Bachelor of Arts in Organisations and Work

at Western Sydney University - Parramatta South Campus Australia

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 program combines tourism, event management, social science, business and marketing subjects to prepare graduates for professional roles in tourism, events, and the visitor economy. Students can choose from a suite of majors, including: environmental management, event and festival management, heritage, marketing, place management, planning, sport and sustainability.

The program has been developed with industry to ensure students develop the skills and knowledge desired by employers. Students complete fieldwork, engage with industry and government stakeholders, and are provided with opportunities for international fieldtrips and placements. A final-year professional placement allows students to gain further industry experience and provides a stepping-stone into employment.

Place Management and Planning

This unique major combines subjects from tourism, heritage and planning to prepare students for careers in place management. Place managers use collaborative approaches to design and develop a wide diversity of spaces and places, including precincts, destinations, towns, cities, parks, and many more. In this major, students will develop the skills and knowledge to manage places sustainably in a variety of contexts. This includes the ability to balance competing community, cultural, ecological and economic interests. Students who complete the major will be well positioned to apply for a growing number of place management positions with government and consultancies.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Social Sciences.

It will give you the skills and versatility to work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives and communication skills.

You need to include a Social Science Major, so you can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Social Science program structure.

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.

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.

Psychological Studies

The Psychological Studies major comprises units in the discipline of psychology that focus on the field of inquiry that uses scientific techniques and methods to understand and explain behaviour and experience.

Areas of study include: the brain and behaviour, learning, motivation and emotion, social psychology, lifespan development, perception, and cognitive processes. A Psychological Studies major does not meet APAC requirements for an accredited sequence in Psychology.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Social Sciences.

It will give you the skills and versatility to work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives and communication skills.

You need to include a Social Science Major, so you can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Social Science program structure.

English

The English major invites students to explore contemporary approaches to language, literary studies 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 learn how to publish their work. Career prospects include publishing, editing, teaching, writing and advertising.

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

Study in the Bachelor of Arts component is designed to develop communication and personal skills, creativity and a capacity for independent thought, adaptability to new situations and problem-solving skills, attributes increasingly demanded by employers.

Linguistics

Language is fundamental to the human experience. Through study of how language works, students make contact with fundamental philosophical, socio-cultural, and psychological questions about what it means to be human.

Linguistics prepares students with a foundation for many careers including primary and secondary teaching, policy analysis, communication, and social services in culturally diverse communities.

Linguistics students also gain the analytical tools of empirical science including the ability to break complex problems into components with tractable solutions and to evaluate theories on the basis of empirical facts. These skills prepare students for success in post-graduate studies and careers in research, analytics, business and law.

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.

Public Relations

The Public Relations major covers the skills and knowledge required in the profession of public relations, including event management, issues and crisis management and campaign development.

The major focuses on the role of the public relations practitioner or adviser and provides a theoretical framework of the industry. Students engage with both theory and practical projects and complete an internship placement.

Tailor your studies to your specific goals by combining our Bachelor of Arts degree with the Bachelor of Creative Industries degree.

When you graduate after four years, you have two degrees, and the unique skills relevant to the contemporary employment environment.

The Arts component combines academic knowledge with practical real life training. It is designed to equip you with a broad range of skills and knowledge in research and critical enquiry, and is sufficiently flexible to cater to a range of career aspirations and personal interests.

In the Creative Industries component you will combine 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.

Economy and Markets

The Economy and Markets major provides a broad pluralist perspective on fundamental aspects of relationships between individuals, firms, institutions and countries.

Students will learn how economies function and how public policy and the way organisations behave affect diverse social, economic and environmental problems.

Students are introduced to a wide array of competing economic theories, so that they are critically informed about the ways in which they can transform the world.

A major in this area prepares students to be active participants in addressing the wide range of problems faced by governments, social organisations and the business community in the domestic and international economies.

Students who study economics can expect to develop their analytical and problem solving skills and to be intellectually challenged, whether they view the discipline as providing specific vocational skills or as an area of academic and intellectual interest to them.

This double degree program equips you with a degree in science, combined with a good understanding of basic business issues.

You can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Science program structure, which must include a Science major. This can be combined with a Business major from a variety of disciplines.

This double degree program allows you to span both the commercial and scientific worlds in a way that a single degree cannot.

It permits you to multi-skill, and offers diverse career paths providing high marketability in multiple areas of expertise. 

As a graduate, you will be equipped to work as a scientist, with a good understanding of business principles and practices. Alternatively, as a Business graduate you will be well-prepared to work in science-based industries and institutions.

Applied Finance

The Applied Finance major equips you with the expert skills to create a career as a finance specialist. In this major you will develop in-depth knowledge of finance with a focus on investment and securities, economics, and banking and finance. The core units in the Bachelor of Business will provide you a foundation of business knowledge and develop your skills in innovation, career planning, and numeracy. The Applied Finance major builds on this knowledge and skills in an applied discipline based context. Finance specialists work in a range of roles within the rapidly growing finance sector. This major fulfils the educational requirements for admission as an Associate (A Fin) of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) provided the applicant is at least working in the financial services industry. All other students are eligible to apply for Affiliate membership (no postnominals apply).

This degree opens doors to entrepreneurship, start-up companies and new innovations that require business knowledge and cutting-edge information systems and technology skills.

Today, to implement technology, practising professionals need to not only have knowledge and skills in information and communications technology, but they also need to understand the context in which computer technology can best be selected, applied and implemented.

The business component of the double degree will allow students to gain knowledge in one of three core Business areas: Money, Markets or Management. 

Management

The Management major equips you with the expert skills to create a career as a management specialist. You will be prepared to succeed in a range of roles in contemporary private, public, and not-for-profit organisations in Australia and abroad. 

In this major you will develop strategic management knowledge to enable effective organisational decision making. The units in this major focus on organisational learning and development and behaviour, operations management, leadership and entrepreneurship, change and innovation, and policy.