Bachelor of Arts (Extended)

The Bachelor of Arts (Extended) is a four year program. The course facilitates a supported transition to University through the provision of an additional study year specifically designed to develop appropriate academic skills for success at University. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will access specialised academic support through foundation studies in key areas such as academic literacy, communication and performance, literature, philosophy and environmental studies. These subjects will be taught by the Trinity College Foundation Studies program in co-operation with staff from the Faculty of Arts. In addition, students will be supported through the Murrup Barak, Melbourne Institute for Indigenous Development, as well as living in one of the colleges affiliated with the University of Melbourne.

The objectives of the Bachelor of Arts are to provide students with an outstanding education in the humanities, social sciences and languages as well as a broad
understanding of selected fields of study outside these areas. The degree is designed so that a Bachelor of Arts graduate should be able to:

• Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of selected fields of study in core disciplines in the humanities, social sciences and languages.
• Reflect a general understanding of the concepts and principles of selected areas of study outside core disciplines of the humanities, social sciences and languages.
• Access and appreciate national and international debates in specialised areas of study.
• Demonstrate an independent approach to knowledge that uses rigorous methods of inquiry and appropriate theories and methodologies that are applied with intellectual honesty and a respect for ethical values.
• Apply critical and analytical skills and methods to the identification and resolution of problems within complex changing social contexts.
• Act as informed and critically discriminating participants within the community of scholars, as citizens and in the work force.
• Communicate effectively and, in the case of those students undertaking a language major, to read, write and speak another language with fluency and appreciate its cultural context.
• Qualify for employment in a wide range of occupations.
• Commit to continuous learning.
• Be proficient in the use of appropriate modern technologies, such as computer and other information technology systems, for the acquisition, processing and interpretation of data.

The Bachelor of Arts (Extended) requires the successful completion of 400 points of study across four years. This includes 100 points of study at the bridging level (over two years) and 100 points of study at each of the three year levels in the Bachelor of Arts degree. For information on policies that govern this degree, see Academic Policies and Procedures listed in the Melbourne Policy Library

First Year

Students may replace MULT10008 Power with another Arts Foundation subject with approval.

Students enrolled in the BA (Ext) may undertake a pathway into the Bachelor of Commerce. Students wishing to pursue this pathway must take the following two subjects and complete 100 points of study before applying to transfer to the BCom. Students undertaking this pathway will need to replace one semester 1 and one semester 2 first year subject with the following two subjects and must contact a Course Advisor for approval before enrolling.

BA (Ext) students interested in transferring to the BCom are strongly advised to make an appointment with a BCom Course Advisor during their first year of study. Further information about selection and procedures for BA(EXT) into the BCom can be found through the Bachelor of Commerce website.

Second Year - first semester

• two level one Bachelor of Arts discipline subjects

and

• one level one Bachelor of Arts breadth subject (see breadth subjects)

and

Second Year - second semester

• three level one Bachelor of Arts discipline subjects

and

• one level one Bachelor of Arts breadth subject (see breadth subjects)

Third Year

In their third year of the BA (Extended), students will enter the second year of the Bachelor of Arts degree.

Applicants for the Bachelor of Arts (Extended) must be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent and have completed a VCE or interstate equivalent qualification. Non-school leavers, mature age students and alternative pathway applications will be considered. Successful students will be selected on their likelihood to succeed in the Bachelor of Arts. Qualifications will be assessed on application.

Full details on eligibility are available at the Future Students page.

Applications can be made through VTAC (Victorian Tertiary Admissions centre). Applicants can submit a direct application to the University, however, direct applications will only be considered after the VTAC offers have been made in mid January. Applications for this program are made through VTAC with applicants also required to submit a supplementary application to the University of Melbourne. Bachelor of Arts (Extended) supplementary application form: VTAC applicants (VTAC code 38921)

The Faculty of Arts welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and Faculty policy to take all reasonable steps to enable the participation of students with disabilities, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student’s participation in the Faculty’s programs.

The inherent academic requirements for study in the Faculty of Arts are:

• the ability to attend classes and actively engage in both independent and group learning;

• the ability to comprehend complex disciplinary and interdisciplinary information related to the courses taught in the faculty;

• the ability to explain and evaluate complex concepts, theories and issues at work in a variety of texts;

• the ability to clearly communicate a knowledge and application of humanities, social sciences and language principles and practices during assessment tasks.

All students of the Arts Faculty’s courses are required to possess intellectual, ethical, and emotional capabilities required to participate in the full curriculum and to achieve the minimum levels of competence required by the Faculty. Candidates for the BA degree must have abilities in comprehension, theorization, and communication.


Communication: Students must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form. They should also be able to communicate with fellow students, professional and academic staff, and the wider public. They must have the capacity to clearly and independently communicate knowledge and application of Arts disciplines.

