Course

Bachelor of Arts

Approved Abbreviation: BA

Western Sydney University Course Code: 1604.5

CRICOS Code: 040992A

Students should follow the course structure for the course version relevant to the year they commenced. This version applies to students whose commencement year for this course is 2009.

Commencement Year 2008 - 1604.4 Bachelor of Arts

Commencement Year 2007 - 1604.3 Bachelor of Arts

Commencement Year 2006 - 1604.2 Bachelor of Arts

Commencement Year 2005 - 1604.1 Bachelor of Arts

Students can select Humanities, Islamic Studies, Languages or Psychology as a Key Program. In addition to the Key Program, students are able to undertake additional areas of study in the form of a major or sub-major. The Humanities Key Program has majors in Art History and Cinema Studies, Asian Studies and International Relations, Cultural and Social Analysis, English, Text and Writing and History, Politics and Philosophy. Students enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts Key Program may also choose to package some or all of their elective units into a Social Ecology elective major or sub-major, or an Islamic Studies elective major or sub-major. The Languages Key Program has majors and sub-majors in specific named language sequences, and in TESOL; Interpreting and Translation; and English Linguistics.

Bachelor of Arts graduates are prepared for a very wide range of employment opportunities and are equipped with the communication and people skills, creativity and capacity for independent thought, flexibility and adaptability in new situations increasingly demanded by employers. Bachelor of Arts graduates find employment in an enormous diversity of areas including: communication and media industries; education; entertainment and arts administration; government, cultural, and heritage organisations; psychology and counselling; social and policy research and analysis; tourism and leisure industries; writing and publishing.

Careers in Teaching and Education:

Students wishing to be primary or secondary school teachers of English, History, Languages or Human Society and its Environment (which includes both history and social science units) should enrol in courses 1651 Bachelor of Arts (Pathway to Primary Teaching) or 1652 Bachelor of Arts (Pathway to Secondary Teaching). For further information concerning the requirements for teaching, students are advised to consult the Subject Content Requirements for Primary and Secondary Teaching NSW (Abridged) from the NSW Institute of Teachers

http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/future-returning-teachers/become-a-teacher/

or the School of Education.

The Bachelor of Arts is a three-year degree offering students an opportunity to develop a depth of disciplinary expertise together with the breadth of vision afforded by cross-disciplinary approaches to the humanities. The Bachelor of Arts is also designed to provide knowledge, tools for thinking, and enhanced self-understanding, so as to form a basis for lifelong learning.

Director of Academic Program - Dr Dianne Dickenson

Study Mode
Three years full-time or six years part-time.

Accreditation
The Key Program in Psychology offered within the Bachelor of Arts is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) and the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) as an undergraduate three year sequence in Psychology.

Admission

Students are admitted to the course via the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC).

International applicants should contact International Office for details on admission. Contact information for the International Office is available via their website.

International Office

Assumed knowledge: Two units of HSC English at Band 4.

Recommended studies: HSC English Standard, or equivalent.

Course Structure

Qualification for this award requires the successful completion of 240 credit points.

All students must enrol in and complete:

40 credit points Bachelor of Arts Core
120 credit point Key Program of Psychology or Islamic Studies or Languages or Humanities
80 credit points of elective units

Electives may be used toward obtaining an additional approved major or sub-major.

Core Components

The basic structure of the Bachelor of Arts is the Level 1 core (40 credit points) and the Key Program (120 credit points).

The 40 credit points Level 1 core is made up of:

100958

Australia and the World

100960

Contemporary Society

100965

Media and Visual Cultures

*Students please note from 2010 unit 100965.1 - Media and Visual Cultures is replaced by unit 100846 - Analytical Reading and Writing.

100968

Texts and Traditions

Key Programs

All students must complete a Key Program. Explanation of these Key Programs can be found under the program listings below.

Humanities

Islamic Studies

Languages

Psychology

Progression Rules

No more than 100 credit points of Level 1 units may be counted towards the degree
The general pre-requisite for Level 2 and Level 3 units is the successful completion of at least 60 credit points of Level 1 units*
Minimum 60 credit points of Level 3 units

*There are particular exceptions in the case of the Key Programs in Languages, Islamic Studies and Psychology.

Majors

Students completing a Key Program in one area of study have the option of structuring their elective units into an additional major or sub-major taken from outside that Key Program. Students enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts Key Program may also choose to package some or all of their elective units into a Social Ecology or Islamic Studies elective major or sub-major.

Social Ecology

Social Ecology

Islamic Studies

Islamic Studies

Students who wish to undertake an additional major drawn from another Key Program are not required to undertake the core units for that Key Program before studying a major sequence.

The exception to this rule is Psychology, which must be studied in its entirety for reasons of external accreditation, and is not available as an additional major.

Key Program in Humanities

KP1000

Humanities

The key program in Humanities consists of an 80 credit point major and 40 credit point sub-major.

