Perceptions of Australian bachelor honours degrees in tourism
- Authors: Backer, Elisa , Benckendorff, Pierre
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 26th Council for Australian Tourism and Hospitality Education Annual Conference; Sydney, Australia; 8th-11th February 2016; published in CAUTHE 2016 Conference Proceedings - The changing landscape : The impact of emerging markets and destinations p. 1005
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The first tourism Honours degree in Australia was offered just over two decades ago, and since then Honours has become a well-recognised and important offering, particularly in terms of its role as a research pathway. The research intensive nature of Honours degrees produces graduates who are able to plan and execute project work, research and scholarship with some independence. These skills are highly sought after by some prospective employers. However, Honours programs tend to be ‗boutique‘ offerings and are particularly vulnerable to curriculum rationalisation efforts. The purpose of this research was to explore the value of Australian business Honours degrees by examining the perceptions of tourism educators. A survey of 100 academics from 19 Australian institutions revealed that Honours is highly valued and considered to be superior as a research training degree in comparison to Masters coursework and Masters by Research.
Australian Honours degrees : The last bastion of quality?
- Authors: Backer, Elisa , Benckendorff, Pierre
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management Vol. 36, no. (2018), p. 49-56
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The first tourism Honours degree in Australia was offered almost three decades ago, and since then Honours has become a well-recognised and important offering, particularly in terms of its role as a research pathway. The research-intensive nature of Honours degrees produces graduates who are able to plan and execute project work, undertake research, and demonstrate scholarship with some independence. These skills are highly sought after by some employers. However, Honours programs tend to be ‘boutique’ offerings and are particularly vulnerable to curriculum rationalisation efforts. The purpose of this research was to explore the value and future of Australian business Honours degrees by examining the perceptions of tourism and business educators. A survey of 100 academics from 21 Australian institutions revealed that Honours is highly valued and considered to be superior as a research training degree in comparison to Masters Coursework Degrees and Masters by Research. However, in an era of increasing austerity the Australian Honours degree has become an oddity and its reputation as the last bastion of quality in undergraduate tourism education is under threat. © 2018