Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

at Western Sydney University - Parramatta South Campus 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.

Sociology

The major in Sociology provides students with a thorough training in the methods, theories and select leading areas of contemporary sociology.

As well as units in which methods and theories are taught, through the social science core, students enrolled in the Sociology major will have opportunities to study a number of particular themes from a sociological perspective, including inequalities, deviance, identities, gender, religion, medicine and health care, ethnicity and migration, and the family, among other possibilities.

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.

What does it mean to live in Indigenous Australia?

 Indigenous Australian Studies

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Sciences. Our graduates work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives.

Islamic Studies

Students engage in interdisciplinary study essential to an understanding of Islam, past and present. The area of study balances historical and modern Islamic studies and research methods.

One of the keys to Islamic Studies is ‘relevance’ to contemporary Australian society but relevance can only come from a sound comprehension of past traditions in Islamic scholarship and their socio-historical contexts.

Preparation for graduate study is also a key objective of this program, with its focus on developing critical and interdisciplinary research skills through a combination of approaches. Students are encouraged to undertake a minor in Arabic to complement the Islamic Studies major.

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.

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 (since 1500) history of humanity. Although Europe is very prominent in the Major, the student 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.

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.

Sociology

The major in Sociology provides students with a thorough training in the methods, theories and select leading areas of contemporary sociology.

As well as units in which methods and theories are taught, through the social science core, students enrolled in the Sociology major will have opportunities to study a number of particular themes from a sociological perspective, including inequalities, deviance, identities, gender, religion, medicine and health care, ethnicity and migration, and the family, among other possibilities.

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.

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.

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

The Bachelor of Criminal and Community Justice degree is designed for current employees within Corrective Services, as well as students who wish to pursue a career in corrections, probation or parole. The degree will draw upon disciplinary areas such as Criminal Justice, Criminology, Psychology, Social Work and Welfare in order to provide a theoretical framework for those who work with offenders and on issues of rehabilitation, through-care and resettlement.

As well as providing a theoretical framework, the program will provide those who complete the degree with the knowledge and skills to develop and evaluate practice with a view to enhancing working with offenders. The Bachelor of Criminal and Community Justice can be described as an ‘applied degree pathway’ insofar as the teaching within the program will link theory to practice. It is important to note that this degree does not guarantee direct employment into Corrections Services.

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.

With a Bachelor of Social Science from Western, you will have the ability to help shape the world we live in. This degree expands your knowledge through theory, research and practical application and offers you a deep understanding of our complex, culturally diverse and dynamic world. You will gain access to industry-based projects and placements, local and international work experience and build the practical skills that will get you ready to apply your knowledge to the workforce.

Peace and Development Studies

The Peace and Development Studies major is concerned with methods for promoting peace, human rights and sustainability. It involves a critical analysis of inequalities of power and opportunity that lead to international and local conflict, social dislocation and environmental degradation.

Students will examine the structural causes of racist and gendered violence, environmental crises, forced migration, poverty, resource conflict, and inter-generational inequity. The inter-related network of solutions includes empowerment and self-determination, sustainable living, constructive development, peacemaking and peace building. These require understanding of the theories and method for identifying, measuring and resolving conflict and environmental degradation. The assumptions and failings of traditional development practice are critically assessed. Students will engage social theory within an interdisciplinary and applied framework, at local, national and international levels.