Current Opportunities and Resources

The School of Humanities and Communities and Communication Arts runs a large number of different events and classes throughout the academic year, including writing retreats, literacy training courses, a large end-of-year postgraduate conference, reading groups, seminar series, and more. Candidates also have the opportunity to develop links with industry through Research Internships.

For more information or to register for an upcoming event, class, or seminar, contact Rinu and Melinda at PostgradsHCAadmin@westernsydney.edu.au.

HDR Researcher Development Workshops

The Graduate Research School organises a series of Researcher Development workshops throughout the year, with seminars on key topics ranging from "The ABCs of Research Impact" to "Enhancing Your Employability for HDC Candidates". Full details and registration for these workshops are available on the Graduate Researcher Hub page of the Researcher Development SharePoint site. Note that HDR candidates need to request access to view the calendar and updated resources.

Writing Retreats

Autumn Writers' Retreat: Winbourne, 20-24 March, 2023

A 5-day writing retreat targeted at doctoral candidates either at the mid-point, or in the final stages of their doctorate in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts. This retreat takes place at the Winbourne Edmund Rice Centre and includes a 4-hour writing workshop, as well as intensive one on one coaching sessions with an academic writing facilitator. The retreat provides candidates with dedicated time and space to write, as well as tools to write independently and productively. All accommodation and food provided.

Spring Writers’ Retreat: Old Leura Dairy, 4-8 September, 2023

A 5-day writing retreat targeted at doctoral candidates either at the mid-point, or in the final stages of their doctorate in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts. This retreat takes place at the Old Leura Dairy in the Blue Mountains, and includes a 4-hour writing workshop, as well as intensive one on one coaching sessions with an academic writing facilitator. The retreat provides candidates with dedicated time and space to write, as well as tools to write independently and productively. All accommodation and food provided.

Varuna Writers' Retreat, 13-20 November, 2023

The Varuna Writers’ Retreat is an intensive and discipline-specific 8-day writing program targeted at Literary Studies and/or Creative Writing students either at the mid-point, or in the final stages, of their doctorate in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts. The retreat is structured around and facilitated via several different research training and writing support processes, including group workshops with supervising academics. These are staggered before, during, and after the main retreat, with the broad aim of providing students with dedicated time and space to write and develop their confidence in writing independently and productively—both solo, and in a community setting with a peer group.

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Literacy Training

The School runs two distinct semester-long literacy training courses throughout the year:

  • From Ideas to the Thesis: Group A (for candidates who are new to the course)
  • From Ideas to the Thesis: Group B (for continuing/advanced candidates)

While both courses are primarily designed to meet the needs of international ESL candidates, they are also of benefit to domestic Doctoral and Masters students seeking to improve their writing skills, expand their academic register, and master English grammar and writing style.

Course outcomes include: writing with clarity and confidence in a second language; understanding the conventions of the academic writing process in a chosen field of study; and understanding the institutional expectations and standards of Doctoral and Masters thesis writing. Candidates will also learn how to organise their ideas and present them in an academic way, as well as how to structure specific thesis chapters. Special attention is paid to key milestone documents such as the Confirmation of Candidature (for doctoral candidates) and the Viva Voce (for MRes candidates), and to final thesis presentation.

Postgraduate Conference

Now in its fifteenth year, the School of Humanities and Communication Arts’ Postgraduate Conference is an indispensable platform for informed discussion, stimulating debate, and the perfect opportunity for candidates to present their research to friends and colleagues.

Run by and for the School’s HDR community, the 2023 Postgraduate Conference will take place on November 21-22. The conference theme is Traversing the U[n]Known.

Traversing the U[n]Known is a commemoration of 15 years of our HDR conference showcasing the culture of research and innovation within Western Sydney University. Over the past fifteen years, we emerged and embraced hybridity and diversity and reconnected with what was marred by the pandemic. This year we peregrinate to the realms of the known and unknown research fields within and beyond the School of Humanities and Communication Arts to embrace the challenges of contemporary research with more focused perspectives.

Traversing the U[n]Known aims to provide a platform to all HDR students to show their vibrant and multifaceted research.

As it is a face-to-face HDR conference, Traversing the U[n]Known will incorporate a range of exciting and informative workshops, keynote speakers, paper presentations, live music and food across two exciting days.

Research Internships

Research internship is a vehicle to expand horizons for research students and offer opportunities to the industry, the end-users of research, to solve real-world problems they face working in collaboration with our brightest students.

An internship with the end-user of your research may provide new opportunities for research, research application, and more importantly, may create a pathway for an impact of your research.

Candidates can organise an internship either through the University’s partner APR Intern or they can source one on their own. For more information, visit the University’s Research Internships page, or contact Associate Professor Alex Ling at a.ling@westernsydney.edu.au.

Postgraduate Reading Groups

Contact Dr Melinda Jewell (M.Jewell@westernsydney.edu.au) to join the Creative Writing and Literature Reading Group, or if wish to receive guidance in establishing your own reading group in your discipline.

Writing and Society Research Centre Seminar Series

The Writing and Society Research Centre (located in the School) runs a series of seminars that occur regularly throughout the year. Seminars are presented by Centre members, visiting scholars, and the Centre’s postgraduate students. Seminars are open to participants from other universities, as well as interested writers, critics, and researchers.

Postgraduate Newsletter

The School produces a monthly newsletter showcasing our HDR achievements and opportunities. Email Dr Melinda Jewell to be added to the mailing list!

3MT

The Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition is a fantastic opportunity to cultivate your academic, presentation, and research communication skills, and get your ideas and research out to a wider audience. The rules are simple: You have three minutes to effectively explain your research in language and terms that everyone can understand. No gizmos, no props, no tech wizzbangery: just you, your ideas, and a single static slide.