Bachelor of Arts

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Undergraduate

Bachelor of Arts

1in Australia for Arts and Humanities
19in the world
Course code: B-ARTS
International VTAC code: 3800538003
CRICOS code: 002167E

International student Change

Duration

3 years full time

Mode (Location)

On campus (Parkville)

Intake

March, July\ Key dates

Fees

AUD $38,004 - $56,252 (2026 indicative first year fee)\ Learn more

Entry requirements

83.00 - International guaranteed ATAR 2026 \ View full entry requirements

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 (with no band less than 6.0)\ View full entry requirements

How to apply

Enquire

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Course structure

Overview

Honours is available for this course

Majors (focus your undergraduate degree)

We offer an exceptional diversity and depth of majors to match your career goals – with more than 40 areas of specialisation, from languages and psychology, through to economics and media and communication.

Course structure

First year

Your first year will introduce you to the diverse multidisciplinary approach which distinguishes Arts at Melbourne. The skills you’ll develop will establish a strong foundation for your study no matter which major you choose, and can be applied to help address major societal and cultural issues beyond graduation. You will also take Arts discipline subjects, breadth subjects, and at least one Arts Discovery subject.

Second year

By your second year, you will have a better understanding of the Arts disciplines offered and be able to finalise your selection of majors and minors. You will complete the second-year subjects in your major(s).

Third year

In third year, you will undertake a capstone subject in your major(s), designed to draw together your fields of specialisation and prepare you for life as a graduate. You will also take the remaining third-year subjects to complete your degree.

Honours is an optional fourth year of study for students who have achieved academic excellence that gives you the opportunity to draw together your previous studies and focus your knowledge, skills and intellect on an exciting piece of original research. Honours can further prepare you for employment, or graduate research.

Your breadth studies

Breadth is a unique feature of the Melbourne curriculum. It gives you the chance to explore subjects outside of arts, developing new perspectives and learning to collaborate with others who have different strengths and interests — just as you will in your future career.

Some students use breadth to explore creative interests or topics they have always been curious about. Others use breadth to improve their career prospects by complementing their major with a language, communication skills or business expertise. Many discover new passions through breadth and some even change their career plans!

'Breadth tracks' (groups of breadth subjects in the same sort of study area taken throughout your degree) may even qualify you for graduate study in a field that's very different to your major.

Explore this course

Explore the subjects you could choose as part of this degree.

A major is the subject area you’ll focus on during your undergraduate degree. A major begins at second year, and in your first year you can focus on your chosen discipline straight away or explore other discipline subjects before deciding on what major you want to pursue. Students may be required to complete the discipline foundation subject(s) before beginning their major – refer to each major page for further details. A major comprises six subjects (75 points of study)

Explore the majors available in this degree below.

Major Ancient World Studies
Ancient World Studies embraces the broad study of Classical Greece and Rome, as well as Egypt and the Near East from 3000 BCE to the 4th century CE. Students can choose a variety of subject streams, which combine the study of ancient languages and/or texts in translation such as myth, literature, history, and philosophy with the study of archaeology, art, and architectural monuments. In addition, students can focus on a particular time period, geographic region, technical specialisation such as myth or ceramics, or thematic area of study. Students will gain insight into and understanding of contemporary society by exploring how ancient cultures have contributed to the development of our modern world, with regard to gender and ethnic identity, warfare, colonialism and imperialism, the propagandistic power of literary and visual imagery, and technology and economy. They will develop skills in research, writing, analysis, and communication that promote career flexibility.

Major Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of people’s common humanity as well as the extraordinary cultural and social diversity found around the globe. Its distinctive methodology, based on intense, long-term participation in people’s daily lives, allows for ideas to develop out of local experience and knowledge. Contemporary fieldwork is as likely to take place in an urban tower block or tourist resort or moving with migrants or refugees, as it would be in a remote village in Africa or an island community in Melanesia. This major invites participation in subjects on: diverse ideas about the body; belief and religious practices; the growth of consumption and commodification, ethnic and national identity, and constructions of nature, sex, family and gender. The course we offer will expand your horizons by challenging your taken-for-granted understanding of the world, and it will also provide you with the skills needed to work successfully with people, to listen, to think critically, and to be fully engaged in an ever more expanding world.

Major Arabic Studies
The undergraduate program in Arabic Studies offers an integrated way of studying Arabic language and aspects of Arab culture and society. Beyond studying the language itself, students also have the opportunity to acquire a significant amount of knowledge about the nature of living, seeing, acting and interacting in the 'Arab way'. With the development of students' language proficiency, there will be a growing emphasis on reflection on, as well as critical awareness and discussion of issues related to Arabic literature and the realms of history, Arab society and religion in the Arab World, as well as current economic, environmental and political issues in the Middle East and North Africa (the MENA region where the Arab countries are situated). In the last semester of study, the program offers a capstone subject designed to consolidate and extend the knowledge and skills acquired over the preceding phases of study in the Arabic Major. The capstone experience involves applying knowledge and skills acquired so far in planning, designing, executing, and presenting the outcomes of, an independent research project, fostering student autonomy and agency and providing collaborative teamwork experience.

Arabic language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Arabic 1 through to Arabic 7. Entry points are determined by the students' background in the language, placement testing, prerequisites, or at the discretion of the Arabic Studies program. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers (subject codes), subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the Arabic Studies program.

Major Art History
The Art History program is the premier provider of art historical scholarship in Australia. Thematic and interdisciplinary subjects deal with the theories of art history, art and the market, prints, and other issues. Areas of specialisation include late antiquity, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, 18th and 19th century European art, modernism and postmodernism, contemporary art, Indigenous Australian art, and international art.

Major Asian Studies
Knowledge about Asia is a crucial national asset at a time of rapid globalisation and social change. The Asian Studies program at the University of Melbourne is one of the largest in Australia and comprises a comprehensive range of subjects in the intellectual, cultural, political and religious traditions of Asia, with a focus on China, Indonesia, Japan and South-east Asia. Asian Studies subjects are taught in English and do not require language prerequisites. Study abroad programs are available and Asialink offers a stimulating program of events and activities with an Asian focus.

Major Chinese Studies
The Chinese Studies program at the University of Melbourne is one of the largest Chinese programs in Australia. The language subjects (taught at a range of levels, from beginner to advanced) are designed to maximise acquisition of the language and to develop their communication skills in various types of texts, interactional contexts and strategic aspects of meaning making. The curriculum also allows students to develop a broad understanding of cultural, social and historical aspects of China. Chinese language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Chinese 1 through to Chinese 10. Entry and exit points are determined by the student's background in the language, placement testing, prerequisites or at the discretion of the Chinese Studies program. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the head of the Chinese Studies program.

Major Classics (Ancient Greek and Latin)
Classics is the study of the languages Ancient Greek and Latin, which have been taught at the University of Melbourne since its very foundation and have been a core element of higher education for many centuries. The overall objective of the Classics program is to introduce students to key literary texts from classical antiquity (including history, drama, oratory, philosophy, epic, and lyric poetry), and to enable students to discover the many important contributions which reading ancient texts in the original languages can make to understanding both the ancient world and the Western tradition. Knowledge of Ancient Greek and Latin is also very useful for research and training in such related disciplines as biochemistry, medicine, the history and philosophy of science, archaeology, Biblical studies, history, philosophy, art history, Romance language studies, English literary studies, and music.

Students who major in Classics may progress through one or both of these languages from beginners level (entry point 1) and are encouraged to take subjects in both languages. Students who have completed one of these languages at VCE may begin studying the language at entry point 3 and are required to commence studying the other classical language at level 1 (entry point 1).

Students who are interested in pursuing a Classics major are highly advised to seek advice from the Coordinator regarding the appropriate study plan.

Major Creative Writing
This major offers students the opportunity to explore their creative potential and to extend their work to avant-garde, cross-genre and experimental forms of writing. Students are encouraged to critically test the creative implications and the influence of contemporary theoretical and philosophical schools of thought in all forms of writing. Areas of specialisation include fiction, poetry, poetics, non-fiction, autobiography and writing for performance, theatre and screen.

Major Criminology
Criminology draws knowledge and perspectives from a range of disciplines such as law, sociology, psychology, psychiatry and history. Initially, criminology had a strong practical focus: its role was to advise governments on issues such as policing, the management of prisons, sentencing and offender treatment. Concern with policy and practice remains, but criminologists now work in a much wider range of fields including crime prevention, corporate and white-collar crime, business regulation, drug policy and consumer and environmental protection. Criminology doesn’t take crime and criminal law for granted. As an academic discipline it continually questions why different societies define and respond to crime in different ways, and why approaches to punishment and other forms of social control have varied so much from era to era. Increasingly criminologists also study the ways cultures depict crime: whether in newspapers, television and other mass media or in films, novels and art.

Major Economics
Economists combine data and models to understand economic decision-making by various actors, including households, businesses, and governments, and predict how their decisions affect particular communities, industries, and sectors, as well as the economy and society. For instance, economists examine how individuals choose what to buy and how to spend their time, how companies set prices and earn profits, how taxes and interest rates are determined, and how countries engage in pressing societal challenges, such as inequality, innovation, international trade, and climate change.

