Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Health Sciences - Sociology (Dual Degree)

at La Trobe University - Melbourne Campus Australia

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most powerful forces behind digital disruption and AI skills are highly sought-after in a huge range of industries.

Kickstart your career in this exciting field with La Trobe's Master of Artificial Intelligence.

In this degree, you'll learn to harness key AI technologies and applications that are sparking innovation in a range of industries. You'll graduate with the technical capabilities to drive change and improve business outcomes across digital healthcare, smart manufacturing, smart cities, sustainable energy infrastructure, precision agriculture and more.

Choose a specialisation in a key technical area of AI – interactive media and computer vision, intelligent systems and robotics, or natural language processing. You'll benefit from the first-hand knowledge and experience of your teachers, many of whom are world-renowned researchers.

Let your curiosity lead you. You'll study exciting subjects in machine learning, artificial intelligence in bioinformatics, image processing and virtual reality. You'll graduate with both a well-rounded foundation in AI and complementary cross-disciplinary skills – an attractive combination for potential employers.

Hands-on experience is a key part of this degree. Use your AI skills to solve real-world problems when you take on an industry-based project. Previous students have worked with Microsoft, Optus, 4pi Lab, Aerion, Quantum Victoria, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Pivot Maritime International and Axicor.

Two early exit points mean that every stage of your degree equips you for your future career. Exit after six months with a Graduate Certificate in Information Technology Fundamentals or exit after one year with a Graduate Diploma in Artificial Intelligence.

 

Explore what you’re passionate about and build a rewarding career.

The world is complex. And while we’re making serious inroads, many aspects of the human mind, behaviour and health are still beyond our understanding. There’s still so much to discover. As culture and technology continue to rapidly transform, we need skilled, empathetic and creative professionals who are passionate about broadening our understanding of both the world and our bodies – intelligent and caring people who want to create healthier communities in Australia, and around the globe.

If you're curious about the world, and passionate about making it a healthier and fairer place, La Trobe's Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Health Sciences will give you everything you need to pursue your passion and your profession. Choose from an incredible array of majors and shape your future with this interdisciplinary degree.

Create your own path by combining majors from a wide range of areas. Pair psychological science with public health, or health promotion with sociology. Learn how to help victims of crime by combining rehabilitation counselling with crime, justice and legal studies. Or find inspiration in the human mind by pairing psychological science with creative and professional writing. You're in charge of your future and we're here to help you build your dream career. No matter which path you choose, you'll learn from world-class academics and leading researchers.

Develop essential skills that you'll use for the rest of your life. Creative thinking. Critical analysis. The ability to understand and communicate with a wide range of people. And the knowledge you'll acquire – across both arts and health – will set you up for a successful career in a wide range of industries across both sectors. Once you've graduated, you may also have the opportunity to undertake postgraduate study in health and science, including clinical programs, or any one of our humanities and social sciences postgraduate programs.

The health sciences majors include both theory and lab practice units. For example, if you major in public health, you'll learn about environmental health issues, global health initiatives and health care systems. Or if you major in rehabilitation counselling, you'll explore the psychosocial perspective of health and illness, the issues related to living with chronic health problems, and sports and exercise psychology. You could even take your fascination with the human mind further by majoring in psychological science or study the complex inner workings of the body through the field of human physiological sciences.

Gain real-world experience and build valuable connections that will shape your career. Take on an industry placement in a range of workplaces, including hospitals, regional health organisations or community organisations like SBS Radio, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre or the United Nations Association of Australia or travel overseas for an international sustainability experience.[1] Many of our exchange programs are financially supported. Your dedicated course adviser will help you to find your path and explore new opportunities.

Discover psychology using a scientific approach. In this fascinating major, you’ll deepen your understanding of how people think, behave and relate to one another. Expand your understanding of psychological health and illness, while learning how to assess psychological functioning in individuals.

Explore how culture and society can shape our experiences and health choices. You’ll investigate how our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by other people and you’ll learn how to use statistical techniques to understand the differences between groups of people.
Investigate a range of evidence-based psychological interventions and develop your research skills by conducting an in-depth investigation into an area of psychology. Throughout your studies, you’ll build practical skills in analysis, evaluation and communication. Learn how to apply psychological theory and research to real-world individuals and their communities.
You’ll learn:

 

• Scientific foundations of psychology
  • Examine how psychological theories and research studies are developed and used.
• Psychological health and illness
  • Investigate the biological, social and psychological factors that influence our psychological health.
• Psychological assessment
  • Learn how to conduct a psychological assessment and understand how to evaluate the information you gather.
• Psychological intervention
  • Gain a deep understanding of different approaches to psychological intervention
• Psychological research in practice
  • Conduct an in-depth investigation into an area of psychology and create a research report.

