Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Petroleum Geology & Geophysics) - Course Structure

Nominal Length

1 year (full-time). Part time not available.

Type

Fourth year undergraduate SCA-liable program comprising coursework and a research project written up as an internally-examined thesis (~ 5 months).

Potential Applicants

Australian and New Zealand citizens who have completed a BSc majoring in geology and/or geophysics and wish to obtain a highly-regarded entry-level qualification for the upstream Australian petroleum industry.

This program is similar in duration and content to many one-year MSc programs offered by universities in other parts of the world. However, students contemplating international work immediately after graduation should be aware that Australian BSc(Honours) degrees are not widely recognised overseas, where an MSc is the normal entry level qualification. For this reason also, international students are advised to consider the MSc(Petroleum Geoscience) program as an alternative to this program, if they have the prerequisite qualifications.

Prerequisite Qualifications

Applicants normally require an Australian B.Sc. degree (3 years) or recognized overseas equivalent, majoring in geology and/or geophysics. Credit average or better preferred. Graduates with majors in related fields (eg physics, chemistry, marine science) may also be eligible.

Intake dates

One intake only per year, in mid/late February, to synchronise with the start of the Geoscience coursework curriculum.  The program will officially end in the first week of December with oral presentations to industry geologists and the end of year party.

Coursework

A description of the coursework program and course synopses are provided here. 

Research Project and Thesis

For the first time in 2012, students will be allocated time to work on their research project from the start of the Honours program. Research projects are generally provided by petroleum companies or government agencies, although data may be provided from research projects being conducted by academics within the ASP. Research projects are allocated to students by the ASP, but student preferences will be taken into account as much as possible. It is anticipated that available projects will be advertised to students and allocated prior to the commencement of the degree program.

The principal data collection and analysis period for research projects will begin once the coursework program has been completed, this is usually in early June. Projects that are based on an internship within a company will be offered to as many students as possible. Students will have at least one academic supervisor and, where appropriate, an industry supervisor from the sponsor company. The data and/or results may be protected by a confidentiality agreement if necessary. The completed project is documented in a thesis, which must be submitted for examination by a deadline in late October/early November. Thesis grades will be determined following student presentations and an oral defence of the thesis at the end of November.

Industry Internship

In past years, every student has been provided an internship with a company to gain exposure to the industry environment while commencing work on the research project.  However, the number of internship places available varies from year to year, and internship places cannot be guaranteed for every student.  If there are more students than internship places, these places will be allocated based on merit; alternate internship/research projects will be provided within the ASP for students without an industry placement.
For the class of 2011, all Honours students were provided with an internship; these were undertaken with Santos, Exxon, BP, Total, Rodinia, Woodside, PIRSA, Greenrock, BG, CO2CRC, Geoscience Australia, VicDPI and ForbesEnergy.

Scholarships/Project Support

All students in this program who are awarded an internship with a company based outside of Adelaide will be provided with an internship scholarship that will cover travel and additional living expenses (up to $6000). Some Adelaide-based projects may also be associated with a scholarship award; if available these will be advertised alongside the project proposals. Unless clearly stated alongside the project proposal, research expenses will be provided for each project to cover necessary sample analysis/fieldwork costs. This will be managed either by the sponsoring company or the ASP.

Interstate students will be considered for the Tony Williams Scholarship ($1000) or a Relocation Allowance of up to $750. A ConocoPhillips SPIRIT Scholarship Scholarship ($6500 cash, $1500 professional development, vac work) is available to a full-time student undertaking the BSc(Hons) Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, MSc(Petroleum Geoscience), or MSc (Petroleum Geology and Geophysics) at the Australian School of Petroleum. Further details are available here. Calls for applications for other competitive scholarships may be made during the year.

Assessment

Coursework assessments are based on a combination of examinations and the marking of practical exercise and assignments. Results for individual topics are weighted according to the length of the course to arrive at an average coursework mark.

The thesis is assessed by at least two examiners chosen from ASP staff.  

Cost

As these figures and conditions may change, interested students should make enquiries concerning fees to the administration section of the university.

Applications

If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, please complete this application form (link the words application form to the new .pdf one linked from the main Hons page)

If you are an international applicant, please apply using the Postgraduate Coursework Application Form which can be downloaded from www.international.adelaide.edu.au/apply/appforms/

If you have any enquiries regarding application for this program, please direct them to Dr Kathryn Amos, Program Co-ordinator (hyperlink my name to my email address, kathryn.amos@adelaide.edu.au).

Applications from Australian (citizen and permanent resident) applicants will be reviewed in two rounds. In 2011, these will take place on the 31st August and 31st October. Successful applicants will be notified shortly after these dates. Unsuccesful applicants reviewed in the first round will be carried over and included in the second round of review. All applicants reviewed in the second round of review will be notified shortly afterwards of the outcome. If places on the program remain, applications received after the 31st October will be reviewed soon after they have been received, up until the program starts.