Major English and Theatre Studies
English and Theatre Studies is a combined program and students can specialise in either area. It offers studies in imaginative writing and dramatic performance, focusing on their form, content, traditions and practices, and on the myriad ways they engage with the everyday world. The program offers subjects in a wide range of areas, from the Medieval and Early Modern to Romanticism, Modernism, and contemporary literature and performance. This includes British, Australian, American and postcolonial writing and theatre, and literary, cultural and performance theory. English and Theatre Studies at the University of Melbourne is recognised nationally and internationally for its innovative teaching, scholarship and research.

Major French Studies
French is one of the world's major international languages: it is spoken by over 200 million people in 43 countries, on five continents. Knowledge of French may increase access to careers in international relations, development studies, business, science and the arts.

The overall objective of the French Studies program is to teach students to process information from a wide variety of materials in French, both written and spoken, and to produce accounts and discussions of that information in a variety of forms. In subjects at all levels, you will be guided towards undertaking independent research projects into areas including language, literature, politics, cinema, theatre, travel writing, food and wine, immigration and identity.

The core subjects in French are organised in a progressive sequence from French 1 through to French 7. Entry and exit points are determined by the French Studies program based on the student’s background in the language, placement testing or prerequisites. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the head of the French program. Accelerated progression is possible on advice from the French Program.

Major Gender Studies
Gender Studies considers the significance of gender and sexuality across a broad range of cultural contexts, identities and histories. The program analyses how gender intersects with crucial issues such as ageing, class, disability, ethnicity and globalisation. Subjects consider ideas about femininity, masculinity and sexuality through close engagement with an extensive variety of theorists, case studies and media. Gender Studies is transdisciplinary and draws on the diverse interests of specialists located throughout the Faculty. This enables its students to develop a unique combination of research skills drawn from both the Arts and Social Sciences.

Major Geography
Geography is the investigation and understanding of the dynamic relationships between societies and environments. The discipline raises and answers questions about why these relationships are the way they are, how and why they are changing, and how and why their characteristics vary over time and space. Geographers study human actions and activities from the local scale to the global scale. Geography is one of the few disciplines that encompasses very different ways of knowing - those of science and those of the humanities and social sciences - in its approach to the world’s urgent problems and injustices. As such it is a globally-minded discipline that seeks to understand the complex connections between people and place in order to work towards a more equitable world.

The BA Major in Geography allows students both breadth and specificity in the study of Geography. Specific pathways within the Major are dedicated to the study of urban geography, cultural geography, development geography, environmental geography (especially focused on climate change issues and debates) and Asia-Pacific geography. Field classes in Australia and overseas (at 200-level and 300-level) offer students the opportunity to explore and examine geographical issues, policy and problems first-hand.

Major German Studies
German has more than 100 million native speakers and is the third most popular foreign language world-wide. Knowledge of German opens up the rich culture of German-speaking Europe as well as its history, philosophy, literature, music and scientific traditions. The German Studies program has a proud history of more than half a century at the University of Melbourne and provides students with the opportunity to complete part of their studies overseas through scholarships and exchange programs.\ \ German language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence of units from German 1 through to German 10 and has four entry points (German Studies 1, 3, 5 and 7). Placement in the correct entry point is determined by the German Studiesprogram, based on the results of the online placement test. Hence all students who enrol in German at The University of Melbourne for the first time need to undertake the placement test. Thereafter students normally progress through the sequence in consecutive order. Accelerated progression is possible with the permission of the course convenor. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers.

Major Hebrew and Jewish Studies
The Hebrew and Jewish Studies program offers an unparalleled opportunity to study the development of Jewish civilization, Israeli history and culture, and the study of the Hebrew language. Hebrew and Jewish Studies investigate the history, literature, archaeology, philosophy, ethnography and social theory of Jewish society and culture. Students are encouraged to engage in contemporary debates about ethnicity and identity, assimilation, exile and Diaspora cultures. Students benefit from the interdisciplinary breadth and the opportunity to combine this with options in Hebrew language study which is taught from beginners to advanced level. Students explore topics that draw on extensive archival resources available in Australia and internationally.

Major History
The History curriculum offers students the opportunity to understand the worlds of the past, to reflect on the making of the present, and to develop the capacities to locate information, analyse evidence, think critically, and communicate effectively. The discipline offers both great range and detailed attention to particular places, times, and themes. Courses extend from the medieval world and the great empires to our most immediate past; all offerings reflect the latest developments in historical research and vocational practice.

Major History and Philosophy of Science
The aim of History and Philosophy of Science is to understand science: how it works, its historical development and its function in modern society. History and Philosophy of Science integrates philosophical, historical and sociological approaches to the study of science. It thus provides students with an insight into scientific methods and objectives without actually having to do science. Students will gain analytical skills in evaluating scientific (and non-scientific) knowledge as well as a broad understanding of the historical development of science in its interactions with philosophy, religion and society.

Major Indigenous Studies
Indigenous Studies is a cross-disciplinary program that provides graduates with a robust understanding of the complexity and diversity of Indigenous/First Peoples (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) within and beyond Australia. Subjects offered develop detailed knowledge and critical understanding of how discourses and representations of Indigenous Peoples function in contemporary society, as well as the historical, social, political, economic, environmental and ethnic contexts that produce them.

Major Indonesian Studies
The undergraduate program in Indonesian Studies comprises coursework designed to build students' knowledge and skills in understanding and analysing Indonesian language and society.

Indonesian language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Indonesian 1 through to Indonesian 6, with 4 additional advanced units. Entry points are determined by the student’s background in the language, placement testing, prerequisites, or at the discretion of the Indonesian Studies program. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the convenor of the Indonesian Studies program.

Major Islamic Studies
The Islamic Studies program offers students an opportunity to study the development of Islamic history, civilisation and culture from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will gain insight into and understanding of key areas associated with Islamic Studies such as the foundation texts, early and modern history, philosophical and political thought. Muslim societies in majority and minority contexts, unity and diversity, as well as ethnicity and identity. Subjects in Islamic Studies are taught in English.

Major Italian Studies
Italian is one of the world’s most important languages strongly influencing languages and cultures around the world. A knowledge of Italian opens up access to a wide range of areas, including history, art, music, as well as to other languages, such as French and Spanish. The overall objective of the Italian Studies program is to teach students to process information from a wide variety of materials in Italian, both written and spoken, and to produce accounts and discussions of that information in a variety of forms. In subjects at all levels, you will be guided towards undertaking independent research projects into areas including language, literature, politics, cinema, theatre, travel writing, food and wine, immigration and identity.

Italian language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Italian 1 through to Italian 6 and beyond. Entry and exit points are determined by the student’s background in the language, placement testing if required, prerequisites, or at the discretion of the Italian Program. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the head of the Italian Studies program. Accelerated progression is possible on advice from the Italian Studies program.

Major Japanese Studies
The undergraduate program in Japanese Studies comprises coursework designed to develop students’ ability to interpret, explain and analyse linguistic and socio-cultural phenomena, to participate in meaning-making in Japanese, and as reflexive users of the Japanese language.

Japanese subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Japanese 1 through to Japanese 8 with several additional units. Entry and exit points are determined by the student’s background in the language, placement testing, prerequisites, or at the discretion of the Japanese program. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the convenor of the Japanese Studies program.

The language-society subjects are designed to maximise acquisition of the language and to develop their communication skills in various types of texts, interactional contexts and strategic aspects of meaning making. The curriculum also allows students to develop a broad understanding of cultural, social and historical aspects of Japan. Non-language subjects such as Social Change in Japan help students understand the complexity and diversity of the society, and challenge stereotypes. Teaching staff create a meeting place where students from a variety of cultural backgrounds can explore intercultural learning and communication to promote translingual and transcultural understanding.

Note: Students in the Japanese Studies major are not able to take the Japanese Societies minor due to the "Diversity of Study" course rule.

Major Korean Studies
The Korean Studies major is designed to build students’ knowledge and skills in understanding and analysing the Korean language, contemporary Korean history, politics, and society as well as two Koreas in a global context. Korean language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence from Korean 1 to Korean 6. This major is designed to develop communication skills in Korean by maximising linguistic and cultural knowledge. Non-language elective subjects cover topics such as modern Korean history, Cold-War politics, North Korea and regional security, economic development, social issues, gender studies, migration, and popular culture to broaden students' understanding of Korean society and Korea in a global context. Additionally, the Capstone subject will provide students with real-life opportunities to publish for the international media and collaborate with businesses, governments or the Korean Studies Research Hub, for example through internships. The Korean Studies major provides excellent preparation for students to enter foreign service, public international relations, business and trade, media and cultural industries.

Major Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Linguistics is the study of language in all its aspects including its structure, its diversity, how it changes and evolves, how people learn and make use of it to communicate, and how it is implicated in relations of power. It provides students with an insight into the most fundamental of all human faculties, develops strong analytical skills and a foundation for work in many diverse areas.

