Bachelor of Psychological and Social Sciences

at Western Sydney University - Parramatta South Campus Australia

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.

There is a wide choice of eleven majors in the Arts. When combined with high level of knowledge from the specific Business majors you will be ready for the workplace of the future.

Arabic

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 Arabic, 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.

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.

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.

Western offers a specialist Computer Science degrees to equip you with the skills you need to be career-ready by specialising in different applications of computer science and computer systems.

 Cyber Security

The Cyber Security major aims to develop graduates with sound skills in the discipline of information systems security. Today, the widespread use of networked systems means protecting these systems from various attacks is more important than ever. Cyber Security is an essential aspect of today’s information systems.

This major covers fundamental information security knowledge and security protocols from basic cryptography algorithms to their applications in computer systems and networked systems. Students will learn fundamental security concepts, practical implementation of the security application programs as well as ethical hacking techniques to protect cyber security.

This double degree program allows you to span both the legal and scientific worlds. This Bachelor of Science asks questions about how the natural world works and the impact of humans at its interface. It does so in a systematic, yet rigorously creative way based on inquiry and evidence. A Bachelor of Science will prepare you to take part in this process of inquiry, by both contributing to it and by using scientific knowledge to solve current problems in broad settings.

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.

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.

Graduates of this degree can look forward to career opportunities as a laboratory scientist, research scientist, in government and related industries or can progress into pursuing a research career or a career in secondary teaching.

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

Sustainable environmental futures

Understanding how life interacts with water, soil and the atmosphere empowers us to develop sustainable management solutions for our most pressing environmental challenges. In this major you will learn how to apply fundamental scientific knowledge to evaluate and mitigate the impacts of human activities on natural and managed ecosystems, including the built environment. You will have access to world class ecological and environmental research facilities, and will engage in hands-on, field-based learning, taught by a team at the cutting edge of research in this field.

This major will prepare you for careers in urban and natural resource management, environmental consultancy, sustainability planning, biological conservation and environmental policy.

This double degree program provides you with multi-skilling and highly marketable career paths in criminal justice and law. The Bachelor of. Criminal and Community Justice provides students with a foundation for working with offenders in institutions and in areas such as rehabilitation, through-care and resettlement in the community and will enable you to develop and evaluate practice with a view to enhancing working with offenders.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

We live in a world of screens ­– screens that need content. The Bachelor of Screen Media provides students with the tools and the know-how to make compelling, in-demand content crossing the spectrum of film, television, documentary, web series, video games and interactive experiences.

At Western, we’re pioneering a curriculum that prepares graduates to become the visual communicators of the future. Using our world-class facilities, you will learn to write, produce, direct and edit your own original content whilst also serving as collaborators on your classmates’ productions. You’ll work on campus in our TV studio, fully fitted with multi-cameras, green-screen and professional lighting. We’ll show you how to shape your content in the edit suites, and enhance your productions in the large Mac labs. You can also borrow equipment from the loan store to shoot content on location.

In your first year you’ll gain a strong foundation in different approaches and genres, and get hands-on experience creating short pieces. You’ll learn best-practice filmmaking, camera, editing, sound, be introduced to animation and visual effects, and build an understanding of the business of the industry. As you progress through the degree, you will develop skills in digital storytelling, and explore virtual, augmented and mixed reality. From Day 1, you will start building your portfolio with content created in class, so that by the time you graduate, you will have a rock-solid showcase of your work to impress potential employers.

In your second and third years, you’ll have the opportunity to  choose complementary subjects in either Journalism or Design, depending on your area of interest. If you’d like a future career creating short or long-form documentaries – insightful exposés of ex-world leaders or ‘tiger kings’, or highlighting the impact of climate change: choose the Journalism stream. Or if you’re more interested in creating interactive online experiences, apps and game design – choose the Design stream. Both streams complement the skills and knowledge you develop in your screen media subjects, further enhancing career opportunities.