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Program

Arts - 3403

Program Summary

Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Contact: arts@unsw.edu.au

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Typical Duration: 3 Years  

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 6

Max UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC For Award: 144

UAC Code: 422000

Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements

International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements

Award(s):

Bachelor of Arts (Major)

View program information for previous years

Program Description
The Bachelor of Arts (UNSW BA) is designed to provide you with all the benefits of an education in the Humanities, Social Sciences and the Creative and Performing Arts. The program provides you with not only the breadth (Free Electives and General Education) to explore a wide range of diverse interests but also the depth (Major and Minor streams) to focus in detail on two specialisations. The UNSW BA can be completed full-time in Single mode (normally 3 years), in Dual mode (the equivalent of two years full-time) or part-time. The basic requirements of the program are simple. The BA has a depth component and a breadth component. Students enrolled in Single mode do both the depth and breadth component while students enrolled in Dual mode only complete the depth component.

The Depth component (Blue Zone) is:

  1. The completion of a major stream (54 UOC - 9 courses) selected from the list of the UNSW BA approved home major streams
  2. The completion of at least a minor stream (36 UOC - 6 courses) selected from the list of UNSW BA approved home and external major streams or dedicated minor streams. Note: Students may use their Green Zone free elective space to extend study in this area to a full major stream ("Double Major").
  3. The completion of an Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Elective (6 UOC - 1 course)
The Breadth component (for students completing the program in Single mode) (Green Zone) is:
  1. Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Electives (12 UOC - 2 courses)
  2. Free Electives (24 UOC - 4 courses)
  3. General Education (12 UOC - 2 courses)

Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

The Program Objectives of the UNSW BA are:

  • To develop informed understanding of human experience, human culture and human society
  • To teach the tools and methods of understanding associated with Humanities and Social Science disciplines, and to encourage students to perceive the relationships between these disciplines
  • To encourage the breadth of vision and critical thinking associated with interdisciplinary scholarship and research
  • To enable students to place contemporary Australian society and culture in an historical and comparative context
  • To engage critically with fundamental questions about value in both ethical and aesthetic contexts
  • To develop the skills of critical, creative and imaginative thinking about society, culture and the arts
  • To promote the techniques and value of reasoned and openminded discussion and debate
  • To foster understanding of the experiences and world-views of other times, other places, and other cultures.

The Graduate Attributes for this Program are as follows:

  1. The skills involved in scholarly enquiry
  2. The ability to engage in independent and reflective learning
  3. Information Literacy - the skills to locate, evaluate and use relevant information
  4. The capacity for enterprise, initiative and creativity
  5. A capacity to contribute to, and work within, the international community
  6. The skills required for collaborative and multidisciplinary work
  7. A respect for ethical practice and social responsibility
  8. The skills of effective communication
  9. An in-depth engagement with the relevant disciplinary knowledge in its interdisciplinary context.

Program Structure
The basic requirements for the degree are:

Single mode (144 UOC) made up of:

  1. A home major stream (54 UOC)
  2. At least a minor stream (36 UOC)
  3. Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Electives (18 UOC)
  4. Free Electives (24 UOC)
  5. General Education (12 UOC )
Dual mode (96 UOC) made up of:
  1. A home major stream (54 UOC)
  2. At least a minor stream (36 UOC)
  3. An Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Elective (6 UOC)

Home Major Streams

The following home major streams are available in the Bachelor of Arts.

External Stream Requirement
A number of external streams are offered in the BA from Faculties other than UNSW Arts & Social Sciences. Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts must complete at least one home major stream within the streams offered by UNSW Arts & Social Sciences.

Minor Streams

All majors are available to be completed in minor stream ("Non-designated Minor"). There are, however, some areas of study that are only available as Minors. These are known as "Designated Minors". The Designated Minors for the Bachelor of Arts are:
Art History and Theory 
(UNSW Art & Design) 
Arts and Social Sciences***
Australian Studies
Greek Studies
Indonesian Studies
Italian Studies
Legal Studies*
Mathematics**
(UNSW Science)
 Women's and Gender Studies
 
 External minor streams are designated with grey boxes
 

*Legal Studies
This minor is only available to students completing the Bachelor of Arts in Dual mode with the Bachelor of Education and who are wishing to pursue a teaching method in this area.

** Mathematics
This minor is only available to students completing the dual degree program 3763 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)/Bachelor of Arts. 24 UOC of courses completed in this minor stream are shared with the Engineering program.

*** Medicine Students and the Arts and Social Sciences Minor
Students completing study in this program in Dual mode with the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery will be required to design their Independent Learning Project (ILP) as a joint project with the Bachelor of Arts. Twenty four UOC of the 30 UOC that makes up the ILP will be double counted towards the Arts and Social Sciences Minor in the Bachelor of Arts. The remaining 12 UOC will be made up of two courses in UNSW Arts & Social Sciences that relate to the ILP project, approved by the Convenor of the Bachelor of Arts. This 12 UOC may be courses shared from the major stream in the BA the student is already completing. If such is the case the student will make up their depth requirement for the BA with Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Electives. Students who do not wish to pursue this option but complete another UNSW Arts & Social Sciences minor stream will be able to do so. This will result in an extra semester of study to meet the requirements of the program.