Major Media and Communications
Media and Communications offers students foundational knowledge for the 21st century. It equips students with a critical understanding of the constantly changing global media environments and technologies, and provides core research and professional skills valued across a range of media sectors. The wide array of subjects that comprise the Media and Communications major cover key developments in media industries, new communication technologies, and their impact on politics, society and culture. While the main focus is on Australia and the Asia-Pacific, the course has a global orientation, reflecting today’s increasingly interconnected media systems, markets, and production ecologies of contemporary digital networks.

Major Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of the most fundamental aspects of reality and value. Every area of inquiry and endeavour—from art and history through politics and economics to biology and mathematics—generates philosophical issues about our world and our place in it. Philosophers debate the meaning of life and the meaning of adverbs, the analysis of Divine foreknowledge and the analysis of colour, the nature of mathematics and the nature of terrorism.\ \ Work in philosophy involves the creative, critical task of constructing, clarifying and comparing ideas. We dig into the fundamental assumptions beneath our everyday views, to see how they hang together, how they can be improved, or how we might have reason to prefer one over another. We learn to take conflicting views seriously, to clarify imprecise concepts, and to synthesize new positions.\ \ You learn both traditional and contemporary approaches to individual topics in Philosophy. In tutorials and written work you practice the important skill of advancing cogent and informed arguments of your own.\ \ Students go on to apply their philosophical skills in a wide range of different careers where creative and analytic thinking is useful, such as law, education, analysis, advocacy and policy development.

Major Politics and International Studies
The Major in Politics and International Studies enables students to develop an understanding of the main political issues, institutions, ideas, policies and actors that dominate local, national and international agendas. It includes the study of identity and community, power and how it is exercised and contested, democracy, the state and state system, governance beyond and below the state, public policy, political movements, war and conflict and conflict-resolution. The Major offers subjects on these themes from a variety of perspectives in political science, including international relations, public policy, political theory, political economy, comparative politics, Australian politics, indigenous studies, regional studies and feminism and gender studies, as well as subjects on research methods.

Major Psychology
Psychology is a broad and intellectually fascinating scientific discipline focussed on understanding behaviour and experience, particularly in humans. The science of psychology involves a wide range of perspectives and approaches, with psychological research findings having important applications in areas such as health, education, business, and commerce, as well as informing us about how human behaviours and motivations relate to a wide range of societal issues.

Taught at the University since the late 1800s, the Psychology undergraduate program is designed to provide students with flexibility and choice, offering a broad range of subjects that provide a thorough and extensive grounding in the discipline. Studies in psychology prepare graduates for a diverse range of careers that are based on understanding human behaviour, including health, education, industry, commerce, welfare and government.

Completion of a Psychology major accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) is the first step towards registration as a practicing psychologist, or towards a career as a research psychologist.

The APAC accredited sequence consists of a prescribed minimum of 125 credit points of Psychology subjects (i.e.,10 subjects), comprising 100 credit points of core psychology subjects across levels 1-3 (i.e., 8 core subjects), and 25 credit points (i.e., 2 subjects) of level 3 Psychology subjects selected from a range of electives.

The APAC accredited psychology major provides a strong grounding in basic psychological concepts and theories in the areas of biological, cognitive, developmental, social, and clinical psychology. Students will also develop skills in research methods and data analysis, and an advanced knowledge in at least one domain of psychology. A non-APAC-accredited 75 point minor sequence is also available within the Bachelor of Arts.

Major Russian Studies
Russian is one of the world's major international languages: it is spoken by over 140 million people and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. A knowledge of Russian may increase access to careers in international relations, development studies, business, science and the arts.

The overall objective of the Russian Studies program is to teach students to process information from a wide variety of materials in Russian, both written and spoken, and to produce accounts and discussions of that information in a variety of forms.

The core Russian language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence from Russian 1 through to the Capstone subject. Entry and exit points are determined by the Russian Studies program based on the student’s background in the language, placement testing or prerequisites. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the head of the Russian program. Accelerated progression is possible on advice from the Russian Studies program.

Major Screen and Cultural Studies
Screen and Cultural Studies is a combined program and students can specialise in either area. The combined program covers the fields of film and popular media; screen histories; Australian, Hollywood, European and Asian cinemas; everyday life; television and entertainment; film genres including avant-garde and documentary; computer games; the Internet and the representation of global cultures. The major introduces students to the development and history of film and cultural studies. Theories include film and screen aesthetics; identity and gender; sexuality and spectatorship; media globalization; narrative structures and class ideologies. Students encounter a variety of screen media, net-based and popular cultures; engage cultural texts, sites and practices from a range of interpretive angles, including lifestyle and consumer studies, subcultural studies, and critical studies of sexuality, race and cultural globalization, and; explore their histories, significance and theories that help make sense of how they relate to power, commerce and lived culture today. Through innovative teaching, students in Screen and Cultural Studies encounter new ways of analysing contemporary screen media and culture. Academic staff in the discipline are specialists in screen cultures and media histories; entertainment cultures; gender, race and sexuality; postcolonialism and migration; European and Asian cinemas; cultural policy, and; media archaeology.

Major Sociology
Sociology tackles pressing social problems and addresses key social issues such as changes in the life course, gender relations, ethnic, racial and sexual identities, health and illness, the future of work, new technologies, and environmental crises. It engages with social inequalities and explores how people and societies confront these new challenges – from social movements to subcultures to policy reform. Students studying sociology will learn crucial skills in sociological thinking and research to address real world problems facing our society today.

Major Spanish and Latin American Studies
The Spanish and Latin American studies program at The University of Melbourne offers language options at all levels together with a variety of cultural studies subjects in fields as diverse as literature, cinema, popular culture and gender studies in Spain and Latin America.

The Spanish and Latin American studies program will provide you with a wide range of opportunities to develop your Spanish language skills while increasing your awareness of Spanish and Latin American cultures through authentic written, spoken and audiovisual materials. You will also cultivate your intercultural competency interacting with the Spanish-speaking communities in Australia and abroad.

Our program offers opportunities to undertake independent research projects with innovative scholars working in areas such as Spanish and Latin American cinema, Latin American popular culture studies and translation. Beyond sound disciplinary skills students will be able to develop and enhance critical workplace skills, such as problem-solving, teamwork, clear communication, self-evaluation, mentoring, information literacy, professionalism and digital competency. You will be able to demonstrate your skills through a range of meaningful tasks developed along innovative assessment methods such as object-based learning, curation, process writing and project work in a variety of media (video, podcasts, etc.). A selection of your assessment tasks is housed in an ePortfolio, a valuable platform to showcase workplace skills, language level and intercultural competency achieved during your studies.

The Spanish and Latin American studies program has agreements with universities in Spain and Latin America. They allow students to undertake exchange and study abroad options as part of their Spanish studies.

Spanish language core subjects are organised in a progressive sequence from Spanish 1 to 7. The program also offers a range of Spanish electives in a variety of delivery modes, including our overseas intensives such as Chile: The Land at the End of the World, and the online winter intensive Realities and Fictions of Argentina. Our innovative elective Languages at Work offers students an additional opportunity to engage with industry collaborators in target-language communities in Australia.

Students may enter at any point, subject to placement testing and/or prerequisites, and normally progress through the sequence in consecutive order. Accelerated progression and mid-year entry are also possible in special cases with the permission of the course convenor. However, mid-year entry is only possible into Spanish 2, 4 and 6. Students also have the opportunity to fast track their studies opting for the summer Intensive Spanish 3 & 4 subject.

Minor subjects are a chance to learn an area outside your major and are taken from the existing majors available in the degree. They are made up of four subjects (50 credit points) and provide a complementary course of study without committing to a double major. A minor is also an option when a double major combination isn’t available.

Explore the minors available in this degree below.

Minor Ancient World Studies minor
Ancient World Studies embraces the broad study of Classical Greece and Rome, as well as Egypt and the Near East from 3000 BCE to the 4th century CE. Students can choose a variety of subject streams, which combine the study of ancient languages and/or texts in translation such as myth, literature, history, and philosophy with the study of archaeology, art, and architectural monuments. In addition, students can focus on a particular time period, geographic region, technical specialisation such as myth or ceramics, or thematic area of study. Students will gain insight into and understanding of contemporary society by exploring how ancient cultures have contributed to the development of our modern world, with regard to gender and ethnic identity, warfare, colonialism and imperialism, the propagandistic power of literary and visual imagery, and technology and economy. They will develop skills in research, writing, analysis, and communication that promote career flexibility.

Minor Anthropology minor
Anthropology is the study of people’s common humanity as well as the extraordinary cultural and social diversity found around the globe. Its distinctive methodology, based on intense, long-term participation in people’s daily lives, allows for ideas to develop out of local experience and knowledge. Contemporary fieldwork is as likely to take place in an urban tower block or tourist resort or moving with migrants or refugees, as it would be in a remote village in Africa or an island community in Melanesia. This minor invites participation in subjects on: diverse ideas about the body; belief and religious practices; the growth of consumption and commodification, ethnic and national identity, and constructions of nature, sex, family and gender. The course we offer will expand your horizons by challenging your taken-for-granted understanding of the world, and it will also provide you with the skills needed to work successfully with people, to listen, to think critically, and to be fully engaged in an ever more expanding world.

