The five year, full-time, Advanced Science (Honours)/Arts dual degree program enables students to complete a major in Advanced Science (Honours), in addition to a major sequence in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

For admission to the program, students must satisfy the entry requirements to the Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) as well as to the Bachelor of Arts.

For questions regarding the Bachelor of Arts requirements for the program, students should consult staff in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Student Centre. For questions relating to the Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) component of the program, students should consult the Science Student Centre.

On completion of this program, students will have attained a sound knowledge base in both their Advanced Science (Honours) and Arts specialisations. Please refer to the program objectives as listed for:

A total of 240 units of credit is required to complete this dual degree program. Students must satisfy the following requirements for the Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts components. Where the requirements for the two programs are completed in less than 240 units of credit due to overlapping courses, students must make up the remaining units of credit from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences or the Faculty of Science.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) in dual degree mode

When a student undertakes a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) degree as part of a dual degree, the program rules are as follows:

   1.   Students must complete a minimum of 144 units of credit.

   2.   Students must complete at least one approved Advanced Science (Honours) major, and this must be declared before enrolling in Level II courses. Details of approved Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) majors and how to declare a major can be found on the
Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) program page;

   3.   Students may choose to complete an optional minor using their Science electives. Details of approved Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) minors and how to declare a minor can be found on the 3962 Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) program page. Students cannot complete a minor with the same name as their nominated major, and Level II and III courses cannot be double-counted between majors and minors. More than one minor may be completed subject to the limit on double-counting. Students must declare their minor(s) before their final semester.

   4.SCIF1131 Introductory Skills for Science (6 UoC) must be completed in first year. Students taking the Vision Science major should take VISN1101 instead of SCIF1131.

   5.   An Honours Year of 48 UoC must be completed. Honours may only be completed in one discipline. For information regarding the admission requirements and application process for Honours, please see the information under 'Honours’ on the 3962 Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) program page. Students may not enrol in the Honours Year in this dual degree until they have satisfied all requirements for the first 3 years. That is, 144 UOC. In the case of the BAdvSci(Hons) / BA program, this means students must have completed at least 96 UOC from the BAdvSc (Hons) plus 48 UOC from the BA before commencing the Honours year of the BAdvSci(Hons).

   6.   In addition to the courses required for a student's chosen major, SCIF1131, and Honours, students must take 'Science' courses so that the major plus SCIF1131, plus Honours year plus 'Science' courses total 144 UoC. Details on what courses constitute a 'science' course can be found in Table 1 on the 3962 Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) program page;

   7.   Students must complete at least 24 UoC of Level I ‘Science’ courses.

   8.   Students must complete at least 30 UoC of Level III ‘Science' courses.

   9.   When offered in a particular major, students must take higher versions of any Level II or Level III courses. Any variation to this must be approved by the Associate Dean (Academic Programs) or nominee.

   10.   Students may not enrol into Level II courses until at least 30 UoC of Level I courses have been successfully completed. (This is 30 units of credit taken towards the entire dual degree program and not just the courses for the Science component).

   11.   Students may not enrol into Level III courses until at least 72 UoC of courses have been successfully completed. (This is 72 units of credit taken towards the entire dual degree program and not just the courses for the Science component)

   12.   Progression to stages 2, 3, and 4 of this program is subject to academic performance. Students will be required to attain a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 70 in each semester. If a student does not maintain this minimum level of academic performance, they will be transferred to the Bachelor of Science.

Double Majors in Dual Degrees

Students who intend to complete a double major in the Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) when taken as part of a dual degree should be aware that it may be difficult to complete two majors within 144 UoC. Therefore, students who intend to complete a double major should be aware that it may involve extra time and cost to complete, and this may have visa implications for international students.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in dual degree mode

When taken as part of a dual degree, the Bachelor of Arts is comprised of:

   1.  A home major stream (60 UOC);
   2.  A minor stream (24 UOC);
   3.  Arts and Social Sciences Prescribed Electives (12 UOC).

Award with Distinction

If you secure a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 75 across your program and you have completed at least 48 UOC of your program at UNSW, you are eligible for the award of your Pass Degree "with Distinction".

Academic Rules

Dual Mode

To qualify for the award of the degree at Pass level, you must:

   1.  complete 96 UOC in the Bachelor of Arts ;

   2.  complete the requirements for one 60 UOC home major stream;

   3.  complete the requirements for one 24 UOC minor stream;

   4.  complete 12 UOC Arts and Social Sciences Prescribed Electives;

   5.  complete at least 30 UOC of Level 1 courses before enrolling in Level 2 courses;

   6.  specify your major(s)/minor at the time of enrolment into Level 2;

   7.  complete at least 48 UOC, including 6 UOC at Level 1 and 6 UOC at Level 2 in your major/minor, before enrolling in Level 3 courses.

Details of home majors and minors available, and the Arts and Social Sciences Prescribed Electives, can be found on the 3409 Bachelor of Arts program page.

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.

Honours in Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences

After completion of 144 UoC including all of the requirements of the Bachelor of Arts dual degree, high achieving students may apply for admission to the Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (Honours) program 4504. Entry to honours requires a WAM of 70 or higher in the major stream in which you want to study at Honours level.

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.

For program rules and requirements, please refer to the Program Structure section above.

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

The Faculty of Science has some rules that relate to all students enrolled in programs offered by the Faculty in relation to recognition for prior learning, general education, course exclusions, study load, and cross-institutional study. All students should read the information contained on the Faculty General Rules and Requirements page in this Handbook.