 

If you're passionate about making a positive difference, La Trobe's Bachelor of Health Sciences will give you the skills and confidence to build a rewarding career in this diverse field. Whether you want to work with individual people or whole populations, you'll have the opportunity to fine-tune your skills and get the real-world experience that'll set you apart

Look at health from every angle. While we often measure health through the body, we can also examine the way our minds, our society and our environment – not to mention our political structures – affect the health of every individual, family and community. You'll learn how to use data as a powerful tool to improve the health of everyday people and develop the research skills to make a real impact.

Delve deeper into subjects you're fascinated in, with the option to take up to two majors if you want to develop broad expertise and keep your career options open. You'll also have the option to study an open access major or minor from across the university to gain extra skills and explore your passions.

Gain deep knowledge of the most impactful areas of the health sciences and build a meaningful career. Through your studies, you can aspire to make positive differences at local, national and international levels. You'll learn the skills employers are searching for. Hone your abilities in critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, research, leadership and teamwork, then use them to address the biggest issues in health and wellbeing.

You'll graduate ready to make a positive impact on health policy and practice – for both current and future generations.

You'll learn:

Professional scientific thinking

• Learn how science contributes new knowledge and finds solutions to problems in our society.

Lab and fieldwork skills

• Learn how to collect data and use specialist technical skills to develop new findings in the laboratory and in the field.

Problem-solving

• Learn to develop solutions to complex scientific problems.

Collaboration

• Collaborate and work effectively in teams to solve problems and achieve shared goals.

Professional conduct

• Learn about ethical conduct when working as a scientific professional and how to promote and communicate your professional identity to potential employers and peers.

Communicating as a professional scientist

• Gain experience communicating to a range of audiences, both in written and verbal formats.

Health, wellbeing and performance

Develop skills to facilitate improved mental health and wellbeing in sport and broader community settings. With a focus on positive psychology, communication and counselling skills, and principles of effective performance, you’ll develop the skills you’ll need to promote wellbeing and performance with individuals and small groups.

If you can't let go of unanswered questions. If you love learning. If you're passionate about the world around you. Then it's time to start your journey at La Trobe.

With our flexible Bachelor of Arts, you can choose from an incredible array of majors and minors. You'll have access to around 50 majors and minors from humanities, social sciences, business, health and science, keeping your career options open. Pursue your passion and your profession.

Shape your own future with this interdisciplinary degree. You'll choose one arts major, then explore your interests or build an essential skill when you choose secondary majors, minors and electives from across the university. You'll graduate with your primary major on your academic transcript, so future employers can recognise your expertise.

Create your own path. Want to major in sociology, with a second major in psychology, then take Chinese as an elective? Go for it. Or perhaps you'd like to pair economics and English. Or crime, justice and legal studies with linguistics. Build your own future – we're here to help you achieve your dream. No matter which path you choose, you'll learn from world-class academics and leading researchers.

In your first year, you'll explore your interests and passions. Try a language; or get a taste for history, English, politics or creative writing. In your second and third years, you'll delve deeper while also choosing electives and minors that broaden your skills and knowledge. You may also choose to develop professional skillsets in areas like psychology, public health, marketing, science, sport management and more.

This flexible degree also offers a range of study options. You can choose to study face-to-face at our Melbourne Campus and enjoy our on-campus facilities, or you can study online – knowing your experience will mirror on-campus students, with tutorials delivered in a synchronous manner. Unlike many other online degrees, at La Trobe you can login to live sessions and engage directly with academics and your fellow students in real time.

Gain real-world experience and build valuable connections that will shape your career. Take on an industry placement at organisations like SBS Radio, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre or the United Nations Association of Australia or travel overseas for an international sustainability experience.* Many of our exchange programs are financially supported. Your dedicated course advisor will help you to find your path and explore new opportunities.

The world is waiting for you. Step into it.

