Bachelor of Arts (Deans Scholars) in Indigenous Australian Studies

at Western Sydney University - Bankstown Campus Australia

What does it mean to live in Indigenous Australia?

The Indigenous Australian Studies Major offers students the exciting opportunity to acquire key cultural competencies that will enable them to understand and work more effectively with Indigenous Australians in professions such as the arts, communications, media industries; education; government and non-government; policy; health; sciences; and community services.

The Indigenous Australian Studies Major addresses the cultural, historical, social and economic issues affecting Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians and relationships.

The Bachelor of Arts (Dean’s Scholars) degree is designed to develop your communication and personal skills, creativity, capacity for independent thought, adaptability to new situations, and problem-solving abilities.

History and Political Thought

Since the revival of humanist thought in the Renaissance, universities have placed studies in history and political thought at the centre of exploring what it is to be human.

At the heart of the History and Political Thought major are four compulsory units, which introduce the student to the modern history of humanity (since 1500). Although Europe is very prominent in the major, you will be invited to compare its history to the histories of Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The major culminates in a capstone unit in students’ final semester, discussing historical theories and methods. A wide range of elective units covers European, American, Australian and Asian history and political thought, and includes thematic units which range widely over time and place.

This double degree is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Business.

Anthropology

Social Anthropology is the study of humans and the cultures they create..

Areas of focus include the development of anthropology as a discipline; globalisation and culture; power and politics; gender and sexuality; identity and belonging; ethnography and ethnographic methods; indigenous peoples and nation states. Specific attention is given to cultures of Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and to cross cultural interactions, at both global and local levels.

The major seeks to equip students with multi-cultural knowledge as well as to provide a thorough grounding in research methods and ethics with utility in a variety of professional and academic contexts.

Students in this major examine the geography of contemporary Australian cities and regions. Geography is the integrated study of people, places and environments.

The cutting edge interests of today’s Geographers include post-colonialism, the emergence of global information economies, indigenous issues, class and cultural disparities, population movement, sexuality and space, and the global diffusion of popular culture.

Urban Studies is a newer discipline focused on social justice within the city, through its critical assessments of peoples’ access to scarce urban resources, such as housing, transport, education and employment.

The political, economic, and cultural forces that shape cities and urban policy are the key concerns of the Urban Studies curriculum. These applied interests in urban well-being and city structure are the intellectual basis for the Urban Planning profession.

The Geography and Urban Studies major is a compulsory component of the University’s accredited Planning course.

With our revamped Bachelor of Business, you’re the boss. Start your major in your first year of study. Combine business subjects with majors and electives from across the whole university for a more diverse and adaptive skill set. Mix theory with real world industry projects. Gain industry-specific accreditation from Australia’s leading institutions.

Property

The Property major equips you with the expert skills to create a career as a property specialist. You will be prepared to succeed in a range of roles in the property industry, including careers in valuation, property investment, property funds management and property development.

The practical Property major units focus on the property investment, business, planning and law, with opportunities for engagement with industry, dependent on availability. If you are seeking professional accreditation, you will also undertake specialised units in building and statutory and specialised valuation.

The core units in the Bachelor of Business will provide you with a foundation of business knowledge and develop your skills in innovation, career planning, and numeracy. The Property major builds on this knowledge and skills in an applied discipline based context.

Property specialists work for institutional investors with multi-billion dollar commercial property portfolios, major property companies, valuation firms and leading property advisory companies, both in Australia and overseas.

The Bachelor of Business (Property) is accredited by the Australian Property Institute (API) and depending on electives chosen, students may be eligible for API Certified Practising Valuer (CPV) certification. Students, depending on chosen electives, are also eligible for API certifications of Certified Property Practitioner, Certified Property Manager, Certified Asset Manager and Certified Development Practitioner. Note: Accreditation is currently being sought for program 6037 Diploma in Business/Bachelor of Business.

This major is available on-campus in full time and part time modes or by distance. Please contact the Property major Academic Program Advisor for information on the distance mode offering.

