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La Trobe University
University Handbook 2010

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Bachelor of Arts (HUSBAM)

All three years of this course are available at the Mildura campus. For further details contact the Faculty Office on (03) 9479 1635.

The degree of Bachelor of Arts is offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences either as a pass degree or with honours. The pass degree, if taken full-time, is designed to be completed within three years. An honours degree, which requires an additional year of full-time study, is available at the Melbourne (Bundoora) campus to qualified students.

It is the responsibility of students to familiarise themselves with course requirements and ensure that they are enrolled in units that conform to those requirements. Students are encouraged to contact the Faculty Office if they have any questions regarding requirements for their course.

Admission requirements

Prerequisite studies: a study score of at least 20 in VCE units 3 and 4 of English or equivalent is required for entry to the Bachelor of Arts. The Faculty will consider for admission applicants from all entrance categories.

Applicants who have not completed year-12 or equivalent may apply under the Special Entry Access Schemes. See the current VTAC Guide for more details or go to www.vtac.edu.au.

Further information may be obtained from the Campus Office.

Disciplines

The following humanities and social sciences disciplines offer core majors to fulfil the course requirements of the Bachelor of Arts:

  • English
  • History
  • Social Sciences.

The following humanities and social sciences disciplines offer elective units for the Bachelor of Arts:

  • Art history
  • Philosophy.

Students may also include as elective units in their Bachelor of Arts course units offered by other faculties at the Mildura campus, subject to the restrictions in the course requirements below.

Special Entry Access Schemes (SEAS)

Applicants who are aged 21 years or more by 1 January of the year of their intended entry and who have not satisfied minimum tertiary entrance requirements may become eligible for entry by completing extra application requirements.

Course requirements

To qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 360 credit points, with at least 120 credit points at third year level and include in their course at least one core major.

Single Major (130 credit points)

A major consists of 130 credit points in a discipline, and must include the following:

  • 30 credit points at first year level (including a first-year core subject),
  • 40 credit points at second-year level (including a second-year core subject) and,
  • 60 credit points at third-year level (including a third-year core subject)
Teaching period Requirements
First year
TE-SEM-1 Major (core subject) Elective Elective Elective
TE-SEM-2 Major Elective Elective Elective
Second year
TE-SEM-1 Major (core subject) Elective Elective
TE-SEM-2 Major Elective Elective
Third year
TE-SEM-1 Major (core subject) Major Elective
TE-SEM-2 Major Elective Elective

Double major (260 credit points)

Students can complete a double major within the BA which consists of 130 credit points in each of two different disciplines. The structure is the same as the structure for a single major but students must complete the structure for two different disciplines.

Teaching period Requirements
First year
TE-SEM-1 Major 1 (core subject) Major 2 (core subject) Elective Elective
TE-SEM-2 Major 1 Major 2 Elective Elective
Second year
TE-SEM-1 Major 1 (core subject) Major 2 (core subject) Elective
TE-SEM-2 Major 1 Major 2 Elective
Third year
TE-SEM-1 Major 1 (core subject) Major 1 Major 2 (core subject)
TE-SEM-2 Major 1 Major 2 Major 2

The subjects chosen should be such that:

  • there are no more than 135 credit points of subjects at first-year level
  • there are no more than 30 credit points in any area in first year, and
  • no more than two subjects at each year level are taken from subjects offered outside the faculty.

On completing the course of study, which would lead to the award of the Bachelor of Arts, students may be eligible for entry into the program for the Bachelor of Arts with Honours. Enquiries about eligibility and potential study programs should be directed to the Head of the relevant School in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The following subjects are available at Mildura for students entering the Bachelor of Arts.

First-year subjects required for completion of your chosen major (15 credit points)
Teaching period Subject title Subject code
English major
TE-SEM-1 Texts over Time: introduction to literature ENG1TOT
TE-SEM-2 Text, Criticism and the Visual ENG1TCV
History major
TE-SEM-1 Global Migration Stories HIS1GMS
TE-SEM-2 Myth, Legend and History HIS1MLH
Social Sciences major
TE-SEM-1 Introduction to Sociology SOC1SAC
TE-SEM-2 Australia and Beyond: introduction to sociology SOC1AAB
First-year elective subject (15 credit points)
Teaching period Subject title Subject code
TE-SEM-2 Critical Thinking (online unit) PHI1CRT
Second and third-year subjects (20 credit points)
Teaching period Subject title Subject code
TE-SEM-1 Re-thinking Jane Austen ENG2RJA/ENG3RJA
TE-SEM-1 The European Union HIS2EUU/HIS3EUU
TE-SEM-1 Introduction to Social Research Methods SOC2MSR/SOC3MSR
TE-SEM-1 Nature, Conservation and Society (online subject) SOC2SOE/SOC3SOE
TE-SEM-1 Theory, Culture and Society SOC2TCS/SOC3TCS
TE-SEM-2 Asian Pacific Cities SOC2APC/SOC3APC
TE-SEM-2 Australian Environmental History: Gondwana to global warming (online subject) HIS2AEH/HIS3AEH
TE-SEM-2 Medieval Europe: C 600-C 1200 (online subject) ARH2MEU/ARH3MEU
TE-SEM-2 Renaissance Voices and Counter Voices ENG2REV/ENG3REV
TE-SEM-2 Shakespeare, Realism and Romance (online subject) ENG2SRR/ENG3SRR
TE-SEM-2 Sociology of Emotions SOC2SEM/SOC3SEM
TE-SEM-2 US Civil Rights Movement HIS2UCR/HIS3UCR

Course regulations

  • 120 credit points (60 credit points in each semester) is a full-time study load for each year level. Students require permission from the Faculty to overload by taking more than 60 credit points in any semester. Permission is normally based on the student’s previous academic record.

First year units

  • As part of their 120 credit points at first year level, students must take a minimum of 90 credit points from units offered by the Faculty.
  • A minimum of 120 credit points and a maximum of 135 credit points of first year units may normally be included in the degree.

Units from other La Trobe Faculties and other universities

  • Students may take two semester units at each year level from other La Trobe Faculties.
  • Students may take up to two semester units at each year level from another tertiary institution in a discipline that is not available at La Trobe University.