A Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Program

The Heritage and Museum Studies HDR program offers a unique opportunity to explore new modes of research, as well as use traditional scholarly methods, to provide innovative insights into the different ways the social phenomenon that is heritage, in all its different expressions.

Through its supportive environment the program encourages new modes of research while it also supports traditional scholarly methods of inquiry. The program is led by internationally renowned scholars from from within the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies.

A unique opportunity

We offer expert supervision within and across a range of disciplinary boundaries, including but not limited to heritage and museum studies, history and public history, anthropology, archaeology, and tourism studies.

You will be encouraged to adopt an interdisciplinary perspective in your research. Expert advisers are available from across the university and a range of national cultural institutions located in Canberra including the National Museum of Australia, the National Library of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

By undertaking research in this program you will be able to take advantage of intellectual and multi-form collaborations and have opportunities to be involved in the production of exhibitions, colloquia and multimedia projects, as well as to undertake short, practical internships. The program provides unique opportunities for research training in the context of collaborative team research, in partnership with cultural institutions and industries.

Off-campus study

The program also caters for students who wish to be based off-campus.

The Heritage and Museum Studies program offers:

• The opportunity to work with staff members, adjunct faculty, post-doctoral fellows and visiting academics – all with international reputations in a range of disciplines.
• Opportunities to present work-in-progress in a number of forms, including conferences, seminar series, and workshops.
• Office space with computing facilities and access to state-of-the-art multimedia facilities.
• Participation in occasional visiting scholars’ programs and master classes.
• Access to some of the most extensive library and archival holdings in Australia and in some of the best cultural institutions in Australia including the National Library of Australia and specialist collections in the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, National Film and Sound Archives, the National Museum of Australia, the Museum of Australian Democracy, the Australian War Memorial and the National Archives of Australia.
• Students are eligible for fieldwork support and scholarship holders receive an allowance for thesis preparation.