Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

at Western Sydney University - Parramatta South Campus Australia

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing our life, and this change will significantly reshape our social and economic structures in the coming decade.

The Master of Artificial Intelligence provides you with a broad range of AI topics ranging from foundations to state-of-the-art technologies and applications.

This program focuses on the most important and up to date AI topics and trends including but not limited to: knowledge representation and reasoning, machine learning, natural language understanding and processing, knowledge graphs, AI ethics and governance as well as relevant major areas in Computing and Data Sciences.

Get ready for a journey of discovery when you study Science at Western. Develop the skills you need to investigate a wide range of scientific disciplines from astronomy to zoology. Help create a sustainable future in all businesses and industries.

Pick which subjects suit your career goals. Open up to a world of unlimited opportunities in astrophysics, conservation biology, drug design and pharmaceuticals, environmental health, food formulation, forensics, biomedical and biophysical research, hospital or pathology labs,  plant science and horticulture, and wildlife management. 

Chemistry

A Bachelor of Science with a chemistry major will prepare you to take part in a process of inquiry, by both contributing to it and by using scientific knowledge to solve current problems. The Chemistry program provides a strong background in the key topic areas of contemporary chemistry, including aspects of chemical theory in analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry, with a strong emphasis on practical laboratory skills, and applications in contemporary research, industry and the environment. A research project is available to students in the final year of the degree preparing you for a professional career in a wide range of chemistry based industries. The degree allows for the completion of a second major or additional sub-majors and electives to diversify learning for the careers of the future.

Graduates of this degree can look forward to career opportunities as a research scientist, forensic scientist, or a scientist in environment, mining or manufacturing industries. Other opportunities can be found in pharmaceutical industries, health and food industries, in scientific and technical sales, consumer affairs or you can progress into pursuing a research or secondary teaching career.

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).

The Graduate Diploma in Information and Communications Technology is designed for students from both computing and non-computing backgrounds, to enable you to have a pathway into higher studies in Information and Communications Technology and to support a career in ICT.

The Graduate Diploma offers you formal training in the theoretical aspects of ICT, creating a solid base to continue your progression in the ICT field.

The speed of change in ICT requires everyone to update their knowledge every few years. This Graduate Diploma program lays a proper foundation in ICT whereby you can gain knowledge and confidence to proceed to further studies and career advancement.

The program is also designed to enable inexperienced, non-ICT students to enter a career in ICT. You will benefit from the University's policies on recognition of prior learning by allowing a matching of an individual's professional experience against specific subjects that form part of the Graduate Diploma in ICT.

The University has a long history of providing well-designed degrees in ICT that are accredited at the professional level by the Australian Computer Society (ACS). We recognise and concentrate on the vital role that computer networks, including internet and web technologies, play in all areas of life. This is reflected in our research strengths in networking and web engineering. This program will prepare you to undertake further studies in these two vital areas.

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.

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.

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.

This double degree provides you with the practical skills and knowledge required to excel in the fields of both business and law. The Bachelor of Business degree gives you the knowledge to create a career as a business professional. Whether you wish to pursue a corporate role in a global enterprise or start your own business, this degree will provide you with the skills to do it.  

The Bachelor of Laws 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.

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.

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.

This double degree provides you with the practical skills and knowledge required to excel in the highly marketable career paths of both construction management and law. The Bachelor of Construction Management Studies will equip students to develop expertise essential to Construction and Project Managers, Building and Quantity Supervisors, Estimators, and Building Researchers which lead to professional accreditation.

The Bachelor of Laws 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 Bachelor of Laws 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 also 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.

International Studies provides you with the diverse skills and knowledge needed to meet the changes in societies, governments and businesses.

It develops your capacity to analyse the historical development of relations among nation states and contemporary political, social and cultural issues, such as globalisation, transnationalism and migration.

International Studies allows you to combine studies from a range of discipline areas, including Asian and Islamic Studies, cultural and social analysis, history, politics and philosophy, and modern languages (Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian or Arabic). The program provides for one semester study abroad during three years of full-time study.

The Bachelor of Laws component of this program provides professional legal skills including the ability to analyse legal material and understand fundamental legal principles; an understanding of the relationship between law and society; the skills to analyse and solve non-legal problems and specialised study into the Australian legal system.

Be constantly challenged and extended by your studies. Think about a career involving scientific research.

Chemistry

A Bachelor of Science with a chemistry major will prepare you to take part in a process of inquiry, by both contributing to it and by using scientific knowledge to solve current problems. The Chemistry program provides a strong background in the key topic areas of contemporary chemistry, including aspects of chemical theory in analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry, with a strong emphasis on practical laboratory skills, and applications in contemporary research, industry and the environment. A research project is available to students in the final year of the degree preparing you for a professional career in a wide range of chemistry based industries. The degree allows for the completion of a second major or additional minors and electives to diversify learning for the careers of the future.

Graduates of this degree can look forward to career opportunities as a research scientist, forensic scientist, or a scientist in environment, mining or manufacturing industries. Other opportunities can be found in pharmaceutical industries, health and food industries, in scientific and technical sales, consumer affairs or you can progress into pursuing a research or secondary teaching career.