Minor Arabic Studies minor
The Arabic Studies program offers an integrated way of studying Arabic language and aspects of Arab culture. Beyond studying the language itself, students also have the opportunity to acquire a significant amount of knowledge about the nature of living, seeing, acting and interacting in the 'Arab way'. With the development of students' language proficiency, there will be a growing emphasis on reflection on, as well as critical awareness and discussion of issues related to Arabic literature and the realms of history, Arab society and religion in the Arab World.

Arabic language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Arabic 1 through to Arabic 7. Entry points are determined by the student’s background in the language, placement testing, prerequisites, or at the discretion of the Arabic Studies program. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the head of the Arabic Studies program.

Minor Art History minor
The Art History program is the premier provider of art historical scholarship in Australia. Thematic and interdisciplinary subjects deal with the theories of art history, art and the market, prints, and other issues. Areas of specialisation include late antiquity, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, 18th and 19th century European art, modernism and postmodernism, contemporary art, Indigenous Australian art, and international art.

Minor Asian Studies minor
Knowledge about Asia is a crucial national asset at a time of rapid globalisation and social change. The Asian Studies program at the University of Melbourne is one of the largest in Australia and comprises a comprehensive range of subjects in the intellectual, cultural, political and religious traditions of Asia, with a focus on China, Indonesia, Japan and South-east Asia. Asian Studies subjects are taught in English and do not require language prerequisites. Study abroad programs are available and Asialink offers a stimulating program of events and activities with an Asian focus.

Minor Chinese Societies minor
This minor offers the opportunity for students to develop China/Asia literacy by familiarizing students with social, historical, cultural, and political concerns relating to China and Chinese societies more broadly. Through engagement with various perspectives in the humanities and social sciences, students who complete the Chinese Societies Minor will cultivate ‘soft skills’ of cultural and societal literacy. By developing an understanding of how Chinese societies fit into and impact both Asia and the global community, students will be better prepared to engage in global discourses about China, the Asian region and Australia, skills on which they can capitalise in their future careers. The minor is an excellent general preparation for entry into numerous professional fields, including academic teaching and research, foreign service, business, art and culture, and tourism.

Minor Chinese Studies minor
The Chinese Studies program at the University of Melbourne is one of the largest Chinese programs in Australia. The language subjects (taught at a range of levels, from beginner to advanced) are designed to maximise acquisition of the language and to develop their communication skills in various types of texts, interactional contexts and strategic aspects of meaning making. The curriculum also allows students to develop a broad understanding of cultural, social and historical aspects of China. Chinese language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Chinese 1 through to Chinese 10. Entry and exit points are determined by the student's background in the language, placement testing, prerequisites or at the discretion of the Chinese Studies program. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the head of the Chinese Studies program.

Minor Classics (Ancient Greek and Latin) minor
Classics is the study of the languages Ancient Greek and Latin, which have been taught at the University of Melbourne since its very foundation and have been a core element of higher education for many centuries. The overall objective of the Classics program is to introduce students to key literary texts from classical antiquity (including history, drama, oratory, philosophy, epic, and lyric poetry), and to enable students to discover the many important contributions which reading ancient texts in the original languages can make to understanding both the ancient world and the Western tradition. Knowledge of Ancient Greek and Latin is also very useful for research and training in such related disciplines as biochemistry, medicine, the history and philosophy of science, archaeology, Biblical studies, history, philosophy, art history, Romance language studies, English literary studies, and music.

Minor Creative Writing minor
This minor offers students the opportunity to explore their creative potential and to extend their work to avant-garde, cross-genre and experimental forms of writing. Students are encouraged to critically test the creative implications and the influence of contemporary theoretical and philosophical schools of thought in all forms of writing. Areas of specialisation include fiction, poetry, poetics, non-fiction, autobiography and writing for performance, theatre and screen.

Minor Criminology minor
Criminology draws knowledge and perspectives from a range of disciplines such as law, sociology, psychology, psychiatry and history. Initially, criminology had a strong practical focus: its role was to advise governments on issues such as policing, the management of prisons, sentencing and offender treatment. Concern with policy and practice remains, but criminologists now work in a much wider range of fields including crime prevention, corporate and white-collar crime, business regulation, drug policy and consumer and environmental protection. Criminology doesn’t take crime and criminal law for granted. As an academic discipline it continually questions why different societies define and respond to crime in different ways, and why approaches to punishment and other forms of social control have varied so much from era to era. Increasingly criminologists also study the ways cultures depict crime: whether in newspapers, television and other mass media or in films, novels and art.

Minor Development Studies minor
Development Studies is a dynamic field concerned with processes of social, economic, political and cultural change in the global South. This minor provides students the opportunity to critically examine processes of managed change in the developing world, as well as a skills set to intervene in such processes. Through this programme, students will better understand the nature of policies and relationships at local, national and international levels that have shaped poverty, inequality and insecurity in the contemporary world. We examine themes such as debt and global poverty, environmental sustainability, the relationship between citizens and the state, culture and human rights, globalisation, national sovereignty, gender inequity, social exclusion, health, and migration.

Minor Digital Studies minor
Digital Studies at Melbourne is about how the digital revolution has transformed our world and about how humanities, social science and creative arts knowledges and people have helped shape the digital world. We examine place, power and diversity in the digital age – the ways in which digital transformations have been differently experienced and understood along axes including place, class, gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity and nationality. Digital Studies also teaches some of the skills and tools that a HASS-educated and digitally-skilled workforce will need in our connected and data-rich world – subjects offer introductory training in digital research methods, with no pre-existing understanding of computing or programming needed. Finally, Digital Studies introduces students to some of the ways that digital data analytic methods and the new possibilities of interrogating and analysing vast bodies of digitized texts and images are transforming our knowledge of human society and culture, giving students an enhanced understanding of the scope and ambition of work currently being undertaken in the digital humanities, digital social sciences and creative arts.

Minor Economics minor
Economists study how people choose to allocate resources. They look at the behaviour of individuals, organisations and governments to understand how markets function. Economics is essential to modern life. It seeks to understand, assess and explain the mechanisms of markets and national economies.

A major in economics builds problem-solving skills that are applicable to careers in business and government. It will teach you how to analyse and interpret data and will equip you with the tools to find smart solutions for the numerous problems confronting governments and the commercial world. Graduates with a major in Economics have varied employment opportunities in both the public and private sector. Three broad areas of study available within the main discipline are:

Microeconomics
Macroeconomics
Econometrics

Minor English Language Studies minor
English Language Studies enhances the effective use of the most widely spoken language in the world. Students develop an understanding of its history, its subtle and intricate grammar, and the status of its many social and geographical varieties.

Minor English and Theatre Studies minor
English and Theatre Studies is a combined program and students can specialise in either area. It offers studies in imaginative writing and dramatic performance, focusing on their form, content, traditions and practices, and on the myriad ways they engage with the everyday world. The program offers subjects in a wide range of areas, from the Medieval and Early Modern to Romanticism, Modernism, and contemporary literature and performance. This includes British, Australian, American and postcolonial writing and theatre, and literary, cultural and performance theory. English and Theatre Studies at the University of Melbourne is recognised nationally and internationally for its innovative teaching, scholarship and research.

Minor Environmental Studies minor
see course overview

Minor European Studies minor
European Studies is a cross-disciplinary program that focuses on European culture, society and languages. Students complete core European Studies subjects and can also choose to take subjects from areas such as history, literary studies, languages, philosophy, politics and art history.

Minor French Studies minor
French is one of the world's major international languages: it is spoken by over 200 million people in 43 countries, on five continents. Knowledge of French may increase access to careers in international relations, development studies, business, science and the arts.

Minor Gender Studies minor
Gender Studies considers the significance of gender and sexuality across a broad range of cultural contexts, identities and histories. The program analyses how gender intersects with crucial issues such as ageing, class, disability, ethnicity and globalisation. Subjects consider ideas about femininity, masculinity and sexuality through close engagement with an extensive variety of theorists, case studies and media. Gender Studies is transdisciplinary and draws on the diverse interests of specialists located throughout the Faculty. This enables its students to develop a unique combination of research skills drawn from both the Arts and Social Sciences.

Minor Geography minor
Geography is the investigation and understanding of the dynamic relationships between societies and environments. The discipline raises and answers questions about why these relationships are the way they are, how and why they are changing, and how and why their characteristics vary over time and space. Geographers study human actions and activities from the local scale to the global scale. Geography is one of the few disciplines that encompasses very different ways of knowing - those of science and those of the humanities and social sciences - in its approach to the world’s urgent problems and injustices. As such it is a globally-minded discipline that seeks to understand the complex connections between people and place in order to work towards a more equitable world.