Intellectual and Organisational Abilities: Students must have the ability to establish study plans and prioritise learning objectives. They are also expected to have the ability to develop problem-solving skills and to comprehend complex disciplinary and cross-disciplinary information related to the BA degree.

Behavioural and Social Attributes: Students must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment. They must take full responsibility for their own participation and learning. Students also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative environments and must therefore demonstrate a wide range of interpersonal skills which consider the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students. Integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities that are deemed necessary for students enrolled in Arts courses.

The University is dedicated to providing support to those with special requirements. The Faculty Disability Contact Officer works with students, the University Disability Liaison Unit and teaching staff to assist students with their special requirements, with a particular focus on accommodations for in-class and examination assessment tasks. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website.

Honours

Depending on your major area of study, you have the option of applying for an Honours year after your third year of study, which will include a research subject. For more information on entry to Honours, see the Arts webpage.

Coursework Masters

If you wish to continue your professional studies at postgraduate level, the studies you undertake in your major can provide a direct pathway to Coursework Masters Degrees in areas such as editing, media and communications, public policy and management, international studies, arts management, development studies and many more. Entry is based on academic merit and in most cases requires a Bachelors degree or equivalent in the relevant study area.

You will also be well-prepared to undertake a Melbourne Model Graduate Professional Degree in areas such as law, teaching and commerce.

For more information on entry into a coursework masters degree, see the Arts coursework programs webpage, or the University graduate programs webpage.

Research Higher Degrees

If you wish to undertake advanced research and explore particular study areas in more depth, there will be opportunities to proceed to a range of Research Higher Degrees at masters and doctoral level. For more information about research higher degree study in Arts, see the Arts webpage.

Academically excellent
The Bachelor of Arts will be subject to a continuous cycle of review through Australian and international benchmarking, and through constant refinements in teaching and
learning principles and approaches. The mandatory completion of a major designed as a coherent progression of study from first to third year, culminating in a capstone subject, will ensure the acquisition of disciplinary depth. Students in the BA are taught by outstanding scholars.

Knowledgeable across disciplines
The Bachelor of Arts offers students majors in 32 areas of study, including 9 languages, and allows students to complete two majors during the course of their
degree. All BA students will complete two interdisciplinary foundation first-year subjects which offer cross-cultural perspectives on a number of historical and contemporary themes, and each of which has been designed collaboratively by teachers drawn from a number of different disciplines. All BA students will complete 75 points of subjects drawn from other degree programs or elsewhere across the University.

Leaders in communities
The Bachelor of Arts facilitates the development of excellent interpersonal and communication skills through subject content and assessment practices, and through commitment to small-group interactive teaching and learning environments. The provision of research and knowledge transfer opportunities enables the development of public discourse skills and an extensive awareness of community issues and global needs.

Attuned to cultural diversity
The Bachelor of Arts offers students a sustained and detailed education in aspects of cultural diversity and indigeneity. Many of the core discipline areas are concerned specifically and analytically with cultural diversity from language, area and historical studies, through comparative social science studies, to the explicit study of culture itself. The BA offers an Australian Indigenous Studies major. In addition, all students will be exposed specifically to cross-cultural issues through the first-year teaching program. Many BA students will take advantage of the opportunities for Exchange overseas, and others will undertake on-line international subjects, to provide them with experiences outside their own immediate cultures.

Active global citizens
Bachelor of Arts graduates will be equipped to be active global citizens by virtue of their academic excellence, their inter-disciplinary knowledge, their community leadership capabilities and their cultural awareness.

Arts students are encouraged to pursue their academic interests and professional aspirations by taking a variety of subjects in a range of study areas. All arts subjects provide students with transferable generic skills that prepare them for further study and the workplace.

As a result of attendance at scheduled classes, participation in planned activities and discussion groups, and timely completion of essays and assignments, Arts graduates should acquire transferable generic skills in the following areas:

• research

  through competent use of the library, electronic databases, and other information sources, and the definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research;

• critical thinking and analysis

  through recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion, and by determining the strength of an argument;

• thinking in theoretical terms

  through lectures, tutorial discussion, essay writing and engagement in the methodologies of the humanities and social sciences;

• thinking creatively

  through essay writing, creative writing, tutorial discussions and presentations, conceptualising theoretical problems, forming judgements and arguments from conflicting evidence and by critical analysis;

• understanding of social, ethical and cultural context

  through the contextualisation of judgements, developing a critical self-awareness, being open to new ideas and possibilities and by constructing an argument;

• communicating knowledge intelligibly and economically

  through essay writing and tutorial and seminar discussion;

• written communication

  through essay preparation and assignment writing;

• public speaking

  through tutorial and seminar discussion and class presentations;

• attention to detail

  through essay preparation and writing, and examination revision;

• time management and planning

  through managing and organising workloads for recommended reading, essay and assignment completion and examination revision;

• teamwork

  through joint projects and group discussions.