The Bachelor of Arts is a multidisciplinary degree program providing opportunities to pursue studies in the broad discipline areas of humanities and the social sciences. Students are able to combine social science and humanities disciplines in their core studies with professionally-based elective studies. The flexible structure of the Bachelor of Arts gives graduates broader perspectives on the contemporary world and is designed to develop critical, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Diploma of Arts

If for some reason a student is unable to complete the full Bachelor of Arts they can exit with a Diploma of Arts. To be eligible you must have successfully completed eight courses or 48 credit points within the Bachelor of Arts. Four of the eight courses (or 24 credit points) must come from the Core Studies Plans of the BA. The other four can be electives chosen from any other program at CQU, or from credit for previous studies.

Students must satisfy the normal prerequisites that apply to their courses. There is no entry to this program. Students must enrol in the Bachelor of Arts and formally apply to graduate with a Diploma of Arts.

Career options

Advertising, arts administration, book editing, copywriting, desktop publishing, geographer, historian, journalist, librarian, research, the media, nature and heritage conservation, news editing, personnel, politics, public relations, radio, teaching, television, welfare and many more.

To graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree, students must have completed 24 courses (144 units of credit) as outlined below:

Option A: Core BA

Students must take all 24 courses including two separate and complete Plans (12 courses or 72 units of credit in total) from the BA Core Studies Plans. This will enable students to take up to four complete plans from the Core Studies Plans or, if they wish, a minimum of two plans, with the remaining Core Studies Electives taken from either the disciplines already studied in the required two Core Studies Plans, or from other Core Studies Plans.

Option B: BA with professional plan

Students must take the following:

• At least 12 courses from the BA Core Studies Plan, which must include two separate and complete Core Studies Plans (12 courses or 72 units of credit in total);
• A Professional Plan from those listed below (36 units of credit). See Schedule A.
• Psychology
• Marketing
• Tourism
• Journalism
• Multimedia
• Communication
• Information Technology
• 6 Electives (36 units of credit) from any undergraduate program within the University (or an additional Professional Plan from above) or, in certain circumstances, from other Universities (cross-institutional studies).

Option C: Elective BA

Students must take at least 16 courses, including two separate and complete plans (12 courses or 72 units of credit in total), from the BA Core Studies Plans.

The remaining 8 courses (general electives) may be taken from any undergraduate program within the University or, in certain circumstances, from other Universities (cross-institutional studies).

• For Options A, B and C, students must take no more than 10 Level 1 courses out of the 24 courses.
• For Options A, B and C, students must meet the prerequisites and corequisites for each course.

Most students complete two Level 1 and four Advanced courses in each plan, although some complete one Level 1 and five Advanced. In some plans, both Level 1 courses are required to be completed. For example, for the Welfare Studies Plan students must complete both the Level 1 courses Law and Welfare of Society A and B before going on to the Advanced courses in that plan (check the Course Availability in the Handbook).

What is a core studies elective?

Core Studies Electives are courses that are not listed in your chosen Core Studies Plans but are taken from other Core Studies Plans in the Bachelor of Arts.

What is a general elective?

A General Elective is a course that is not part of any Core Studies Plan in the Bachelor of Arts but is counted towards your overall degree program. General Electives can be chosen from any other degree program in the University (check Course Availability for prerequisites which must be met) or, under certain conditions, from degree programs at other universities (cross-institutional studies). Up to eight general electives (48 units of credit) can be included in your Bachelor of Arts.

Full-time students

The usual full-time enrolment in the Bachelor of Arts is four courses in Term 1 and four courses in Term 2 (eight courses in total for the year). Beginning students should enrol in Level 1 courses only. Four out of the eight courses must be taken from the Core Studies Plans below.

Part-time students

The usual part-time enrolment in the Bachelor of Arts is two courses in Term 1 and two courses in Term 2 (four courses in total for the year). Beginning students should enrol in Level 1 courses only. At least two courses must be taken from the Core Studies Plans below.

BA Core studies plans

What are your Core Studies Plans? Remember, you need to choose at least two. Select from the list below:

• Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies
• Asia Pacific Studies
• Australian Studies
• Environmental Geography
• Environmental Studies
• Film Studies
• Geography
• History
• Japanese Language
• Liberal Studies
• Literary & Cultural Studies
• Literary Studies
• Methods of Social Research
• Sociology
• Stylistics & Creative Writing
• Text & Cultural Studies
• Welfare Studies