Facts & figures
- Top 20 university globally (QS World University Rankings 2024)
- #24 in the world for Arts and Humanities*
- #45 in the world for Social Sciences*
- *2023 QS World University Rankings
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Your HSC subjects and our majors
Connect your interests to your future study
What's the difference between a major and a minor? Unsure how your HSC subjects connect to Arts and Social Sciences subjects? Use this handy page as a guide in deciding what to study at University.
Say you want to continue studying a subject you’ve enjoyed during your final years of high school, like English or History or Languages. You’ve probably discovered that it isn’t quite as simple as enrolling in a Bachelor of English, or History or Languages, because… those degrees don’t exist.
But fear not - you can of course study these subjects and develop some serious knowledge by enrolling in a Bachelor of Arts, a broad degree that offers you heaps of subject areas to specialise in (45 in fact).
The first thing you’ve got to know when you enrol in a Bachelor of Arts, is that you’ll study a major and a minor.
Hold up. What’s a major?
The technical answer: “A defined sequence of units of study that deepens your experience in a field of study.”
But in plain terms, a major is a group of related subjects you’ll take in order to gain specialised knowledge in a specific area.
Each subject (what we call a “unit of study”) is assigned credit points.
To achieve a major, you need to complete a required 48 credit points and specific units of study within one subject area. Usually this is made up of 8 units of study, taken across the duration of your degree.
Got it. So what’s a minor?
Minors are very similar to majors: think of them as a smaller group of related subjects that you’ll take to gain knowledge in a specific area.
A minor requires fewer credit points than a major - 36 to be exact. Usually this is made up of 6 units of study, taken across the duration of your degree.
All of our liberal studies degrees (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Commerce) and the specialist degree Bachelor of Economics require you to complete a major, and a minor (or second major).
How do my HSC subjects align with what I can study at University?
We’re glad you asked! Click on a HSC subject below to see our related Arts and Social Sciences majors (and minors). From there, click through to learn about the overall aims of each major and their specific units of study.
One last thing: this is a guide! You don't need to have studied these specific HSC subjects to undertake the listed majors and minors, they're just suggestions to get you started. You can study all of the below without any prior experience or study.
- Ancient Greek
- Arabic Language and Cultures
- Asian Studies
- Biblical Studies and Classical Hebrew
- Chinese Studies
- European Studies
- French and Francophone Studies
- Germanic Studies
- Modern Hebrew
- Indonesian Studies
- International and Comparative Literary Studies
- Italian Studies
- Japanese Studies
- Jewish Civilisation, Thought and Culture
- Korean Studies
- Latin
- Linguistics
- Modern Greek Studies
- Sanskrit (minor)
- Spanish and Latin American Studies
Are you a HSC student?
Visit our events for prospective students page for HSC tips, webinars and Q&A sessions. Unsure of university terminology? Visit our online glossary.