Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Social Science in Child and Community (Dual Degree)

at Western Sydney University - Penrith Campus (Kingswood) Australia

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.

Many future challenges exist at the nexus of environment, infrastructure and technology. Solutions to these will demand innovative engineering combined with applied science and business acumen. Engineers with a head for business will find many opportunities to leverage their highly developed analytical skills towards a host of technical and commercial challenges.

At Western Sydney University, we prepare our students to take on big challenges and succeed. The combined Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) / Bachelor of Business degree covers all major engineering and business domains. You can also experience many facets of engineering before deciding upon your major at the end of your first year.

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).

There is an urgent need for Humanitarian Workers worldwide. Western is taking the lead in training the next generation of qualified Humanitarian and Development Aid Workers.

The Bachelor of Humanitarian and Development Studies is unique being the only degree of its kind in Australia. This program was developed in consultation with NGOs to ensure what you learn is current and practical. Academics delivering this program include experts and practitioners from the United Nations agencies and international NGOs to ensure what you learn is current and practical. 

You will gain knowledge and practical experience in disaster management, humanitarian response and development assistance. Using our state of the art facilities, the experiential learning techniques applied utilise your theoretical knowledge for emedded simulation activities, case, problem and solution-based studies. We offer students regular opportunities with experts and practitioners from the United Nations agencies and international NGOs as guest speakers, seminars and career panels.

The comprehensive field experience package enhances your learning, research and real world experience to ensure you are career ready. A major component of the degree is a placement overseas for a full semester, which will be assisted by international partners including United Nations agencies and international NGOs. During your placement you will work on implementing life-saving programs and policies.

If you want to explore how the mind works, question why people behave the way they do and help others lead their best lives, this degree is the ideal choice. Western’s Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) will pave the way for a range of career options, including further study required to become a psychologist.

Psychology at Western combines evidence-based biological, cognitive, neurological, social, developmental, and personality theory with statistical expertise and practical experience.This program is strongly vocational, equipping you with the specialist psychological and research skills you will need to discover more about human behaviour and answer questions about things we don’t yet understand.

As part of your four-year degree, you will be taught by some of the most respected experts in the field and gain the opportunity to undertake local and international work placements.Additional study is needed to become a practising psychologist. This program gives you a thorough grounding in psychology and the academic degrees to take your ambition to the next level.

With our interconnected degrees in Engineering, ICT and Industrial Design, you can pursue exciting opportunities in diverse areas and learn how to address humanity’s global goals and challenges. This program covers all major engineering domains, so you get to experience what they’re like before deciding on your major.

The future presents significant challenges for managing the environment, infrastructure and technology. The world needs innovative engineering, applied science and design strategies.

Get to experience areas like Civil, Construction, Electrical, Mechanical and Robotics and Mechatronics and then decide on your specialisation.

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

Cultural and Social Analysis

Cultural and Social Analysis is an interdisciplinary major developing knowledge, research skills and analytic capacities relevant to understanding and interpreting landscapes of cultural diversity and social difference in our contemporary world, both in terms of the broad contours, as well as specific micro-social environments.

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

Geography and Urban Studies

Students in this major examine the geography of contemporary Australian cities and regions. Geography is the integrated study of people, places and environments.

The Bachelor of Criminal and Community Justice degree is designed for current employees within Corrective Services and other similar professions, as well as those external to the industry who wish to pursue a career in corrections, probation and/or parole (Community Corrections).

The degree has been designed in collaboration with Brush Farm, the training academy of Corrective Services NSW.

The degree draws 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.

This degree is a specialised degree which targets a range of central themes and issues that are paramount for those who work with victims and also offenders, both in terms of their treatment and management. As well as providing a theoretical framework, the program equips our students with the knowledge and skills to develop and evaluate practice with a view to enhancing work with offenders and victims.

The Bachelor of Criminal and Community Justice can be described as an ‘applied degree’ 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 Corrective Services or related fields.

Our academics who teach in the program have had first-hand experience working directly with offenders and victims in a variety of settings including prisons, courts and a community setting. This is reflected in some of the specialised subjects, including Assessment and Treatment of Offenders and Managing Offenders in the Community.

Many future challenges exist at the nexus of environment, infrastructure and technology. Solutions to these will demand innovative engineering combined with applied science and business acumen. Engineers with a head for business will find many opportunities to leverage their highly developed analytical skills towards a host of technical and commercial challenges.

How 4 plus 3 makes 5
This outstanding double degree program combines a 4 year Bachelor of Engineering (honours) degree with the 3 year Bachelor of Business degree to yield a course of study that takes only 5 years to complete (in Full-time mode).The Engineering component of this program is offered at the Penrith and Parramatta City campuses, and the Business component is offered at the Parramatta City campus.

At Western Sydney University, we prepare our students to take on big challenges and succeed. The combined Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) / Bachelor of Business degree covers all major engineering and business domains. You can also experience many facets of engineering before deciding upon your major at the end of your first year.

Construction

Construction Engineering consists of core subjects in structural engineering, project management and construction technologies. Graduates will work in the fields of construction, structural design, and project management. Career opportunities include those in the private or public sector on projects covering highways, airports, and residential & commercial buildings.

You’re curious, enjoy telling stories, and you want to use media to share ideas about the things that get people talking.

Our Communication degree will give you the professional skills and knowledge to build the ‘go anywhere, do anything’ career you want. Major in Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations or Screen Media and develop job-ready skills in communication, digital media, media production, research, and innovation.

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.