The BA Minor in Geography allows students both breadth and specificity in the study of Geography. Specific pathways within the Minor are dedicated to the study of urban geography, cultural geography, development geography, environmental geography (especially focused on climate change issues and debates) and Asia-Pacific geography. Field classes in Australia and overseas (at 200-level and 300-level) offer students the opportunity to explore and examine geographical issues, policy and problems first-hand.

Minor German Studies minor
German has more than 100 million native speakers and is the third most popular foreign language world-wide. Knowledge of German opens up the rich culture of German-speaking Europe as well as its history, philosophy, literature, music and scientific traditions. The German Studies program has a proud history of more than half a century at the University of Melbourne and provides students with the opportunity to complete part of their studies overseas through scholarships and exchange programs.\ \ German language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence of units from German 1 through to German 10 and has four entry points (German Studies 1, 3, 5 and 7). Placement in the correct entry point is determined by the German Studiesprogram, based on the results of the online placement test. Hence all students who enrol in German at The University of Melbourne for the first time need to undertake the placement test. Thereafter students normally progress through the sequence in consecutive order. Accelerated progression is possible with the permission of the course convenor. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers.

Minor Hebrew and Jewish Studies minor
The Hebrew and Jewish Studies program offers an unparalleled opportunity to study the development of Jewish civilization, Israeli history and culture, and the study of the Hebrew language. Hebrew and Jewish Studies investigate the history, literature, archaeology, philosophy, ethnography and social theory of Jewish society and culture. Students are encouraged to engage in contemporary debates about ethnicity and identity, assimilation, exile and Diaspora cultures. Students benefit from the interdisciplinary breadth and the opportunity to combine this with options in Hebrew language study which is taught from beginners to advanced level. Students explore topics that draw on extensive archival resources available in Australia and internationally.

Minor History and Philosophy of Science minor
The aim of History and Philosophy of Science is to understand science: how it works, its historical development and its function in modern society. History and Philosophy of Science integrates philosophical, historical and sociological approaches to the study of science. It thus provides students with an insight into scientific methods and objectives without actually having to do science. Students will gain analytical skills in evaluating scientific (and non-scientific) knowledge as well as a broad understanding of the historical development of science in its interactions with philosophy, religion and society.

Minor History minor
The History curriculum offers students the opportunity to understand the worlds of the past, to reflect on the making of the present, and to develop the capacities to locate information, analyse evidence, think critically, and communicate effectively. The discipline offers both great range and detailed attention to particular places, times, and themes. Courses extend from the medieval world and the great empires to our most immediate past; all offerings reflect the latest developments in historical research and vocational practice.

Minor Indigenous Studies minor
Indigenous Studies is a cross-disciplinary program that provides graduates with a robust understanding of the complexity and diversity of Indigenous/First Peoples (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) within and beyond Australia. Subjects offered develop detailed knowledge and critical understanding of how discourses and representations of Indigenous Peoples function in contemporary society, as well as the historical, social, political, economic, environmental and ethnic contexts that produce them.

Minor Indonesian Studies minor
The undergraduate program in Indonesian Studies comprises coursework designed to build students' knowledge and skills in understanding and analysing Indonesian language and society.

Minor Islamic Studies minor
The Islamic Studies program offers students an opportunity to study the development of Islamic history, civilisation and culture from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will gain insight into and understanding of key areas associated with Islamic Studies such as the foundation texts, early and modern history, philosophical and political thought. Muslim societies in majority and minority contexts, unity and diversity, as well as ethnicity and identity. Subjects in Islamic Studies are taught in English.

Minor Italian Studies minor
Italian is one of the world’s most important languages strongly influencing languages and cultures around the world. A knowledge of Italian opens up access to a wide range of areas, including history, art, music, as well as to other languages, such as French and Spanish. The overall objective of the Italian Studies program is to teach students to process information from a wide variety of materials in Italian, both written and spoken, and to produce accounts and discussions of that information in a variety of forms. In subjects at all levels, you will be guided towards undertaking independent research projects into areas including language, literature, politics, cinema, theatre, travel writing, food and wine, immigration and identity.

Minor Japanese Societies minor
This minor offers the opportunity for students to develop ‘Japan/Asia Literacy’ by gaining cultural knowledge of Japanese society. The subjects offered in the Japanese Societies Minor allow students, who have been unable to pursue further Japanese language studies, to learn about Japanese society and culture from various perspectives.

\ Students who complete the Japanese Societies Minor will cultivate ‘soft skills’ of cultural and societal literacy. Further, by developing an understanding of how Japan fits into and impacts both Asia and the global community, students will be better prepared to engage in global discourses about Japan, the Asian region and Australia, skills on which they can capitalise in their career pathways.

Note: Students in the Japanese Studies major/minor cannot take the Japanese Societies minor due to the "Diversity of Study" course rule.

Minor Japanese Studies minor
The undergraduate program in Japanese Studies comprises coursework designed to develop students’ ability to interpret, explain and analyse linguistic and socio-cultural phenomena, to participate in meaning-making in Japanese, and as reflexive users of the Japanese language.

Note: Students in the Japanese Studies minor cannot also take the Japanese Societies minor due to the "Diversity of Study" Course rule

Minor Korean Studies minor
The Korean Studies minor is designed to build students’ knowledge and skills in understanding and analysing Korean language, contemporary Korean history, politics, and society as well as two Koreas in a global context. Korean language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence from Korean 1 to Korean 6. The minor is designed to maximise linguistic and cultural knowledge to develop intermediate communication skills in Korean. Non-language elective subjects cover topics such as modern Korean history, Cold-War politics, North Korea and regional security, economic development, social issues, gender studies, migration, and popular culture to broaden students' understanding of Korean society and Korea in a global context. The coursework includes a winter intensive study trip to Korea, where students work on a research project. It is an excellent preparation for students to enter foreign service, public international relations, business and trade, media and cultural industries.

Minor Law and Justice minor
A Law and Justice minor offers students the opportunity to examine the capacity and power of law to deliver justice in a range of social, historical and political contexts. A key focus of the subjects in this sequence is an engagement with the origins and effects of law’s processes.\ \ To complete the minor, students must take 4 subjects. There is one compulsory subject at each year level (one in Arts, one in Law). Overall, two Law subjects, taught by members of the Melbourne Law School, and six Arts subjects taught by members of the Discipline of Criminology in the School of Social and Political Sciences will be offered as part of the minor. The minor is not designed as either a pre-requisite for nor as a guaranteed pathway into the Melbourne JD; rather, it provides a concentration on law and justice issues within the BA and as breadth.

Minor Linguistics and Applied Linguistics minor
Linguistics is the study of language in all its aspects including its structure, its diversity, how it changes and evolves, how people learn and make use of it to communicate, and how it is implicated in relations of power. It provides students with an insight into the most fundamental of all human faculties, develops strong analytical skills and a foundation for work in many diverse areas.

Minor Media and Communications minor
Media and Communications offers students foundational knowledge for the 21st century. It equips students with a critical understanding of the constantly changing global media environments and technologies, and provides core research and professional skills valued across a range of media sectors. The wide array of subjects that comprise the Media and Communications minor cover key developments in media industries, new communication technologies, and their impact on politics, society and culture. While the main focus is on Australia and the Asia-Pacific, the course has a global orientation, reflecting today’s increasingly interconnected media systems, markets, and production ecologies of contemporary digital networks.

Minor Medieval and Early Modern Studies minor
Medieval and Early Modern Studies offers students with the opportunity to explore this fascinating and crucial period in world history from a variety of disciplinary and cultural perspectives. The transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern era has long been regarded as signifying a remarkable period of change, which saw major shifts in philosophy, religion, politics, art, literature, music, science and technology. Understanding precisely what characterised the social, political, cultural and intellectual life of the medieval, renaissance and early modern periods, in different regions of the globe, therefore requires a broad interdisciplinary approach drawing on the expertise of scholars across a diverse range of fields of study. To this end, students completing a minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies can take subjects from disciplines such as history, art history, history and philosophy of science, philosophy, music, English and theatre studies and Italian and French studies.

Minor Philosophy minor
Philosophy is the study of the most fundamental aspects of reality and value. Every area of inquiry and endeavour—from art and history through politics and economics to biology and mathematics—generates philosophical issues about our world and our place in it. Philosophers debate the meaning of life and the meaning of adverbs, the analysis of Divine foreknowledge and the analysis of colour, the nature of mathematics and the nature of terrorism.\ \ Work in philosophy involves the creative, critical task of constructing, clarifying and comparing ideas. We dig into the fundamental assumptions beneath our everyday views, to see how they hang together, how they can be improved, or how we might have reason to prefer one over another. We learn to take conflicting views seriously, to clarify imprecise concepts, and to synthesize new positions.\ \ You learn both traditional and contemporary approaches to individual topics in Philosophy. In tutorials and written work you practice the important skill of advancing cogent and informed arguments of your own.\ \ Students go on to apply their philosophical skills in a wide range of different careers where creative and analytic thinking is useful, such as law, education, analysis, advocacy and policy development.