The Crime, Justice and Legal Studies major offers an interdisciplinary perspective on the nature, role and impact of law in society. The major encompasses general Socio-Legal Studies, Criminology and Criminal Justice and brings together the insights, theories and methods of various disciplines, including Sociology, Politics, Media Studies, History and Cultural Studies.

The major will equip you with the skills to analyse and evaluate legal concepts, processes, institutions and problems as dynamic and multi-faceted aspects of social relations. The Crime, Justice and Legal Studies major is concerned with the local and global dimensions of pressing contemporary issues. These include: citizenship, the ‘rule of law’, human rights and social justice, violence and discrimination, victimhood, crime and the administration of justice, law’s intersection with popular culture, and law’s role in social policy and social change.

By undertaking this major, students will hone skills in research, critical-thinking and problem-solving which will provide a solid grounding for careers in legal research and policy, community work, advocacy, welfare and related fields.

The modern business world is changing at breakneck speed. Ongoing digital and operational disruption present unique challenges – as well as opportunities. We need new leaders who are agile, entrepreneurial and, above all, able to innovate under the toughest of conditions.

Develop solid foundations in modern business with La Trobe's Bachelor of Business. Prepare to thrive in a digitally disrupted world with this highly flexible degree and start building your dream career in business.

You'll explore multiple business disciplines in your first year and develop foundational knowledge and enterprise skills in areas such as management, organisational structures, data analytics and ethical business practices.

You'll choose from a wide range of majors, minors and optional second majors. You can also pair your major with complementary study from another discipline.

No matter how you specialise, you'll get hands-on experience and learn the latest digital skills while developing essential leadership, communication and critical-thinking skills.

You'll develop your professional business skills as you work in diverse teams, present business strategies and use the software that's essential in modern business.

You'll graduate with the perfect blend of business fundamentals and technical expertise so you can change the business world.

Sport management

Sport is an essential feature of Australian culture and is an important part of modern society. Our sport management industry is diverse, from managing grass roots sporting clubs and community organisations through to our elite sporting competitions, like the AFL or NRL. The sport manager  will have a strong background in both sport and business management.

The Sport Management major offered by the La Trobe Business School provides you with the business and management skills that you need to meet the demands of the growing sport industry including facilitating participation in sport, overseeing sport facilities and venues, sport marketing and revenue generation. You develop both your theoretical knowledge and applied management skills that directly impact the success of sporting codes, competitions, organisations, teams, individuals, and facilities. We develop your problem solving, critical thinking and interpersonal skills preparing you for a career in a range of sport-related associations and business organisations. You also consider some of the unique features of sport and a range of contemporary issues that makes sport management a challenging but rewarding career.

In the era of globalisation, having advanced language skills is becoming increasingly valuable. Organisations need professionals who not only communicate effectively, but also have the multilingual and cross-cultural knowledge that can help them thrive on an international scale.*

La Trobe's Bachelor of Languages and Linguistics introduces you to the foundations of human communication. Learn about the structure and history of languages, while examining how communication skills are acquired and developed. You'll also select from a range of language majors and explore the culture from which your chosen language emerged.

Develop an advanced understanding of linguistics, investigating the sound systems used for communication, how sentences are structured, and the ways we use language and interpret meaning.

Focus on the language you're passionate about by selecting from Chinese, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Japanese or Hindi. You'll also be able to select a starting point that suits your language proficiency, including beginner, intermediate and advanced studies.

From there, you'll investigate a variety of other languages, examining their evolution, structure and use. Explore the nuances of linguistic variation in communities, looking at the social, ethnic and age factors that influence the variation.

Enhance your language proficiency by taking advantage of our study abroad opportunities.* Immerse yourself in your chosen language and build a greater understanding of its everyday application.

Build your communication, team-working, problem-solving and analytical skills, which experts suggest will be highly sought after by the workplaces of tomorrow.**

Through optional minors, you'll also have the chance to explore further languages, including Auslan, or broaden your studies into complementary areas such as psychology, philosophy and history.

Graduate with the advanced languages skills to boost your global career.