The major is made up of no less than one and no more than two Level 1 units and must include the designated Level 1 unit/s for the major. The remaining 60 or 70 credit points is made up of Level 2 or 3 units

Humanities Majors

The 80 credit point major must come from one of the following areas:

* Please note: Art History and Cinema Studies available at Penrith only.

M1005

Art History and Cinema Studies

M1006

Asian Studies and International Relations

M1007

Cultural and Social Analysis

M1008

English, Text and Writing

M1009

History, Politics and Philosophy

Humanities Sub-majors

The 40 credit point sub-major comes from a Humanities major other than the area chosen for the Key Program, with the exception of students who have chosen the Humanities major area Asian Studies and International Relations, or students who have chosen the major area in English, Text and Writing.

For students majoring in Asian Studies and International Relations, the Humanities sub-major area may be replaced with a submajor in an Asian Language (Arabic, Japanese or Chinese).
For students majoring in English, Text and Writing, the Humanities sub-major may be replaced by a sub-major in English Linguistics

A Humanities sub-major must be made up of no more than one Level 1 unit with the remaining 30 credit points made up of Level 2 or 3 units, or 40 credit points at Level 2 or 3. For those students majoring in Asian Studies and International Relations a sub-major in Asian languages must have no more than 20 credit points made up of Level 1 study.

SM1001

Art History and Cinema Studies

SM1002

Asian Studies and International Relations

SM1003

Cultural and Social Analysis

SM1004

English, Text and Writing

SM1005

History, Politics and Philosophy

Key Program in Islamic Studies

KP1001

Islamic Studies

The area of study balances text and context, as well as historical and modern Islamic studies and research methods. One of the keys to Islamic Studies is ‘relevance’ to the contemporary world, but relevance can only come from a sound comprehension of past traditions in Islamic scholarship and their socio-historical contexts. The Key Program in Islamic Studies consists of an 80 credit point major and a 40 credit point sub-major in Arabic Language.

M1004

Islamic Studies

SM1008

Arabic

Key Program in Languages

KP1002

Languages

A Key Program in a language comprises 120 credit points in three areas of languages and linguistics study comprising: (i) a minimum of 40 credit points of studies in a language other than English (ii) 40 credit points of studies in the Linguistics area of studies and (iii) the balance of 40 credit points may be used to complete a major in the same language, or a sub-major in another language or from further studies in a ‘language in professional contexts’ area with a choice from a pool of units in TESOL and L2 teaching, or Interpreting and Translation, or English Linguistics.

Language Majors

Arabic

Chinese

Italian

Japanese

Spanish

Language Sub-majors

Arabic

Chinese

Italian

Japanese

Spanish

Sub-majors for Languages in Professional Context

SM1012

TESOL and L2 Teaching

SM1013

Interpreting and Translation

SM1009

English Linguistics

Students may complete additional majors or sub-majors in another language or Linguistics or any other approved program using some or all of their 80 credit points of elective units.

Key Program in Psychology

KP1003

Psychology

The Key Program in Psychology requires the successful completion of the 40 credit point Bachelor of Arts core units plus 120 credit points including the units listed in the recommended sequence.

Accreditation

The Psychology Key Program offered within the Bachelor of Arts is accredited by the Australian Psychologists Accreditation Council (APAC) and the NSW Psychologists Registration Board as undergraduate three year sequence in Psychology. The Psychology Key Program prepares graduates for an accredited fourth year in Psychology such as Psychology Honours or the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology.

Social Ecology elective Major (Penrith Campus)

Students in the Bachelor of Arts who choose to package their electives to obtain the named major or sub-major in Social Ecology must be enrolled in a Key Program in Humanities, Languages or Psychology.

M1015

Social Ecology

As an elective sequence, the Social Ecology major and sub-major is not a required component for graduation from the Bachelor of Arts.

The major and sub-major in Social Ecology is available as an elective package to students across all degrees. Students may also choose any Social Ecology unit as a single elective.

Social Ecology elective Sub-Major (Penrith Campus)

Students may take out a Social Ecology sub-major by completing 40 Credit Points from the specific pool of units. The sub-major must have no more than 1 Level 1 unit, with the remaining three units drawn from the advanced (Level 2 and 3) pool.

SM1053

Social Ecology

Major and Sub-major elective spaces

Elective units may be used toward obtaining an additional approved major (80 credit points) or sub-major (40 credit points).

Search for majors and sub-majors

Western Sydney University offers majors and sub-majors in a range of areas including Sustainability and Indigenous Studies.

Indigenous Australian Studies Major

Indigenous Australian Studies Sub-major

Indigenous Australian Creative Expressions Sub-major

Indigenous Economics Sub-major

Business Sustainability Sub-major

Students can apply for an elective major or sub-major via MySR.

MyStudentRecords (MySR)