Minor Politics and International Studies minor
Politics and International Studies enables students to develop an understanding of the main political issues, institutions, ideas, policies and actors that dominate local, national and international agendas. It includes the study of identity and community, power and how it is exercised and contested, democracy, the state and state system, governance beyond and below the state, public policy, political movements, war and conflict and conflict-resolution. Politics and International Studies offers subjects on these themes from a variety of perspectives in political science, including international relations, public policy, political theory, political economy, comparative politics, Australian politics, indigenous studies, regional studies and feminism and gender studies, as well as subjects on research methods.

Minor Psychology minor
Psychology is a broad and intellectually fascinating scientific discipline focussed on understanding behaviour and experience, particularly in humans. The science of psychology involves a wide range of perspectives and approaches, with psychological research findings having important applications in areas such as health, education, business, and commerce, as well as informing us about how human behaviours and motivations relate to a wide range of societal issues.

Minor Russian Studies minor
Russian is one of the world's major international languages: it is spoken by over 140 million people and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. A knowledge of Russian may increase access to careers in international relations, development studies, business, science and the arts.

The core Russian language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence from Russian 1 through to Russian 6. Entry and exit points are determined by the Russian Studies program based on the student’s background in the language, placement testing or prerequisites. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the head of the Russian program. Accelerated progression is possible on advice from the Russian Studies program.

Minor Screen and Cultural Studies minor
Screen and Cultural Studies is a combined program and students can specialise in either area. The combined program covers the fields of film and popular media; screen histories; Australian, Hollywood, European and Asian cinemas; everyday life; television and entertainment; film genres including avant garde and documentary; computer games; the Internet and the representation of global cultures. The minor introduces students to the development and history of film and cultural studies. Theories include film and screen aesthetics; identity and gender; sexuality and spectatorship; media globalization; narrative structures and class ideologies. Students encounter a variety of screen media, net-based and popular cultures; engage cultural texts, sites and practices from a range of interpretive angles, including lifestyle and consumer studies, subcultural studies, and critical studies of sexuality, race and cultural globalization, and; explore their histories, significance and theories that help make sense of how they relate to power, commerce and lived culture today. Through innovative teaching, students in Screen and Cultural Studies encounter new ways of analysing contemporary screen media and culture. Academic staff in the discipline are specialists in screen cultures and media histories; entertainment cultures; gender, race and sexuality; postcolonialism and migration; European and Asian cinemas; cultural policy, and; media archaeology.

Minor Sociology minor
Sociology tackles pressing social problems and addresses key social issues such as changes in the life course, gender relations, ethnic, racial and sexual identities, health and illness, the future of work, new technologies, and environmental crises. It engages with social inequalities and explores how people and societies confront these new challenges – from social movements to subcultures to policy reform. Students studying sociology will learn crucial skills in sociological thinking and research to address real world problems facing our society today.

Minor South Asian Studies minor
The South Asian Studies minor considers the historical and contemporary significance of South Asia to cultivate a global understanding of political, economic, social and cultural change. South Asia is conventionally defined as the region encompassing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Containing roughly one-quarter of the world’s population, South Asia is a highly dynamic world region that is critical for the future of Australia and the world.

The South Asian Studies Minor will offer in-depth knowledge and research skills in understanding and analysing South Asia. The minor will address questions concerning politics and international relations, law, health, education, architecture, geography, identity, and the environment. South Asian Studies is a transdisciplinary field drawing on the interests of specialists throughout the University. This enables students to develop a combination of research skills drawn from the Arts, Social Sciences, and other Faculties (Science, Law, and Design).

Complementing this course of study, AsiaLink and the Australia India Institute offer a rich program of Asia and South Asia-related events and activities, including connections for internships with businesses, governments, NGOs, and museums in Australia and/or South Asia.

Minor Spanish and Latin American Studies minor
The Spanish and Latin American studies program at The University of Melbourne offers language options at all levels together with a variety of cultural studies subjects in fields as diverse as literature, cinema, popular culture and gender studies in Spain and Latin America.

You have the option to study an extra qualification alongside your degree. If you’re a passionate musician, programmer or mathematician, or have an interest in languages, you can enrol in one of four concurrent diplomas alongside your bachelors degree - computing, languages, mathematics or music. A concurrent diploma consists of 100 credit points and usually involves an additional year of full-time study.

Explore our concurrent diplomas below.

Concurrent Diploma Diploma in Music
The Diploma in Music provides students with the opportunity to undertake a tailored sequence of music study and gain a music qualification while completing an undergraduate degree in another field at The University of Melbourne. It is available to students enrolled in an undergraduate degree other than the Bachelor of Music and the Bachelor of Fine Arts. It is studied concurrently with the bachelor degree.

Diploma in Music students study for a music qualification alongside Bachelor of Music students, giving the opportunity to build valuable friendships and networks in a challenging musical environment. A range of study options is available across all areas of specialisation within the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, including practical music, ensemble music performance, aural studies, composition, improvisation, music history and theory. Students are encouraged to follow their own areas of interest, constructing a bespoke program of study from the range of elective choices available.

The Diploma may only be awarded on the completion of the concurrent degree course. This means that graduation from the Diploma will only occur at the same time as graduation from the concurrent course.

A concurrent diploma must be undertaken at the same time as your substantive degree (e.g. Bachelor of Arts) and is considered to be a combined course for the purposes of the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2019. More information on concurrent diplomas is found here.

Concurrent Diploma Diploma in Mathematical Sciences
The Diploma in Mathematical Sciences is a 100-point diploma, normally taken concurrently with an undergraduate degree.

The Diploma in Mathematical Sciences is a great way to use and develop your mathematical skills and complement your undergraduate studies. The high-level numerical and modelling skills you will gain can be applied across almost every area of employment and are always in demand.

This diploma is studied concurrently on a part-time basis with a bachelor degree. Within the Diploma, students will complete the requirements of the Mathematics and Statistics major from the Bachelor of Science. The Diploma consists of 1 year EFTSL of study completed concurrently with an undergraduate degree usually over 3-4 years.

Please note: The Diploma in Mathematical Sciences is not available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science who are taking the Data Science, Mathematics and Statistics or Mathematical Physics majors.

Concurrent Diploma Diploma in Computing
The Diploma in Computing will provide students in almost all areas of study with the option of complementing their principal undergraduate major with a program in the IT area, designed to give them familiarity with a range of data manipulation and presentation techniques. The delivery format via a concurrent diploma is designed to build on and extend students’ main study, with the expectation that students will contribute problems and challenges from their main study area to their Diploma subjects.

Concurrent Diploma Diploma in Languages
Concurrent Diplomas are not available to students studying on a student visa, or student visa applicants.

The Diploma in Languages (D-Lang) is a concurrent program and provides students with the opportunity to undertake language study while completing an undergraduate, graduate coursework or RHD program at the University of Melbourne.

There are 13 languages on offer in the Diploma in Languages, and students will progress through a sequence of eight subjects in their chosen language. Students are able to commence the program at different entry points pending on proficiency, as outlined in the specific language's specialisation page.

The Diploma in Languages will usually add one year duration to your studies. Undergraduate students have the option to fast track and may complete both programs in three and a half or three years. The duration for graduate coursework students varies on their program, advice and permission for graduates should be sought from their home Faculty prior to application.

The Diploma may only be awarded on the completion of both programs. Domestic students enrolled in a Graduate Coursework or Research Higher Degree course will have access to Commonwealth supported places. International Graduate Coursework and RHD students will attract International undergraduate fees for the Diploma in Languages.

Breadth is a key feature of the Melbourne curriculum that allows you to study a wide range of subjects. In addition to the subjects offered in your core area of study, you can also take subjects from other disciplines. Explore beyond your study area to build an interdisciplinary skillset and develop additional critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and leadership skills.

Explore the range of breadth subjects below.

Breadth Track Accelerated Mathematics
Accelerated Level 1 subjects for students with a strong mathematics background, plus a choice of Level 2 subjects to introduce students to topics such as chaos, abstract algebra or probability.

View detailed information in the Handbook Accelerated Mathematics

Breadth Track Acting for Stage and Screen
This Breadth Track progressively develops knowledge and skill for acting on stage and in film and TV.

View detailed information in the Handbook Acting for Stage and Screen

Breadth Track AI and the Law
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is predicted to play an increasingly integral role in almost all aspects of our lives, including in fields of policing, public administration, environmental protection, education, medicine, finance and law. This track provides students with the skills necessary to deal with the technical, ethical and legal challenges that arise in designing, governing and regulating AI that is fair, safe and beneficial to society. This specialist track builds on the work of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics (CAIDE), a cross disciplinary research centre at the University of Melbourne bringing together academics researching all aspects of AI ethics and regulation, including from engineering, computer science, humanities, science and law.

View detailed information in the Handbook AI and the Law

Breadth Track Architectural History
This breadth track surveys the history of architecture from the beginnings of shelter to the present day.

