are enrolled in a higher level coursework award (Masters or Graduate Diploma) who have fulfilled the requirements of a lower nested postgraduate coursework award and wish to exit at the lower level must obtain the permission of the relevant Head of Program.

(24) Students who complete a Masters award (or a Graduate Diploma where no extension to a Masters award is available) are eligible to receive recognition of outstanding grades at graduation ( Graduations Policy - Graduation with Distinction). The levels of recognition, and the Grade Point Averages required to achieve them, are to be in accord with Graduations Policy - Cumulative Grade Point Average Rule - Part D).

Part E - Postgraduate Students Undertaking Undergraduate Subject

(25) In some courses, postgraduate students may be required to enrol in undergraduate units, for example, where courses are designed to meet professional requirements for students who have not studied at undergraduate level in the same discipline.

(26) Given the higher expectation of post-graduate studies, it would be expected that post-graduate students would attend the undergraduate lectures then have separate workshops/tutorials and substantially different assessment requirements. In these cases, the unit will be numbered differently for the postgraduate and undergraduate enrolment.

(27) Students will not be given Academic Credit for units previously undertaken to meet undergraduate award requirements. However, undergraduate units undertaken to meet postgraduate award requirements in UWS awards (as stated above) would not fall into this category.

Section 4 - Procedures

(28) Refer to the:

1. Progression and Unsatisfactory Academic Progress Policy;
2. Graduation Policy.

Section 5 - Guidelines

(29) Refer to Postgraduate Coursework Procedural Guidelines.