Information for Humanities and Social Sciences students

Information and administrative assistance

The Faculty offers degrees by coursework and degrees by research, which have separate information and administration services available to students.

The Faculty Student Centre provides information and assistance to coursework students who have inquiries and concerns about student and course administration. The Faculty Student Centre coordinates a wide range of Faculty activities including enrolment, production and distribution of class timetables, identification of potential graduands, and the processing of student leave applications, special consideration, and variation of programs. The Faculty Student Centre assists with interpretation of University rules and regulations, and provides various forms for students of the Faculty.

The Research Degrees Administrator provides similar assistance to postgraduate research students.

Faculty Student Centre

Research Degrees Administrator

Statement on scholarly work and its presentation

Scholarly work involves working with texts by authors in different fields. These authors have intellectual property rights to their work, so in the scholarly process of quotation, commentary, paraphrase and interpretation, specific rules or protocols must be observed. These apply to audiovisual texts as well as to writing.

In the production of work by students in the Faculty, the protocol to be observed is the acknowledgment of the work of other authors, whether this work takes the form of an idea, a section of text, sounds or images. Unacknowledged copying, paraphrasing or summarising can be considered plagiarism, if this involves 'passing it off as one's own' (Macquarie Dictionary, 1991, p 1353). Work involving plagiarism is not accepted for assessment and may be the subject of disciplinary action.

Conventions for acknowledgment are well established, but take different forms. It is the responsibility of students to familiarise themselves with these conventions and to use them. The following resource is useful:

• Snooks & Co. (revised), Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, 6th edn, Wiley, 2002

A useful site that outlines issues in using information appropriately can be found at:

The UTS: Bell program provides an extensive and continually updated range of resources, classes and tutorials to enhance your skills as a learner. Visit the website at:

UTS Student Exchange and Study Abroad programs (Outbound)

Students at UTS can study overseas as part of their degree through either the International Student Exchange Program or Study Abroad.

Students on International Exchange at an institution with which UTS has a memorandum of understanding pay through HECS-HELP.

Visit the UTS Institute for International Studies website for more information about the UTS Exchange Program:

Students on Study Abroad at an overseas institution enrol at that university and pay full fees to that institution.

Visit the UTS International Office website for more information on Study Abroad:

Short courses and continuing professional education (CPE)

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences regularly runs in-house short courses, seminars, workshops, organisational training and other professional development programs.

Short Course programs are available in:

• Advertising (UTS/AFA AdSchool)
• Journalism and Writing (Australian Centre for Independent Journalism)
• Pro Tools Sound Design (UTS Pro School)
• Media Presentation Skills (Australian Centre for Public Communication).

New programs are constantly in development. For details on programs running at any given time, visit the Faculty's short courses website:

Faculty centres and associations

The following centres and research initiatives are associated with the Faculty.

Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ)

Established in 1990, the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism supports and develops independent, critical and investigative journalism, educational and professional development, and journalism research.

The ACIJ supports and administers:

• regular publications, including community newspaper The Point and online magazine Reportage, both of which welcome student contributions
• an active volunteer program for students interested in participating in the Centre's activities
• short courses in journalism, print production and research skills, including twice-yearly shorthand courses for journalism students
• conferences, seminars, guest lectures and forums
• the annual George Munster Award for Independent Journalism, and other awards
• the annual Public Right to Know (PR2K) Conference
• small research grants for journalism projects
• submissions to government inquiries, to protect and extend the rights of journalists and freedom of the press
• production of journalism training manuals, resources and reporting guides, and publication and sales of critical and investigative books and articles.

The ACIJ has a strong interest in investigative journalism, undertaking investigative journalism projects on a regular basis. These appear in both the mainstream media and the Centre's online publication Reportage, as well as in special reports. The ACIJ also conducts research briefs on commission from media and other organisations in the community.

Websites

Australian Centre for Public Communication (ACPC)

Public Communication is a dynamic and challenging field addressing communication issues and practices in the public domain. The Australian Centre for Public Communication was founded in 2002 as an initiative of the highly regarded Public Communication Program Area at UTS, to provide a focus for debate and research about ideas, issues and events in the field, both in Australia and internationally. Activities carried out by the ACPC include:

• developing links with overseas scholars and institutions
• developing industry liaison and partnerships, particularly work experience, internship programs and job opportunities for students and graduates
• undertaking research projects for the extension of knowledge in public communication and the development of professional ethical practice
• seminars, publications, short courses, organisational training and Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
• alumni Chapter communication and activities.

Visit the ACPC website at:

Australian Centre for Public History (ACPH)

Public history in Australia has been defined as the practice of history by academically trained historians working for public agencies or as freelancers. Public historians may work in heritage conservation, commissioned history, museums, the media, education, radio, film, interactive multimedia and other areas. They are concerned with addressing the relationship between audience, practice and social context.

The Australian Centre for Public History promotes the practice and understanding of public history in both the academy and the community. It is linked to the postgraduate coursework Public History Program in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and supports the growth of research degrees in the public history area.

Established in 1998, the Centre's objectives are to:

• provide a variety of bodies in educational, community and professional sectors with a gateway to public history expertise and resources at UTS
• facilitate innovative and flexible teaching
• facilitate communication between Australian and international historians working in public and applied history, including staff and student exchanges, in the Asia-Pacific region as well as in Europe and North America
• facilitate international curriculum development
• seek local, state and federal support for public history and related endeavours
• foster and undertake research in the area of public history and to carry out appropriate consultancies to support these objectives.

Centre projects include an Australian Research Council funded project on Australian memorials in the second half of the 20th century, a history of Sutherland Shire and an oral history project on some of Sydney's northern beachside suburbs in the 1930s.

Research Initiative in International Activism

The field of social movement research is exceptionally fertile. Founded in 2002, the UTS Research Initiative in International Activism explores and analyses activism, social movements, social change, the politics of globalisation, and the fluidities and contestations that characterise their interactions.

The Initiative seeks to enable comparative and other avenues of collaboration through a focus on three areas of general research.

• Grounded international analysis of social activism and social movement mobilisation.
• Analysis of Australian social activism and movements within this framework.
• Engagement with debates about social activism, social change and social movements in a number of disciplines and in a range of cultural and linguistic traditions.

The Initiative also hosts seminars, forums and conferences. Visit the website at:

Trans/forming Cultures Centre

Trans/forming Cultures is a Key University Research Centre in Communication and Culture. It supports project-based research on 'narratives of the local' in Australia, and in the regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The Centre investigates social and cultural change in cultural history, cultural interaction and new media, international activism, place and environment and transnational cultures. The Centre endorses a research culture that supports an ethics of transformation and intervention, relevance and respect.

Details of the Centre's aims, projects, publications, seminars, workshops and conference program can be found at:

TROUTS

The Theatre Repertoire of UTS (TROUTS) is the University's Drama Society. Open to all students, the society offers the chance to get involved in theatre, write, direct, perform, manage, light, and design, etc. Visit the webpage via:

Vertigo

Vertigo is the newspaper produced during semester by and for the students of the University. It is distributed to every UTS campus and is also available at various theatres, cinemas, record shops and bookshops around Sydney. It remains a helpful tool for students studying journalism and professional writing in terms of the development of professional skills, and provides invaluable experience in all aspects of information gathering and newspaper production.

Find out more at:

The UTS Writers' Group

This collective is run by and for students and is open to all students at the University.

Group activities have included readings, seminars, workshops, guest speakers, and the editing and publication of the UTS Writers' Anthology. The group also runs successful fundraising activities.

Committee positions within the group fall vacant at the end of each Spring semester, and new students are encouraged to join and extend the activities of the group.