View detailed information in the Handbook Architectural History

Breadth Track Architecture
This breadth track introduces students to the basics of architectural design and history and provide students with the prerequisite subjects to apply for entry into the 300-point Master of Architecture.

View detailed information in the Handbook Architecture

Breadth Track Arts Practice and Engagement
This breadth track explores drama/theatre/music and visual arts making and presenting in relation to a diverse range of learning settings from the perspective of the artist and community.

View detailed information in the Handbook Arts Practice and Engagement

Breadth Track Australian flora
This breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in Australian flora,and in the diversity of the plant kingdom. It provides a general approach to the different biomes of Australia and the adaptive biology of the plants and animals inhabiting those biomes, and to the different floristic bioregions of Victoria and their ecology. Plant Biodiversity introduces the structure, biology and evolution of the major groups of land plants, with examples from the Australian flora.

View detailed information in the Handbook Australian flora

Breadth Track Australian Wildlife
This sequence provides students with a comprehensive overview of Australia's native wildlife, and the evolution, ecology and management of this remarkable group of animals.

View detailed information in the Handbook Australian Wildlife

Breadth Track Biotechnology
This track will introduce students to the principles of biotechnology, which is the use and manipulation of living organisms, or substances obtained from these organisms, to make products of value to humanity.

View detailed information in the Handbook Biotechnology

Breadth Track Cell and Developmental Biology
This track will develop a student's general interest in biology and focus particularly on how cells function, particularly in the context of multicellular organisms. With emphasis on current research methodologies, it provides insights into how cells 'translate' the genetic code to produce and transport proteins to specific sites within or outside the cell to control processes required for cell survival, proliferation, movement and growth and how these processes controlled and orchestrated during the remarkable progression of a fertilised egg into an independent organism.

View detailed information in the Handbook Cell and Developmental Biology

Breadth Track Chemical Engineering
This breadth track provides students with an introduction to the foundations of Chemical Engineering.

View detailed information in the Handbook Chemical Engineering

Breadth Track Choral Performance
This breadth track explores the diversity of choral music and progressively develops knowledge and skills in choral performance.

View detailed information in the Handbook Choral Performance

Breadth Track Climate and Water
Climate and Water integrates the major challenges being faced both nationally and internationally integrating knowledge across disciplines to provide strategies for developing appropriate responses to these challenges.

View detailed information in the Handbook Climate and Water

Breadth Track Climate Change
This breadth track explores issues related to climate change from a multidisciplinary perspective.

View detailed information in the Handbook Climate Change

Breadth Track Contemporary Public Economic Policy
This breadth track covers key economics concepts and techniques needed to make sense of contemporary policy debates.

View detailed information in the Handbook Contemporary Public Economic Policy

Breadth Track Creativity, the Arts and Young People
Explore artistic play, expression and performance in the growth and creative development of children and young people through active and experimental learning in diverse settings.

View detailed information in the Handbook Creativity, the Arts and Young People

Breadth Track Cultural Astronomy
View detailed information in the Handbook Cultural Astronomy
Breadth Track Dancing the Dance
This Breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in dance styles and approaches to physical training whilst exploring how movement, languages and choreographic approaches can be used to express ideas and realise performance.

View detailed information in the Handbook Dancing the Dance

Breadth Track Deafness and Communication
This breadth track explores issues related to Deafness and communication, from a wide range of perspectives including social, cultural, and technological. There is also a focus on visual communication and Auslan, the language of the Australian signing Deaf community.

View detailed information in the Handbook Deafness and Communication

Breadth Track Doing business in Asia
This breadth track improves your chances of achieving business success with our most important trading partners.

View detailed information in the Handbook Doing business in Asia

Breadth Track Drawing, Painting and Observation
This breadth track progressively develops skills in drawing and painting. Students learn practical hand-on techniques and processes whilst also gaining a greater understanding of how art communicates ideas.

View detailed information in the Handbook Drawing, Painting and Observation

Breadth Track Earth's Structure
This breadth track explores the Earth's internal composition, structure and evolution over geological time.

View detailed information in the Handbook Earth's Structure

Breadth Track Ecology
This breadth track develops an understanding of how we use the principles of ecological science for the conservation and management of natural and human-made ecosystems.

View detailed information in the Handbook Ecology

Breadth Track Ecology, Evolution and Humanity
This sequence explores the unique place of humans in the earth's evolutionary history, and the diverse ways in which evolutionary process continue to affect contemporary human society.

View detailed information in the Handbook Ecology, Evolution and Humanity

Breadth Track Economics and Finance
This breadth track is for students from outside the Faculty of Business & Economics who seek an eventual career or graduate work related to consulting and investment banking.

View detailed information in the Handbook Economics and Finance

Breadth Track Electrical Engineering
This breadth track provides students with an introduction to the foundations of Electrical Engineering.

View detailed information in the Handbook Electrical Engineering

Breadth Track Engineering and Environments
This track gives students an insight into some fundamental principles of engineering and how engineering interacts with the social and natural environmental settings where water and soil are fundamental resources for human development.

View detailed information in the Handbook Engineering and Environments

Breadth Track Entrepreneurship & Innovation
This breadth track develops knowledge and skills to assist you in starting your new business venture.

View detailed information in the Handbook Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Breadth Track Ethics and Investing
This breadth track explores how to avoid repeating the GFC and what you as an investor can do to save the planet.

View detailed information in the Handbook Ethics and Investing

Breadth Track Experiencing Indigenous Cultural and Creative Practices
This breadth track engages with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creative and cultural practices, with a focus on connections to Country and place, while developing cultural literacies, critical thinking, and deep listening skills. Each subject focuses on Indigenous artistic practices through which students will investigate knowledges, technologies and architectures, place and ways of knowing, being and doing.

View detailed information in the Handbook Experiencing Indigenous Cultural and Creative Practices

Breadth Track Feeding the World's Population
Food is essential to human life on Earth, and is inextricably bound up in our biology, culture and beliefs. Learn about the current and future challenges of global food production, supply, and consumption and discover how food production in Australia is changing to meet the environment and society's changing needs.

View detailed information in the Handbook Feeding the World's Population

Breadth Track Forensic Accounting
This breadth track offers a moderate level of financial literacy, along with an understanding of the incidence and nature of financial fraud.

View detailed information in the Handbook Forensic Accounting

Breadth Track Forests and Fire
Forests and fire introduces students to forests from social, historical, environmental and economic perspectives and provides an understanding of the effects of fuel, weather and climate on the nature and periodicity of bushfires, as well as the social and economic impact of bushfires.

View detailed information in the Handbook Forests and Fire

Breadth Track Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting
This breadth track offers sufficient accounting and finance to gain a basic level of financial literacy with an emphasis on the operation of financial markets.

View detailed information in the Handbook Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting

Breadth Track General Genetics
This breadth track provides a background in the principles of genetics and inheritance with the opportunity to extend these studies in areas of molecular or evolutionary genetics.

View detailed information in the Handbook General Genetics

Breadth Track Genetics and Society
Offering a sufficient background to appreciate the relevance of genetics to current societal issues.

View detailed information in the Handbook Genetics and Society

Breadth Track Geology in the field
This breadth track will provide students with a broad introduction to geological processes and equip them with important skills in how to map out and read the geological record. Students will apply and improve these skills by undertaking fieldwork.

View detailed information in the Handbook Geology in the field

Breadth Track Global Economic Issues
This breadth track develops an ability to think systematically about the globalization debate.

View detailed information in the Handbook Global Economic Issues

Breadth Track Government, Public Policy and Management
This breadth track explores issues related to development, implementation and analysis of public policy and management.

View detailed information in the Handbook Government, Public Policy and Management

Breadth Track Greening Urban Landscapes
This breadth track introduces students to a range of issues associated with greening urban landscapes and helps develop knowledge and skills for selecting and managing plants for urban landscapes.

View detailed information in the Handbook Greening Urban Landscapes

Breadth Track Human Genetics
This breadth track provide a background in genetics sufficient to appreciate the significance of recent advances in human genetics research.

View detailed information in the Handbook Human Genetics

Breadth Track Introduction to Construction
This breadth track provides an introduction to the construction industry at a residential level covering basic structures, materials, construction methods and management of the construction process.

View detailed information in the Handbook Introduction to Construction

Breadth Track Knowing and Learning
Explore the nature of knowledge and how we learn.

View detailed information in the Handbook Knowing and Learning

Breadth Track Landscape Architecture
This breadth track provides students with an introduction to the Landscape architecture design.

View detailed information in the Handbook Landscape Architecture

Breadth Track Law - Business and Taxation Law
This breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in commercial and taxation law.

View detailed information in the Handbook Law - Business and Taxation Law

Breadth Track Law - Business Law
This breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in commercial, competition, and consumer law.

View detailed information in the Handbook Law - Business Law

Breadth Track Law - Media and Intellectual Property Law
This breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in media and intellectual property law.

View detailed information in the Handbook Law - Media and Intellectual Property Law

Breadth Track Leading Community Sport and Recreation
This track examines the educational significance of sport and physical activity, and provides students with the knowledge and skills required to lead physical activity in their community.

