BACHELOR OF ARTS

Why study Arts?

Flexibility, literateness, independence and being well-informed are the necessary qualities that are highly valued in the contemporary workforce. It is to the aim of producing well-rounded, holistic individuals with transferable skills that the Bachelor of Arts endeavours. The degree equips students with many skills including: communication skills (oral, written, visual), research and critical analysis, teamwork and interpersonal skills, management skills, and creative skills. These abilities are highly regarded by both private and public sector employers.

The course

There are four majors offered in the Bachelor of Arts with Monash University Sunway campus: Communications, Writing, International Studies, and Psychology. Underlying all four are the theoretical and practical aspects related to their respective specialisation. Monash is committed not only to prepare students for employability, but to give them enough grounding in the latest, cutting-edge theoretical and cultural concepts to ensure that students who may, at any time wish to return to their studies, will be confident enough to do so.

Communications – the communications major involves critical approaches to media and communication theories such as popular culture, theories of subjectivity, audience studies, communication and mass-media
studies, policy studies, constitutional matters with regards to the media, and discourse theories. Key questions like “what is mass media?” or “mass audiences?”, “what is popular culture?”, “how have/will these
entities change(d) over time?”, and “how are subjectivities constructed, shaped and transformed by their culture and society?” underpin this major.

Writing – the units for this major are designed to help students appreciate the aesthetics and practicality of writing. Apart from developing the critical skills necessary for journalism and writing, students are also
exposed to various theories of writing such as concepts of authorship, semiotics and poststructuralist approaches to language, and an appreciation for literature. In this major, students will learn to write confidently and expressively, as well as be encouraged to perform close reading of fictive and non-fictive
texts in order to elicit its unconscious meanings and subtle nuances.

International Studies – this major introduces the contemporary world – both global and regional – to students through a series of subjects which have strong affinities with political science, history, and sociology. Students will learn key issues in globalisation, inter-ethnic and international relations,
postcolonial subjectivity, hybridity, the diasporic experience and the issues of liminal people such as migrants and refugees. Designed to help students become a more vital and viable force in an increasingly
complex, interconnected world, this major encourages a critical and ethical attitude towards contemporary national and global issues.

Psychology – Psychology is concerned with a wide range of phenomena including remembering and forgetting, thinking, problem-solving, learning, the acquisition of skills, language, seeing and hearing, decision-making, verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and emotions. It is also concerned with the practical and ethical applications of psychological research to the profession.
While the major focus is on people, animals are also studied because of the light they throw on human behaviour and because they are of interest in their own right. Monash undergraduate psychology embraces all of these topics at each of its campuses.
The three-year undergraduate major in psychology taught by the school is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). The school offers a common curriculum across all campuses.

Career outcomes

Graduates with a degree in Arts find employment in a vast array of disciplines including journalism, television and radio work, copy-editing, customer service, human resource management, social work and others.

Below is merely a brief list of employment outcomes for Arts graduates:
Advertising
Administration
Broadcasting
Community affairs and humanitarian work
Corporate communication
Consultancy
Counselling
Education
Editing and publishing
Events management
Government services and NGOs
Human resource management
Journalism
Marketing and publicity
Radio and television-related work
Researcher
Public relations
Writing (in various forms)