Italian studies intermediate

In the Italian Studies major you will combine the study of the language with the study of Italian culture, literature, cinema, history and translation. The primary focus of this major is on contemporary Italy, but you can explore aspects of early modern, Renaissance and twentieth-century Italy in selected subjects. A major in Italian Studies provides you with the opportunity to develop your written, spoken and comprehension skills in Italian to a high level, while enhancing your critical thinking skills, and becoming proficient at analysing texts and at presenting reasoned arguments. Studying Italian will equip you with valuable communication skills. Recent graduates of Italian studies have found employment in teaching, diplomacy, government, social work, art history and restoration, international business, publishing, journalism, tourism, and translating and interpreting. Students of Italian are encouraged to consider spending one or two semesters studying at an Italian university as part of an approved exchange program. (Please note: overseas programs may be impacted by travel restrictions.) Italian is taught at a number of levels starting from beginners. For those with prior knowledge of and/or qualifications in the language, a placement test and interview may be used to determine the appropriate stream for a student.

Information technology (IT) has become a fundamental part of almost every industry. Fast-track the career you want with a degree accredited by the Australian Computer Society (ACS).

La Trobe's Master of Information Technology allows you to ride the IT wave and set yourself up for a successful tech career.

This degree builds your technical expertise and gives you a strong, industry-standard IT skill set. It's also flexible – you'll have the opportunity to specialise in one of several booming areas, including software engineering, cloud analytics, digital media, networking, artificial intelligence, digital health or cybersecurity.

Your degree is designed to ensure the skills you build are well-suited to future industry needs. Your teachers are IT professionals who'll share industry insights and make sure you graduate ready to work.

Shape your degree to fit your personal and professional goals with a range of electives. Build expertise in areas that interest you, such as app development, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, Internet of Things (IoT), user experience design, cybersecurity and more.

Supplement your skills with free certifications through our partnership with Microsoft. Administered via on-campus exams, these certifications give you practical skills you can apply in a wide range of industries and workplaces.

From day one, hands-on experience is top priority. Our state-of-the-art on-campus CISCO labs offer a wide range of networking capabilities – and they're available to you 24/7. We're also home to the Centre for Technology Infusion and the La Trobe Cyber Security Research Hub.

An industry development project or work-based placement will cement your learning and prepare you to launch your career. Alternatively, if you have a research career in your sights, you can pursue an applied research project or an industry-based thesis.

Explore your passions and build a rewarding career.

Today’s workplaces are rapidly evolving. Governments, businesses and law firms need passionate professionals who not only have advanced legal expertise, but also the ability to think critically, analytically and creatively.*

La Trobe's Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Bachelor of Arts lets you enrich your legal education by pursuing your interests and passions. Open doors to a diverse range of rewarding careers, while exploring how to make a difference in your community.

Learn the fundamentals of criminal, constitutional, property and company law. Explore the legal system and understand how it can be used as a powerful and positive force in society. Develop key skills in advocacy, negotiation and dispute resolution.

You'll also choose from our list of arts majors and explore your area of interest. Broaden your knowledge and experience by studying areas like politics, languages, sociology, history, philosophy and media studies. Learn how to communicate effectively and think critically, analytically and creatively.

You can also choose to complete law electives that complement your arts specialisation. For example, a politics major can be matched with related subjects like public international law and human rights law. While a language or philosophy major could be augmented by subjects in areas like Indigenous Australians and the law, intellectual property law or family, society and law.

Enhance your classroom learning by taking advantage of optional internships, work experience, and our study abroad program*. Gain hands-on experience working with community legal centres, law firms and government agencies. Find out what it takes to interview clients, prepare legal advice and work with senior lawyers to develop legal solutions.

Graduate ready to make a positive difference. With combined expertise in law and arts, you can build a career as a solicitor or barrister, in-house counsel or corporate consultant, working in commercial law firms or community legal centres. You could also work in the public service as a government lawyer or support social justice initiatives in the not-for-profit sector.

A History major gives you the tools to understand how the world got to where it is today, and to examine how social, political and cultural change could happen in the future. In this major you are taken from the ancient world of myth through to the present day, and are offered a range of geographical perspectives from Australia, Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia. You will address key themes such as the nature of the historical imagination, the rise and decline of empires, mass migration, human rights and environmental sustainability.

You can choose to explore topics as different as the history of food, the history of sexuality, Aboriginal history, religion and fundamentalism, slavery and human trafficking, genocides and the Holocaust, civil rights, and the history of the environment. You'll learn traditional approaches to historical research, engage with visual and popular culture, and gain mixed media skills to produce new histories for the 21st century.

Explore your passions and build a rewarding career.

