Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Advanced Studies
Degree structure and Requirements
1. Bachelor of Arts
To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Arts degree, students must complete 144 credit points in total, comprising:
- A major (48 credit points) or a program selected from the Table A Subject Areas
- A minor (36 credit points) or second major (48 credit points) selected from the Table A Subject Areas or Table S
- A minimum of 12 credit points of units of study in the Open Learning Environment selected from Table O;
- Where appropriate, elective units from Table A Subject Areas or Table S.
2. Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Advanced Studies
To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Advanced Studies, students must complete 192 credit points, comprising:
- A major (48 credit points) or a program selected from the Table A Subject Areas
- A second major (48 credit points) selected from the Table A Subject Areas or Table S
- A minimum of 12 credit points of units of study in the Open Learning Environment selected from Table O;
- A minimum of 24 credit points of 4000-level Advanced Coursework units in a single subject area selected from Table A Subject Areas or 24 credit points of 24 credit points of 4000-level Advanced Coursework units.
- Where appropriate, elective units from Table A Subject Areas or Table S.
For the units of study from Table A that are available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies refer to the Subject Areas section in this handbook.
Dalyell stream
The Dalyell stream is a targeted stream for high achievers. Students who participate in the Dalyell stream are known as the ‘Dalyell Scholars’. As a Dalyell Scholar students will have access to curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Dalyell Scholars must take 12 credit points of Dalyell stream units in addition to their degree requirements.
Dalyell stream units emphasise the development of vision, depth of understanding, adaptability, breadth of perspective, societal contribution and a high level of capability in operating across disciplinary and cultural boundaries. Dalyell Scholars may take Dalyell stream units offered by any faculty.
Additionally with the permission of the Dalyell Program Director, students will have access to enrichment and accelerated units of study that can be competed as electives.
For further details regarding the Dalyell stream, please refer to the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook.
Majors, minors, and programs
A major consists of 48 credit points in a single subject area. A minor consists of 36 credit points in a single discipline area. A program consists of 72 credit points in a single subject area.
In the Bachelor of Arts, and the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies students must select one major from the Table A Subject Areas offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Arts to fulfil the requirements of their degree.
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts must also complete a minor, a major or program from Table A Subject Areas or Table S (shared pool) to meet degree requirements.
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies must complete a second major or program from Table A Subject Areas or Table S.
Advanced Studies
Honours and Advanced Coursework
The Bachelor of Advanced Studies offers students an opportunity to complete further disciplinary knowledge in their chosen discipline. There are two distinct programs that are offered within Advanced Studies - Advanced Coursework or Honours.
Admission requirements and unit of study information can be found under each major subject areas or course pages offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Students may also choose to complete Advanced studies relating to their second major, further information can be found in the Interdisciplinary Handbook.
Arts and Social Sciences (Table A)
(i) Programs
- Economics – Available in Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Advanced Studies only
- Media and Communications – Available in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Media and Communications) stream only
- International and Global Studies - Available in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (International and Global Studies) stream only
- Politics and International Relations - Available in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Politics and International Relations) stream only
Students also have the option to complete the Psychology program from the Faculty of Science within their Bachelor of Arts degree as their second major.
(ii) Majors and Minors
The available majors and minors in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are listed in the Subject Area pages.
Note: Students cannot complete a major and a minor in the same subject area.
Pre-2018 Curriculum students
Students who started their current degree prior to 2018 should follow the requirements (such as 36cp majors) listed in the handbook of the year they commenced the degree.
For example, a student who started their Bachelor of Arts in 2017 should follow the 2017 Handbook requirements. Handbooks for previous years are located in the Handbook Archive.
Available units of study will appear in the unit of study enrolment task screens in Sydney Student.
Table O - Open Learning Environment (OLE)
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts, and the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies are required to complete at least 12 credit points in units of study from the Open Learning Environment (OLE) to meet the requirements for their degree/s.
Details of available OLE units can be found in Table O in the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook.
Table S - Interdisciplinary Studies (Shared pool)
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies can complete a second major or minor in a wide range of subject areas offered by the University of Sydney through the shared pool of majors and minors.
The available subject areas for majors and minors and their requirements can be found in the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook.
The following areas offer majors and minors in this shared pool:
- Architecture and Interaction Design
- Business, Marketing and Commerce
- Engineering and Information Technologies
- Health, Medicine and Dentistry
- Music; and
- Science, Agriculture, Environment and Veterinary Science.
Electives
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts, and the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies can complete elective units of study from the subject areas listed in Table A (Arts and Social Sciences) and Table S (shared pool).
The available units of study are listed in Table A Subject Areas of this handbook and Table S in the Interdisciplinary Studies handbook.