Bachelor of Social Sciences
Course code/s: ABSS Melbourne
This course is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to work in many government and non-government organisations concerned with the development and administration of community services and of social and legal policy, as well as offering them a solid academic grounding in key disciplines of the social sciences – sociology, anthropology, politics and legal studies. Students will study a range of policy related subjects as well as social science research methods. They will learn about the contribution of the social sciences to contemporary policy making and how the social sciences inform contemporary public debates.
The degree of Bachelor of Social Sciences may be awarded either as a pass degree or as a degree with honours and can be studied on a full-time or part-time basis. The pass degree requires completion of 360 credit points and, if taken full-time, is designed to be completed in three years with students completing 120 credit points at each year level. The course allows students to choose a core social science discipline and complete subjects in policy and social research methods.
To complete the pass degree students must complete:
- POL1AUP and SOC1SAC, either ANT1CAG or LST1LAS, two subjects from list A below; one 15 credit point subject offered by the faculty and two 15 credit point elective subjects offered by the faculty or anywhere in the university (prerequisites permitting)
- SOC2ISS and SOC2MSR, two subjects from list B below; two subjects from the selected Social Science discipline (Anthropology, Legal Studies, Politics or Sociology) and two 15 credit point elective subjects from the faculty or anywhere in the university (prerequisites permitting)
- SOC3SSP, two subjects from list B below; two subjects from the selected Social Science discipline (Anthropology, Legal Studies, Politics or Sociology), one 15 credit point subject owned by the faculty and two 15 credit point elective subjects offered by the faculty or anywhere in the university (prerequisites permitting)
Compulsory Core Subjects
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| First year core subjects (15 credit points each) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Introduction to Australian Politics | POL1AUP |
| TE-SEM-1 | Introduction to sociology | SOC1SAC |
| AND EITHER | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Culture and Globalisation: introduction to anthropology | ANT1CAG |
| OR | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Law and Legal Consciousness | LST1LAS |
| Second year core subjects (15 credit points each) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Issues in the Social Sciences | SOC2ISS |
| TE-SEM-1 | Social Research Methods | SOC2MSR |
| Third year core subjects (15 credit points each) | ||
| TE-SEM-2 | Social Sciences in Practice | SOC3SSP |
List A subjects
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-2 | Australia and Beyond: introduction to sociology | SOC1AAB |
| TE-SEM-2 | Crime and Criminology | LST1CCR |
| TE-SEM-2 | Democracies and Dictatorships: introduction to comparative politics | POL1DEM |
| TE-SEM-2 | Our Global Village: introduction to anthropology | ANT1FET |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sex, Gender and Diversity | GSD1SGD |
List B subjects
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| Second year subjects | ||
| Wk 51 - 09 | Encountering Aboriginal Victoria (block mode 13 - 18 January) | ABS2EAV |
| TE-SEM-1 | Australian Foreign Policy | POL2AAW |
| TE-SEM-1 | Childhood, Youth and Culture | ANT2CAC |
| TE-SEM-1 | Gender and Sexuality: contemporary debates | GSD2GES |
| TE-SEM-1 | Law, Justice and Power | LST2LJP |
| TE-SEM-2 | Applied Anthropology | ANT2APA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Democracy, Citizenship and Representation | POL2RAP |
| TE-SEM-2 | Ethnicity and Identity: social and political approaches | SOC2EAI |
| TE-SEM-2 | Migration, States and Societies | POL2MSS |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sociology of Health and Illness | SOC2SHI |
| Third year subjects | ||
| Wk 51 - 09 | Encountering Aboriginal Victoria (block mode 13 - 18 January) | ABS3EAV |
| TE-SEM-1 | Australian Foreign Policy | POL3AAW |
| TE-SEM-1 | Childhood, Youth and Culture | ANT3CAC |
| TE-SEM-1 | Gender and Sexuality: contemporary debates | GSD3GES |
| TE-SEM-2 | Applied Anthropology | ANT3APA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Democracy, Citizenship and Representation | POL3RAP |
| TE-SEM-2 | Ethnicity and Identity: social and political approaches | SOC3EAI |
| TE-SEM-2 | Migration, States and Societies | POL3MSS |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sociology of Health and Illness | SOC3SHI |
Subjects not available in 2013
| Teaching period | Subject name | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| TE-SEM-1 | Contemporary Australian Politics and Public Policy | POL2CAP/POL3CAP |
| TE-SEM-1 | Deviance, Criminality and Social Control | SOC2DCS/SOC3DCS |
| TE-SEM-1 | Drugs, Law and Social Justice | LST2DLS/LST3DLS |
| TE-SEM-1 | Social Theories of Deviance | SOC2STD/SOC3STD |
| TE-SEM-2 | Aborigines and the State | ANT2AAS/ANT3AAS |
| TE-SEM-2 | Australian Political Culture | POL2APC/POL3APC |
| TE-SEM-2 | Contesting Social Policy | SOC2CSP/SOC3CSP |
| TE-SEM-2 | Discrimination and the Law | LST2DAL/LST3DAL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Nature, Conservation and Society: the human impact | SOC2SOE/SOC3SOE |
| TE-SEM-2 | Quantitative Research Skills | SOC2MTB/SOC3MTB |
| TE-SEM-2 | Social Policy, Welfare and the State | SOC2SWS/SOC3SWS |
| TE-SEM-2 | Work, Employment and Society | SOC2WES/SOC3WES |
Information in this handbook may be revised during the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences restructure process.
For further information about Social Sciences studies, please contact the School of Social Sciences either by email at socsci@latrobe.edu.au or by telephone on (03) 9479 2690.