Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Social Science in International Relations (Dual Degree)

at Western Sydney University - Parramatta South Campus Australia

Graduates can plan a career in media, public relations, journalism or advertising companies with skills adaptable to many environments.

This combined degree ensures that your future work appeals to the right target audience.

The Bachelor of Communication component covers all areas of creative communication, enabling you to understand how your field of study is connected to other disciplines.

The Creative Industries degree partners with creative industries to provide an interdisciplinary, experiential degree that combines a core of entrepreneurship with major studies including culture and society, creative writing, design, enterprise innovation, journalism, literature, media arts, music performance and photo media.

English

The English major invites students to explore contemporary approaches to language, literary study and writing, including literary criticism and theory, linguistic analysis, genre and textual study, and creative writing.

The English major focuses on the imaginative workings of language, and students can study a wide selection of modern and classic literature, as well as the relationships between written texts and other media such as film and information technology.

Students also have the opportunity to produce their own creative writing and to edit and publish their work. Career prospects include publishing, editing, teaching, writing and advertising.

This program is designed for high achieving law students in the Bachelor of Science/ Bachelor of Laws program who wish to undertake an extended level of study and research in Law.

In the Bachelor of Science, students will learn core concepts and skills investigating the natural world, proposing and testing ideas by experimentation and observation, quantifying and modelling processes, communicating findings, and thinking independently and critically. Students can enrol in this degree and select from a range of scientific disciplines with the option of expanding learning into other areas outside of science.

The Bachelor of Laws (Honours) program satisfies the academic degree requirements for admission to practice as an Australian lawyer. Students will engage in collaborative face-to-face problem and case-based learning, will be supported by online learning materials, and will participate in authentic assessment to develop knowledge and skills. The program provides students with a broad progressive legal education with a strong practical orientation to the law. Students develop skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, research, communication, collaboration, self-management, and ethical and professional awareness and judgement. Students will have the opportunity to develop skills in legal advocacy, negotiation, and legal technology and extend their professional and learning experiences through work integrated learning, clinical placement and international exchange engagements.

Biology

This major provides students with a broad knowledge base of biology from the molecular world to global ecosystem science with a focus on the sustainability of the natural world. The major allows students to use the learning beside a range of other diverse majors and is especially applicable to students who are considering teaching as a career. Students will have the opportunity to develop discipline knowledge alongside scientific laboratory and inquiry based skills. The major also includes developing strong communication and critical thinking skills, essential for the future role of biology graduates.

Be a leader in and on the field. Our one-of-a-kind Bachelor of Sport Development opens the door to a broad range of career opportunities in the delivery of sport and recreation programs.

Study across a huge range of areas, including physical activity, exercise and health promotion, sport coaching, psychology, sport management, and capacity building through community projects.

Health Promotion

Health Promotion extends beyond raising awareness of healthcare issues. It also involves developing and implementing strategies for communities, individuals and policy makers to support good health and wellbeing. Health Promotion graduates help address health inequities in communities, link individuals and communities with healthcare, and assist individuals and communities to follow healthy behaviours, working across sectors and engaging collaboratively with communities to do so. Health promotion projects are as diverse as injury prevention, skin cancer prevention, HIV/AIDS awareness and community development. Health promotion professionals work in diverse settings including healthcare, workplace and educational facilities, community, local, state and federal government, private industry and not-for profit organisations.

The major combines studies of health politics and planning, health promotion practice and public health with a comprehensive foundation in the health sciences to develop the professional competencies important for ethical and safe practice. Students will develop the skills required to work in multidisciplinary teams. Evidence-based practice is one of the most important trends in healthcare today and a strong feature of the program. This Major will be identified on the Student’s Academic Transcript following completion of the course.

This double degree program is designed in recognition of the globalising nature of the information technology industry.

In the IT area, the program allows students to develop skills in application development, program design, systems analysis and design, networks, web-design, and the implementation of technology.

Heritage and Tourism

In a world where the preservation of historical and natural environments is one of the major challenges facing all societies, heritage has become a touchstone for social and cultural identity, our understanding of modernity, peace and development, our senses of citizenship, custodianship and community.

