Bachelor of Arts (major in Cultural Studies)

DURATION: 2 years fast track or 3 years full-time

ENTRY POINTS: March/July/November

LOCATION: Sydney

The Bachelor of Arts allows you a high level of flexibility to choose one or more majors from a variety of study areas across the University.

 Cultural Studies provides students with the analytical and creative skills necessary for understanding the ever-changing nature of contemporary culture and daily life.

Students study issues to do with art, media, communication and representation; the practice of everyday life, from shopping to graffiti; the construction and deconstruction of social, cultural and personal identities; as well as the values and ideas shaping national, regional and global cultures.

Cultural Studies emphasises innovative and creative approaches to contemporary issues in the arts, media and popular culture, as well as key social issues about the body, sexuality and gender, ethnicity, technology and social and political conflict. Creative thinking is also explored through units that teach cultural studies themes and issues via creative writing, performance and drama.

Suitable

The Bachelor of Arts is suitable for students who want the flexibility to study a range of areas within one degree. The major in Cultural Studies equips students with generic skills in critical thinking, independent research and teamwork as well as providing them with an understanding of cultural differences.

Career opportunities

Bachelor of Arts graduates have skills sought after by employers including critical analysis and high-level communication skills. Graduates work in a diverse range of areas including in government and industry administration, publishing and editing, journalism, arts policy/administration, public relations and advertising.

Academic requirement:

No assumed knowledge, prerequisites or recommended studies.

English language requirements:

• IELTS (Academic English only): Minimum 6.5 overall, with 6.0 in each section
• TOEFL (paper based test): Minimum 580 overall, with 53 Listening, 52 Reading, 59 Structure/ Written Expression, 5.0 TWE
• TOEFL (computer based test): Minimum 237 overall, with 19 Listening, 19 Reading, 25 Structure/Writing
• TOEFL (internet based test): Minimum 92 overall, with 18 Listening, 17 Reading, 22 Writing, 22 Speaking.

Sample unit guidelines

The table below is a sample of units available in the majors of Cultural Studies and in Media.

General requirements for major in Cultural Studies:
■ Minimum number of credit points required for the degree: 68
■ Maximum number of credit points at 200 level; 38; and
■ Minimum number of credit points at 300 level: 18 with Commerce designation
■ Completion of a Qualifying Major for the Bachelor of Arts
■ Complete a designated People unit
■ Complete a designated Planet unit

Minimum number of credit points required for the major in Cultural Studies: 24, including the following prescribed units ◦ CUL 100 Living Culture: Entertainment, Identity, Power (3)
◦CUL 101 Seeing Culture: Vision, Visuality and the Senses (3)
◦6 Credit Points from 200 level CUL units (6)
◦9 Credit Points from 300 level CUL units (9)
◦3 Credit Points CUL 309 Internship in Cultural Research (3) (capstone)

Students can select from a variety of units that are offered each semester. These units can be selected during the enrolment period.

Code	Subject	Credit points	Level
100 level
BUSL100	Global Legal Frameworks for a Sustainable Planet	3	100
CUL120	Living Culture: Entertainment, Identity, Power	3	100
CUL121	Introduction to International Communication	3	100
HRM107	Introduction to Human Resources	3	100
MAS104	Australian Media	3	100
MAS105	Media Cultures	3	100
	Total	18
200 level
CUL220	Subjectivity	3	200
CUL221	Australian Cultural Studies	3	200
CUL223	Graffiti, Kitsch and Trash: Crimes of Style	3	200
CUL224	The Cultural Studies of Work	3	200
CUL240	Writing 1	3	200
MAS203	News and Current Affairs	3	200
MAS205	Introduction to the Cinema	3	200
MAS214	Free Cultures	3	200
MAS215	Theories of Writing for the Media	3	200
	Total	27
300 level
CUL320	Post 9/11: The Cultural Politics of Terror	3	300
CUL321	Unassimilable Bodies: UnAustralian Cultural Studies	3	300
CUL323	Ways of Reading	3	300
CUL324	Multimedia: The Poetics	3	300
	of New Media
MAS304	Screens, Images, Ideas	3	300
MAS310	Writing Personal Narratives	3	300
MAS311	Narrative style and Strategy	3	300
	Total	24
Total credit points		68

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