View detailed information in the Handbook Leading Community Sport and Recreation

Breadth Track Living in Australia's Hazardous Ecosystems
Living in Australia's Hazardous Ecosystems looks at the systems that shape the natural world, including the evolution of the planet Earth, our climate and global weather and the formation and processes of our present landscapes and associated ecosystems. Students will gain an understanding of the increasing trend to urbanisation and larger cities as a contributor to the rising toll of disaster losses globally.

View detailed information in the Handbook Living in Australia's Hazardous Ecosystems

Breadth Track Living with Animals
Investigates human-animal relationships interactions, where they originated, domestication, and where they are now, examining in detail key relationships between humans and animals.

View detailed information in the Handbook Living with Animals

Breadth Track Making Movies
This breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in film making, exploring the practicalities behind film and television writing and production.

View detailed information in the Handbook Making Movies

Breadth Track Management & Leadership in Today's Global Economy
This breadth track builds an understanding of the dynamics of business in today's globalised world.

View detailed information in the Handbook Management & Leadership in Today's Global Economy

Breadth Track Managing Change
This breadth track helps you to address one of the most important perennial challenges in business.

View detailed information in the Handbook Managing Change

Breadth Track Managing People
This breadth track helps develop an understanding of effective people management, one of the most valuable assets of the successful manager.

View detailed information in the Handbook Managing People

Breadth Track Marine Life
This breadth track provides an introduction to marine organisms and their environment, and the methodologies and techniques used by scientists to explore the undersea realm.

View detailed information in the Handbook Marine Life

Breadth Track Marketing Communications and Branding
This breadth track examines how desirable brands are an important corporate asset and being able to communicate effectively with your customers is a major determinant of business success.

View detailed information in the Handbook Marketing Communications and Branding

Breadth Track Marketing Strategy
This breadth track builds knowledge and skills that enable you to develop effective marketing strategies in a globalized world.

View detailed information in the Handbook Marketing Strategy

Breadth Track Mathematics and Statistics
This breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in mathematics and statistics. It commences with the standard first year package for students with VCE Specialist mathematics or equivalent and progresses to a choice of Level 2 subjects to introduce students to the fields of pure mathematics, applied mathematics or probability.

View detailed information in the Handbook Mathematics and Statistics

Breadth Track Mathematics for Economics
This track progressively develops knowledge and skills in mathematics for economics and satisfies the quantitative requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce.

View detailed information in the Handbook Mathematics for Economics

Breadth Track Mechanical Engineering
This breadth track provides students with an introduction to the foundations of Mechanical Engineering.

View detailed information in the Handbook Mechanical Engineering

Breadth Track Microbiology and immunology
This breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in microbiology and immunology.

View detailed information in the Handbook Microbiology and immunology

Breadth Track Music, Mind and Wellbeing
This breadth track explores issues related to music, mind and wellbeing, including development of musical skills at different life stages, the relationship between music and the brain, as well as music and the body and examination of psychological, sociological and scientific research related to performing and creating music.

View detailed information in the Handbook Music, Mind and Wellbeing

Breadth Track Music Outside the Western Tradition
This breadth track explores music of non-Western cultures and societies and the people and social processes involved in music-making.

View detailed information in the Handbook Music Outside the Western Tradition

Breadth Track Music Theatre: A Practice Led Study
This breadth track includes practice led critical studies in music theatre, giving students an opportunity to learn by doing, whilst developing critical thinking and listening skills. In each subject, practical, group singing tutorials are complemented by an engaging lecture series to give students an understanding of what they are embodying when performing some of the most significant and well-known material from the music theatre canon.

View detailed information in the Handbook Music Theatre: A Practice Led Study

Breadth Track Natural systems and our designed world
This breadth track explores the relationship of our cities and towns and the natural environment which underpins our society.

View detailed information in the Handbook Natural systems and our designed world

Breadth Track Non-Western Music Performance
This breadth track progressively develops knowledge and skills in non-western music performance, culture and social contexts from around the world.

View detailed information in the Handbook Non-Western Music Performance

Breadth Track People and Environment
This breadth track introduces students to different ways of thinking about human-environment relationships and provides frameworks relevant to considering human dimensions of environmental policy and management.

View detailed information in the Handbook People and Environment

Breadth Track Popular Music
This breadth track explores the history, culture and social context of music across a range of popular music styles.

View detailed information in the Handbook Popular Music

Breadth Track Positive individuals, organisations and communities
This breadth track explores issues related to positive psychology, with a focus on the relationship between well-being, pro-social behaviour and peak performance at the individual, group and community levels.

View detailed information in the Handbook Positive individuals, organisations and communities

Breadth Track Printmaking, Screen-printing and Animation
This Breadth track introduces students to printmaking, screen-printing and animation as art making mediums. Learn technical process and image making skills to develop your own art works.

View detailed information in the Handbook Printmaking, Screen-printing and Animation

Breadth Track Product Management
This breadth track builds knowledge and skills to assist you in getting the most out of your products and services.

View detailed information in the Handbook Product Management

Breadth Track Quantitative Methods in Economics
This breadth track explores how to make sense of the information society and use our data-rich environment to improve decision-making.

View detailed information in the Handbook Quantitative Methods in Economics

Breadth Track Studies in Music Composition and Music Language
This breadth track develops theoretical knowledge and applied skills in music language and compositional craft.

View detailed information in the Handbook Studies in Music Composition and Music Language

Breadth Track Studies in Western Music
This breadth track introduces students to fundamental musical concepts including rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, texture, dynamics and form, and explores the history, culture and social context of western music from the middle ages to the 21st century.

View detailed information in the Handbook Studies in Western Music

Breadth Track The Mind of the Consumer
This breadth track develops exciting and useful insights into why consumers behave the way they do.

View detailed information in the Handbook The Mind of the Consumer

Breadth Track The Socially Responsible Firm
This breadth track builds understanding of the economic and social importance of corporate social responsibility.

View detailed information in the Handbook The Socially Responsible Firm

Breadth Track Understanding Disasters, Their Management and Planning
Introduces students to the major challenges currently facing humanity, their causes, potential impacts and strategies for mitigating or overcoming the risks they pose.

View detailed information in the Handbook Understanding Disasters, Their Management and Planning

Breadth Track Urban Design and Planning
This breadth track gives students a comprehensive foundation in urban design and planning, which focuses on the intersections between architecture, landscape architecture, planning and geography.

View detailed information in the Handbook Urban Design and Planning

Breadth Track Wine and Food
Explores the interaction between food and wine including the practice of drinking wine and matching food, and also raises some of the issues on the associated social, economic and health impacts on society.

View detailed information in the Handbook Wine and Food

Breadth Track Your Money or Your Life
This breadth track is for those seeking to understand and prepare for the coming crises in the retirement saving of an ageing population.

View detailed information in the Handbook Your Money or Your Life

Breadth Track Youth, Citizenship and Identity
This breadth track explores issues of youth, citizenship and identity in education.

View detailed information in the Handbook Youth, Citizenship and Identity

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Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

1in Australia for Arts and Humanities

19in the world

Course structure

Course structure

Overview

Majors (focus your undergraduate degree)

Course structure

First year

Second year

Third year

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Major Ancient World Studies

Major Anthropology

Major Arabic Studies

Major Art History

Major Asian Studies

Major Chinese Studies

Major Classics (Ancient Greek and Latin)

Major Creative Writing

Major Criminology

Major Economics

Major English and Theatre Studies

Major French Studies

Major Gender Studies

Major Geography

Major German Studies

Major Hebrew and Jewish Studies

Major History

Major History and Philosophy of Science

Major Indigenous Studies

Major Indonesian Studies

Major Islamic Studies

Major Italian Studies

Major Japanese Studies

Major Korean Studies

Major Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

Major Media and Communications

Major Philosophy

Major Politics and International Studies

Major Psychology

Major Russian Studies

Major Screen and Cultural Studies

Major Sociology

Major Spanish and Latin American Studies

Minor Ancient World Studies minor

Minor Anthropology minor

Minor Arabic Studies minor

Minor Art History minor

Minor Asian Studies minor

Minor Chinese Societies minor

Minor Chinese Studies minor

Minor Classics (Ancient Greek and Latin) minor

Minor Creative Writing minor

Minor Criminology minor

Minor Development Studies minor

Minor Digital Studies minor

Minor Economics minor

Minor English Language Studies minor

Minor English and Theatre Studies minor

Minor Environmental Studies minor

Minor European Studies minor

Minor French Studies minor

Minor Gender Studies minor

Minor Geography minor

Minor German Studies minor

Minor Hebrew and Jewish Studies minor

Minor History and Philosophy of Science minor

Minor History minor

Minor Indigenous Studies minor

Minor Indonesian Studies minor

Minor Islamic Studies minor

Minor Italian Studies minor

Minor Japanese Societies minor

Minor Japanese Studies minor

Minor Korean Studies minor

Minor Law and Justice minor

Minor Linguistics and Applied Linguistics minor