Language Studies for Commencing Mid-Year Students

If your language skills are assessed as Level A in Introductory, Intermediate, Advanced or Professional you cannot commence study until Semester 1.

External minor streams and Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Elective Requirement

Economics, Human Resource Management and International Business: students completing these minor streams (30 UOC) are required to complete an additional 6 UOC Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Elective.

External Minor Stream and Dual Award Programs

Students enrolled in Dual award programs are not permitted to complete a minor stream in the same Faculty as their second program of study. For example a student enrolled in the BCom/BA cannot complete an external minor in Economics.

Double Major Stream and External Major Streams

Students can complete a "Double Major" in the BA if they use the space from their free electives to upgrade their required Minor Stream to a Major Stream. This second Major Stream can be taken from within the Faculty or from the list of approved "External Majors". External Majors are Streams of study offered by other Faculties.

(UNSW Business School)
(UNSW Business School) 
Economics (60 UOC)
(UNSW Business School)
Geography (60 UOC)
(UNSW Science)
Psychology (78 UOC)
(UNSW Science)

Psychology External Major Stream
Students seeking to complete an external major in Psychology are required to complete a fourth Psychology course (PSYC2101 Assessment and Personality and Psychopathology) at level 1.

Geography exemption in BA/BEd (Secondary)
Students completing the dual award program BA/BEd (Secondary) can secure an exemption from the Home-based Major rule and the Prescribed Arts & Social Sciences rule if they wish to complete Geography as their first teaching method.

Students who seek this exemption must complete a home-based minor.

NOTE: For details of individual major and minor stream please consult the relevant stream entries.

Sample Programs

See "Sample Programs" below.

Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Elective

An Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Elective is any course chosen by the student from the offerings of UNSW Arts & Social Sciences. Indigenous Studies courses (ATSIxxxx) cannot be studied as Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Electives.

Free Electives

A Free Elective is any course offered either within or outside UNSW Arts & Social Sciences in which the student is able to enrol.

ARTS2050 Academic Writing for the Humanities

This course is available as an Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Elective or Free Elective for students wishing to develop their academic writing skills. Click here for further details about the course.

General Education

General Education is the completion of two courses (12 UOC) offered outside UNSW Arts & Social Sciences. This requirement is met if an external major or minor (for example, Economics) is completed. Indigenous Studies courses (ATSIxxxx) can be studied as General Education if students are not following a major or minor in Indigenous Studies in the BA program.

Award with Distinction

High achieving students who secure a WAM of 75 across their program and who have completed at least 48 UOC of their program at UNSW are eligible for the award of their Pass Degree "with Distinction".

Honours

High achieving Bachelor of Arts students (in Single or Dual mode) who have successfully completed all program requirements may apply for admission to honours in the Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (Honours) program 4504. Entry to Honours requires a WAM of 70 or higher in the stream(s) seeking to be further studied.

Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (Honours) program 4504

Academic Rules

Single Mode

To qualify for the award of the degree at Pass level, a student must:
  1. enrol in the Bachelor of Arts and complete 144 UOC;
  2. complete the requirements for one home major stream
  3. complete the requirements for one minor stream
  4. complete 18 UOC of Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Electives
  5. complete 24 UOC of Free Electives
  6. complete 12 UOC of General Education
  7. complete at least 30 UOC of Level 1 courses before enrolling in Level 2 courses
  8. specify their major(s)/minor at the time of enrolment into Level 2
  9. complete at least 24 UOC in their major/minor streams before enrolling in Level 3 courses
  10. complete 120 UOC overall before enrolling in their Major stream(s) Capstone course

Dual Mode

To qualify for the award of the degree at Pass level, a student must:
  1. enrol in the Bachelor of Arts and complete 96 UOC;
  2. complete the requirements for one home major stream
  3. complete the requirements for one minor stream
  4. complete a 6 UOC Arts & Social Sciences Prescribed Elective
  5. complete at least 30 UOC of Level 1 courses before enrolling in Level 2 courses
  6. specify their major(s)/minor at the time of enrolment into Level 2
  7. complete at least 24 UOC in their major/minor before enrolling in Level 3 courses
  8. complete 72 UOC overall before enrolling in their Major stream(s) Capstone course

Sample Programs

The following sample programs are only examples of potential stream structures.

Fees
For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html

Important Information
The Academic Rules for the UNSW BA and the online enrolment facility provide students with a wide range of course choices. The online enrolment facility checks that students meet the enrolment requirements for individual courses but not that a course complies with Program Rules. Students are responsible for ensuring they are enrolling in accordance with the Academic Rules outlined above. Students should not assume that because they have enrolled in a course online that the course is automatically credited to their degree program.

Further Information
Contact the UNSW Arts & Social Sciences Student Centre for advice.
Tel: + 61 2 9385 2289
Email: arts@unsw.edu.au
Location: Room G1 Ground Floor, Morven Brown building (C20)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Frequently asked questions

Glossary of Terms
UNSW Arts & Social Sciences Programs Glossary of Terms - Click here

Area(s) of Specialisation
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