Today’s workplaces are rapidly evolving. Governments, businesses and law firms need passionate professionals who not only have advanced legal expertise, but also the ability to think critically, analytically and creatively.*

La Trobe's Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Bachelor of Arts lets you enrich your legal education by pursuing your interests and passions. Open doors to a diverse range of rewarding careers, while exploring how to make a difference in your community.

Learn the fundamentals of criminal, constitutional, property and company law. Explore the legal system and understand how it can be used as a powerful and positive force in society. Develop key skills in advocacy, negotiation and dispute resolution.

You'll also choose from our list of arts majors and explore your area of interest. Broaden your knowledge and experience by studying areas like politics, languages, sociology, history, philosophy and media studies. Learn how to communicate effectively and think critically, analytically and creatively.

You can also choose to complete law electives that complement your arts specialisation. For example, a politics major can be matched with related subjects like public international law and human rights law. While a language or philosophy major could be augmented by subjects in areas like Indigenous Australians and the law, intellectual property law or family, society and law.

Enhance your classroom learning by taking advantage of optional internships, work experience, and our study abroad program*. Gain hands-on experience working with community legal centres, law firms and government agencies. Find out what it takes to interview clients, prepare legal advice and work with senior lawyers to develop legal solutions.

Graduate ready to make a positive difference. With combined expertise in law and arts, you can build a career as a solicitor or barrister, in-house counsel or corporate consultant, working in commercial law firms or community legal centres. You could also work in the public service as a government lawyer or support social justice initiatives in the not-for-profit sector.

In the Philosophy major you will explore fundamental human questions that can help us explore ourselves and our world. If you have ever puzzled over why some actions or scenarios seem right and others seem wrong, or if you would like to explore what makes a belief in gravity more sensible than a belief in Santa Claus, then our Philosophy major is for you. Big and complex questions often have more than one answer, and you will be trained to think rationally, creatively, and fairly. This makes the skills acquired in a Philosophy major broadly applicable, and these are human-skills that are not able to be replaced by machines.

In the Philosophy major you can explore topics such as what human freedom is, whether and how we can know our world (including knowledge of god), how we might resolve disagreement about what should be done, and what it might mean to lead a good life in our changing world.

The rapid globalisation of our society means international relations are more important – and more complex – than ever. Want to be a leader in this evolving world? Combine a global perspective with in-depth legal expertise.

La Trobe's Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Bachelor of Global Studies is an immersive and flexible double degree giving you the skills and knowledge to succeed.

Become a legal expert with valuable expertise in global affairs. You'll develop your legal knowledge and skills as you build a deep understanding of global issues, diplomacy, politics, and international trade.

Your law degree will introduce you to the fundamentals of legal practice and build your skills in advocacy, negotiation, and dispute resolution – all highly valued by employers across a range of industries.

At the same time, your global studies degree will immerse you in a wide range of global issues, including international relations and geopolitics, contemporary security issues, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and contemporary armed conflict and terrorism. Tailor your studies to your interests with a choice of five curated majors – international relations, conflict and negotiation, Asian politics and security, government and policy, and human rights.

When it comes to learning, there's no substitute for hands-on experience. You'll have the opportunity to take on real-world work placements in settings such as community legal centres, law firms, government agencies, and with judges and magistrates (subject to availability) and bolster your education with a practical global studies placement subject. You could also put your legal skills to the test in law competitions, both locally and internationally.

Italian studies advanced

In the Italian Studies major you will combine the study of the language with the study of Italian culture, literature, cinema, history and translation. The primary focus of this major is on contemporary Italy, but you can explore aspects of early modern, Renaissance and twentieth-century Italy in selected subjects. A major in Italian Studies provides you with the opportunity to develop your written, spoken and comprehension skills in Italian to a high level, while enhancing your critical thinking skills, and becoming proficient at analysing texts and at presenting reasoned arguments. Studying Italian will equip you with valuable communication skills. Recent graduates of Italian studies have found employment in teaching, diplomacy, government, social work, art history and restoration, international business, publishing, journalism, tourism, and translating and interpreting. Students of Italian are encouraged to consider spending one or two semesters studying at an Italian university as part of an approved exchange program. (Please note: overseas programs may be impacted by travel restrictions.) Italian is taught at a number of levels starting from beginners. For those with prior knowledge of and/or qualifications in the language, a placement test and interview may be used to determine the appropriate stream for a student.