Bachelor of Arts - University of Wollongong

TEL: 0207 193 7932   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Overview

A Bachelor of Arts degree is one of the traditional and most popular university degrees, though it has changed in shape and content throughout the years and from country to country. The BA today is made up of subjects with origins in the humanities; history, literature, languages and philosophy. During the nineteenth century the disciplines we now know as the social sciences developed; economics, sociology, politics, psychology, anthropology and geography. While universities package courses in a variety of ways, these and related disciplines are generally included in an Arts degree, even if they are not located in an Arts Faculty.

The Australian pattern of study for a BA has been focused on a sequence of subjects that form a major in a wider pattern of subjects, providing the student with a broader knowledge of humanities and social sciences. The major can take many forms, with the unity and coherence of the degree constructed in one of two ways.The study of a discipline can form the basis of the sequence of studies, giving students a developing set of skills in 'doing' the discipline while they acquire a set of conceptual frameworks and a body of knowledge interpreted using those frameworks.For example, within the study of 'history', students learn how to research and write history, as well as how to read what historians have thought about the past. An area of interdisciplinary studies can also form the focus of a degree.Australian Studies, Asia-Pacific Studies and Gender Studies are examples of study areas offered at the University of Wollongong.Students learn skills from several disciplines while working on a particular theme or area, for example, the history and literature of a region, or sociological, political and contextual approaches to film.

Entry Requirements / Assumed Knowledge

Overseas Qualifications

Students with tertiary qualifications obtained overseas will be considered, provided that they satisfy University's minimum admission requirements.

BACHELOR OF ARTS MAJORS

Aboriginal Studies

Provides students with an understanding of Aboriginal perspectives on Aboriginal society, culture and history.

Asia-Pacific Studies

Covers trade, culture, history, politics and economics, with a particular focus on South-East and East Asia.

Australian Studies

An interdisciplinary major, integrating historical, cultural and literary perspectives on Australia: Aboriginal studies, history, politics, media, sociology and gender.

English Language and Linguistics

Provides two orientations: a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) stream, and an English for Professional Purposes stream, with a linguistics focus.

English Literatures

Introduces students to a broad range of literary texts drawn from medieval times to contemporary popular culture. The major has a strong international focus, including literatures written or performed in English from Australia, Africa, the Caribbean, New Zealand & the Pacific, Canada, India, and the UK.

Employment Relations

Students examine matters related to work and employment, including: comparative pay determination; industrial relations; employment law; negotiation and bargaining; and global labour studies.

European Studies

European history, literature and language subjects (French, Italian or Spanish) contribute to this interdisciplinary major.

French

Allows students to study French, either as beginners, or as advanced learners with exemption from some language subjects.

Gender Studies

An interdisciplinary major which examines the construction of gender from literary, historical, sociological and legal perspectives; and deals with a range of associated cultural issues including race, ethnicity, class and the family.

History

A regional emphasis on Australia, Europe, South-East Asia and the Americas, drawing on themes including globalisation, culture, environment, war, regional development and historiography.

Information Studies

Using a variety of perspectives, equips students to use, critically analyse, reflect on, and transform society’s rapidly changing information systems.

Italian

Allows students to study Italian, either as beginners, or as advanced learners with exemption from some language subjects.

Japanese

Designed with streams of study, dependent upon language proficiency on entry.

Media and Cultural Studies

Provides a critical and theoretical understanding of media and culture. Places emphasis on questions of identity, power, diversity, globalisation and the cultural dimensions of social, scientific and technological change and political engagement.

Philosophy

Areas of study include ethics, logic, feminism, aesthetics, political philosophy, epistemology and metaphysics.

Politics

Comprises subjects in international relations, political theory, public policy, Australian politics, the politics of developing countries and comparative politics. High-achieving students may apply for internship programs.

Resource and Environmental Studies

Addresses environmental issues from the point of view of politics, ethics, human behaviour, economic trade-offs, and value conflicts over scientific knowledge.

Science, Technology and Society

Covers the origin, nature and social impact of science and technology.

Sociology

Equips students to analyse social processes, institutions, causes of social change and the structure of groups and societies.

Spanish*

Contains language subjects and subjects where students study the history and culture of the Hispanic world including literature, music, film and art. Students who enter at an advanced level may be given exemption from language subjects.

War and Society

The War and Society major is a broad interdisciplinary major that examines the way war has been represented and analysed from different disciplinary perspectives. Implicit in the major are questions about the nature of war, its definitions, its economic, political and social aspects, and its consequences.

Minor studies are available in all of the above subjects.
*Subject to final approval.

SECOND MAJORS IN OTHER FACULTIES

A Bachelor of Arts degree can be taken with a second major from any Faculty within UOW, provided that the first major is from one of the above Faculty of Arts majors.
Some of the more traditional second majors taken include:
Faculty of Commerce
Business Law, Economics, Management,
Marketing
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Psychology
Faculty of Education
Education*
Faculty of Law
Legal Studies
Faculty of Science
Geography (Human or Physical), Geology
*Please note that a Bachelor of Arts with a secondary major in Education is not a recognised teacher training qualification for employment within Australia.