Bachelor of Arts

Art and Design includes units that focus on art and design for publication, graphic design, digital art and photography. (Lismore)

Communication and Cultural Studies enables students to connect their everyday life, personal, community and vocational interests to the broader issues and challenges of the 21st century. It equips students with a combination of critical and creative thinking skills and abilities. Cultural studies offers an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of culture, communication and society through textual analysis, cultural theory, media analysis and understanding how meaning is made through power, identity and place. Cultural studies empower diversity, social inclusion and ethical and innovative scholarship that guides and informs how we live, work and learn. (Lismore, Gold Coast, Distance education)

Contemporary Music students learn about contemporary music theory and styles, music technology and the internet, songwriting, sound theory and recording technique, and global perspectives in music. (Lismore)

Governance and Society brings together two key strands in the arts and humanities. The approach is multidisciplinary — drawing on politics and sociology to consider contemporary issues in society and provide insights into events that influence the world in which we live. Staff have expertise in each of the discipline areas and share a commitment to interpreting past and contemporary society by using a range of theoretical and methodological approaches. (Lismore, Distance education)

History is a dialogue between the past and present. Historians explore the diversity of human experience to draw out patterns and ideas that help us understand the world today. This major focuses on the knowledge and critical skills of the discipline that can be applied to the study of the past in all its dimensions, including important professional skills such as communication, analysis, critical thinking, and interpretation. Students have the opportunity to undertake independent research projects relevant to their own interests. (Lismore, Distance education)

Media Studies enables students to learn to think critically and creatively about themselves, their workplace and their community in a national and global context. With a strong emphasis on digital media production and analysis for screen, print and online environments, Media Studies equips students with a range of practical skills appropriate to an increasingly technological world. (Lismore, Distance education)

Psychology includes a strong emphasis on demonstrating the links between theory, research and application. A problem-solving approach to teaching involves students generating solutions to real-world problems using their psychological knowledge. The major includes studies in fundamental areas of psychology including biological bases of behaviour, perception, learning, memory and cognition, and lifespan developmental psychology. (Distance education)

Writing enables students to pursue their passion for writing in a supportive, inter-disciplinary environment which promotes the type of creative learning needed by cutting-edge writers. Students acquire skills in writing genres including novels, short stories, writing for performance, feature and investigative journalism and essay writing as well as editing and publishing. (Lismore, Distance education)

Additional majors — may also be selected from a wide range offered across the University including education, law and justice, organisational management, sustainability, Indigenous studies and more. See University-wide majors.

Streams — may also be selected including community engaged learning and languages (currently Mandarin). 

Course Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a course. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes.

The assessment methods used in this course vary from unit to unit and connect with the types of learning outcomes for each unit and the course as a whole. Assessment tasks may include essays, reports, presentations, role plays, group work, reflective logbooks, creative production and experiential learning on campus or in the community. 

On-campus students experience a variety of teaching approaches including lectures, tutorials, online activities and video-linked or podcast virtual classes. The method of teaching may vary from unit to unit.

Our distance education study option is highly interactive and strives to promote collaboration and a sense of community. Students may receive a combination of podcast or video-linked lectures, electronic study materials, workshops, online discussion forums and virtual classes. The method of teaching may vary from unit to unit.

Classes provide opportunities for engaging students in learning and discussion and the course includes a number of field trips and on-campus events which are open to students studying either on-campus or by distance education.

Graduates are equipped with transferable skills that are relevant and valuable to many careers. They may find employment, for example, in communication industries, community relations, journalism, cultural policy, management and administration, education, publishing, public service, multimedia design, creative and cultural industries, politics, social justice and human rights.

Professional placement provides students with the opportunity to gain experience in the workplace and to establish contacts. In the Bachelor of Arts, students can undertake learning opportunities in the community through a number of units as well as through assessment opportunities. A particular stream in community engaged learning enables students to work with a community partner on a project of mutual benefit. Students in the writing major may seek placement in the writing, publishing and media industries, while students undertaking history may seek placement in heritage and historical museums or associations. Students in the communication and cultural studies major may seek professional placement with a community organisation working in an area of their interest. The unit Community History Project enables students to do a collaborative project with community partners. Other opportunities for community-engaged learning exist within the degree depending on units chosen.