Graduate Research Topic (AGRC7200)

Course overview

An advanced piece of work in a specialist area relevant to the student's program & conducted under the supervision of a member of academic staff.
Students must submit the AGRC7200 Learning Contract by the first Thursday of February for students commencing in semester 1, and the first Thursday of July for students commencing in semester 2 to agriculture@enquire.uq.edu.au.
Students enrolled into a 2 year Masters program should not enrol into this course until they have completed 16-units of study (2 semesters full-time equivalent)
Students enrolled into a 1.5 year Masters program should not enrol into this course until they have completed 8-units of study (1 semesters full-time equivalent)

In this course, students have the opportunity to pursue a literature review in an area of research in which they are particularly interested. Students from all postgraduate coursework programs within AGFS can take this course. It's designed as a literature review, driven by an alignment between the student's own interests and those of their academic supervisor.

Students decide on a research topic at the beginning of the semester then undertake the literature review in regular consultation with the supervisor. The literature review can be a systematic review of the topic based on desktop literature search and evaluation of literature. It does not require collection of new experimental data. 

In this course, students and supervisors develop a close working relationship to decide the overview and topics of the literature review. Students are expected to meet regularly with their supervisors and ask for feedback as they progress. Supervisors generally give detailed feedback to students throughout the semester

STEP 1:

The first step, if you want to take this course, is to approach an academic supervisor who you want to work with and ask if they will supervise you. Introduce yourself and tell them about your research interests and the kinds of projects you would like to work on; tell your potential supervisor why you want to work with them in particular. See the list of AGFS academics to identify and select your supervisor:ﾠhttps://agriculture-food-sustainability.uq.edu.au/about/our-people

In some cases, you can approach a supervisor outside of the School but they must be an academic staff member and the arrangement must be approved before you can undertake your studies (see Step 2).

STEP 2:

Once you have confirmed a supervisor, you can submit an Application Learning Contract form (download from the Student support page on our website)ﾠhttps://agriculture-food-sustainability.uq.edu.au/current-students/support-honours-and-postgraduate-coursework-students

Provide your details, a brief description of your research topic and the details of your nominated supervisor/s and their consent to supervise your topic. Email completed forms to agriculture@enquire.uq.edu.auﾠOnce the application is approved, you will be able to enrol in the course.

The Learning Contract should demonstrate that you have a clear plan which has been agreed on by you and your supervisor before you begin. Only brief details are needed for each section of the Learning Contract, perhaps 3–5 sentences outlining the content of the literature review and presentation. The key thing is to show that the student has a clear plan, and that this is agreed on by the student and supervisor before you begin.

It is essential that these details are negotiated at the start of the course and outlined in the Learning Contract. Completed and signed copies of the Learning Contract are held by the Administration Officer, by the academic supervisor, and by the student.

Course requirements

Assumed background

Students are expected to be sufficiently advanced in their program of study to be able to benefit from an in-depth investigation of a topic of interest to them. They are also expected to have suitable literature retrieval skills (or to seek them with assistance from the library staff).

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

AGRC6631

Course contact

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

There is no timetable for the summer offering of this course.

Aims and outcomes

To provide students with the required skills in analysing an research related issue and disseminating these findings.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Literature Review

• Hurdle

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

65%

Due date

17/01/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Your Literature Review must be uploaded to the Turnitin link on Blackboard. You should also retain an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit. 

Legal Declaration

By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) and understand its implications.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Pre-recorded presentation

• Hurdle

Mode

Oral

Category

Presentation

Weight

35%

Due date

24/01/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L04

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Submission 

Submit your pre-recorded Presentation via the submission link in the course blackboard site by the due date and time. Please start to upload it earlier than the due time, because pre-recorded presentations are big files and take time to upload. You should also keep an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit.

Legal Declaration By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) and understand its implications.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

COURSE GRADING RULES AND ASSESSMENT HURDLES

All Assessment is Compulsory - all assessment items MUST be completed in order to obtain a grade of 4 or higher for this course.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

If you are awarded supplementary assessment then the type of supplementary assessment offered to you is determined by the Course Coordinator. 

As a guide these are the common forms of supplementary assessment offered: 

·        If you have gained a grade of 3 due to poor performance in an end-of-semester exam, you may be asked to sit a supplementary examination. 

·        If you have gained a grade of 3 due to poor performance across multiple examinations (e.g. in-semester and end of semester exams) you may be asked to sit a supplementary examination covering both examinations. 

·        If you have gained a grade of 3 due to poor performance in a single assessment item, other than an end-of-semester exam, you may be asked to complete a revised version of that assessment item (e.g. if you received a poor mark for an online quiz you may be asked to complete an alternate version of that quiz). 

·        If you have gained a grade of 3 due to poor performance in a single heavily-weighted assessment item, other than an end of semester exam, such as a literature review or research report, you may be asked to resubmit that report incorporating feedback from your markers. 

·        If you have gained a grade of 3 due to overall poor performance you may be asked to complete an oral examination. 

·        If you have gained a grade of 3 because you failed to submit a compulsory piece of assessment (e.g. a lab report) you may be asked to submit the piece of assessment or an alternative piece of assessment. 

In order to receive a grade of 3S4 (pass) you must: Obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment. 

Additional assessment information

Turnitin Assignments

Assignments that are required to be submitted through TurnItIn, must only be uploaded to the assessment specific Turnitin link on the relevant course Blackboard site. If you submit any version of your assessment item to any alternative Turnitin link, this is considered cheating and you will be held liable for this action.ﾠ

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

All reported work must be done by the individual student. Assignments that look and sound alike will be reported as plagiarism – a serious offence at UQ. Please note the university’s policy on academic integrity and plagiarism which can be accessed at https://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=149

Results

Unless specifically indicated by the course coordinator, every attempt will be made to have the results for progressive assessment available within 3 weeks of submission. For items of assessment submitted in the last 2 weeks of the semester, the results will not be available until grades release day. Results and feedback availability will be advised to you by email or announced via the course Blackboard site.ﾠﾠﾠ

Re-mark Applications – refer to the University's Re-mark Policy to check your eligibility

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Other course materials

Additional learning resources information

None applicable.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.