This combined degree is designed for students who want to combine their interest and expertise in International Relations and Asian Studies with a good understanding of basic business issues, complemented by a high level of knowledge relevant to a specific business discipline.

Graduates will have a solid grounding in the relationships of societies, cultures, languages and systems of government within the international system.

Students will develop their capacity to appreciate the historical development of relations among nation states, and analyse contemporary political, economic, social and cultural issues such as globalisation, transnationalism and migration.

Students complete a major in International Relations and Asian Studies, a minor in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish or Japanese languages, and a major in Marketing. When combined with a high level of knowledge from the specific business majors, you will be ready for the workplace of the future.

Human Resource Management

The Human Resource Management Major is designed for people who seek careers in human resource management and industrial relations. Graduates’ careers focus on enhancing the value of human and social capital through supporting employee engagement for many different kinds of organisations, market-oriented and community-oriented organisations and many kinds of people.

The teaching philosophy is based on knowledge in action, a fusion of the Australia Human Resource Institute’s capabilities for HR professionals and the Western Sydney University Graduate Attributes designed to secure success. An aim of the program is to instil those values and attitudes that can support leaders in judgements about balancing the pursuit of organisational objectives with creating opportunities for developing people’s capacities and careers. The perspectives are local and international, with an emphasis on the value of cultural and demographic diversity. 

The Master of Clinical Psychology develops competent clinical psychologists by combining advanced academic knowledge with real-life experience to suit a variety of career needs and interests.

The program provides thorough training in a range of mental health issues and equips you with the ability to implement effective evidence-based interventions that are tailored to clients' requirements.Clinical psychologists offer psychological assessment and treatment for a wide range of mental health problems. This program is designed to provide you with training across a host of mental health issues and settings. It will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to effectively meet the diverse needs of clients.

Many future challenges exist at the nexus of environment, infrastructure and technology. Solutions to these will demand innovative engineering combined with applied science and business acumen. Engineers with a head for business will find many opportunities to leverage their highly developed analytical skills towards a host of technical and commercial challenges.

How 4 plus 3 makes 5
This outstanding double degree program combines a 4 year Bachelor of Engineering (honours) degree with the 3 year Bachelor of Business degree to yield a course of study that takes only 5 years to complete (in Full-time mode).The Engineering component of this program is offered at the Penrith and Parramatta City campuses, and the Business component is offered at the Parramatta City campus.

At Western Sydney University, we prepare our students to take on big challenges and succeed. The combined Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) / Bachelor of Business degree covers all major engineering and business domains. You can also experience many facets of engineering before deciding upon your major at the end of your first year.

Sustainability

Human society is facing ever increasing challenges from changing climate, expanding populations and industrial development. Traditional approaches to solve environmental problems needs rethinking and should consider circular economy, life cycle thinking, climate smartness, digitisation. In this Major, students assess various challenges in provision of water, food, infrastructure and energy then propose design solutions using holistic, futuristic and sustainable technologies and strategies. Through hands-on, real-life projects, students explore solutions that integrate technical, technological (IoT), social, cultural, geographical, regulatory and ethical factors. This major will benefit students aiming for careers such as Environmental Engineer/Scientist/Consultant, Natural Resources Manager, Waste Engineer/Manger/ Consultant, and Sustainability Engineer/ Manager/ Consultant.

Language majors will enable you to develop an appropriate level of proficiency in a second language, which may be used for professional purposes such as teaching, interpreting and translation, business or international relations.

If you are undertaking a language major in Indonesian, you will be able to use the language in question according to its grammatical and pragmatic principles, communicate with native speakers appropriately in the spoken as well as the written mode, and demonstrate an understanding of the cultures and societies associated with the language.

The Organisations and Work major is designed for people interested in careers in organisational development, where there is emphasis on human resource management.

Graduates have knowledge of how leadership and management of people can support organisational objectives and create organisational opportunities.

That is, graduates develop commercial acumen and appreciate the competing interests around work, aware of trends locally and internationally. Throughout the major, students are challenged to develop and demonstrate communication, cultural, and analytic skills required to be innovative and responsible team-members and leaders.