At the same time, heritage places have become significant tourist destinations and so, in a world of flows and networks, the heritage– tourism relationship is a critical one. This major leads to career paths with government and private sector roles in visitor management and development within heritage enterprises, such as museums, galleries and historic properties.

If you’re creative, passionate and a problem solver, our enhanced Arts degree could be for you.

Choose a study plan that aligns with your own interests. Find your passion and select from 27 majors. Discover opportunities for internships and overseas study.

Heritage and Tourism

In a highly mobile world (migration, tourism, media and communications, travel and transport) and in contemporary life where the preservation of historical and natural environments present as one of the major challenges facing all societies, heritage has become a touchstone for social and cultural identity, our understanding of modernity, peace and development, our senses of citizenship, custodianship and community.

At the same time heritage places have become significant tourist destinations and so in a world of flows and networks, the heritage-tourism relationship is a critical one. In the 21st century it is impossible to disentangle the two.

This major introduces contemporary heritage issues and provides an in-depth understanding of tourism as a social phenomenon.

This degree gives you the skills you need to become an in-demand computing professional. You will gain skills in a practice-based learning environment, be introduced to real-world project experience, and acquire a solid knowledge of ICT theory.

Western’s Bachelor of Information and Communications Technology will give you a strong understanding of several industry domains including networking, databases, systems analysis and design and programming. You will also gain relevant skills in web and mobile technologies, project management, professional communications, operating systems and human computer interaction. As well as the necessary mathematical and statistical skills to succeed as an ICT practitioner, you can choose from a broad range of specialisations including entertainment computing and social media analytics. You will also gain access to industry-leading facilities where you can bring your ideas to life and shape an unlimited future.

Mobile Computing

This major covers theories and technologies used for the development of distributed applications for hand-held mobile devices. Students completing this major will understand the advanced principles related to mobile hardware devices, data storage and transmission, and communication networks. In addition they will identify, analyse, and formulate solutions to real-world problems in the mobile domain. In devising these solutions students will also consider principles associated with user interface design, professional and ethical issues, in particular those relating to security and privacy of user data and user behaviour related to mobile devices and its applications.

If you’re creative, passionate and a problem solver, our enhanced Arts degree could be for you.

Choose a study plan that aligns with your own interests. Find your passion and select from 27 majors. Discover opportunities for internships and overseas study.

Criminology and Criminal Justice

This criminology major offers students the opportunity to study crime and criminal justice in a critical way that particularly stresses social and cultural definitions of criminality and the reactions to it.

Areas of focus include criminal justice institutions and practices; the development of criminology as a discipline and its various strands; forms and patterns of victimisation; crime prevention strategies and debates; aspects of juvenile justice; the evolution of prisons and different forms of punishment; law enforcement and surveillance; violence, gender and crime; cultural depictions of crime and contemporary debates in criminology.

Considering a career in international cultural development? This unique Master’s program offered by the Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the School of Humanities and Communication Arts and other Schools within Western Sydney University, will boost your prospects.

The Master of Cross-cultural Relations has a practical focus of cultural exchanges between Australia and China, but the knowledge and research skills acquired are applicable to all cultural relations. The program appeals to Australian and Chinese students, as well as other international students who would like to develop careers in international cultural exchange management. The program will help you develop an advanced understanding of intercultural communication and competence, international business management, cultural diplomacy, and the cultural policy and practice in Australia and China. A major research project in cultural exchange will be carried out in the second year, to apply the knowledge and skills from previous subjects to a real life setting which may involve a work placement in Australia.

If you’re creative, passionate and a problem solver, our enhanced Arts degree could be for you.

Choose a study plan that aligns with your own interests. Find your passion and select from 27 majors. Discover opportunities for internships and overseas study.

Organisations and Work

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.

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.

Philosophy

Philosophy has always asked the ‘big questions’, for example, about the limits of our knowledge, the best way that humans can live together, how we understand the world around us, and what is ‘the good life’.

Our philosophy major enables you to develop particular skills and attributes – such as clear thinking, capacities to assess arguments and values, and sound understanding of important philosophical views – that have always been essential to university scholarship and which continue to be valuable for graduates in both public and private life.

Students must maintain a grade point average of 5 or above to remain in the program. Those who do not maintain this average will be transferred to the Bachelor of Arts.