Bachelor of Performing Arts

• General information
• Objectives of the Bachelor of Performing Arts
• Structure of the Bachelor of Performing Arts

General information

Course code: 1144
Coordinator: Associate Professor Peter Fitzpatrick

Objectives of the Bachelor of Performing Arts

At the completion of the Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPA) degree, graduates should (i) have acquired a practical theoretical, critical, historical and contextual knowledge and understanding of and across the performing, visual and/or literary arts; (ii) have completed interdisciplinary courses resulting in performances or exhibitions requiring cooperative contributions from students in various art forms; (iii) be able to demonstrate a balance of critical, practical, theoretical, historical and contextual knowledge in at least two of the following fields: drama, music, dance, visual arts, film and television, and creative writing; (iv) be able to demonstrate academic skills leading to postgraduate study and research into the arts; (v) be able to contribute to the community through well-developed skills in problem-solving and skills in communication; (vi) have acquired a general education in and across the arts suitable for employment in fields which prefer a broadly based degree as a basis for on-the-job training.
Students who complete the BPA degree are expected to develop:

• the ability to communicate effectively about the performing arts through both verbal and written skills;
• a fundamental understanding of selected genres of performing arts within the Western tradition, especially as found within the areas of music, drama, dance, creative writing, visual and studio arts, and film and television;
• a fundamental understanding of selected historical eras of the performing arts within the Western tradition, especially as found within the areas of music, drama, dance, creative writing, visual and studio arts, and film and television;
• an initial understanding of selected performing arts genres from Asian countries, especially as found within the areas of music, drama, dance, dance-drama, creative writing, visual and studio arts, film and television, and puppetry, with due regard for the historical, economic, and sociocultural factors that impinge upon a particular performance and influence its reception and the values placed upon it by both performer and audience;
• generic capabilities with respect to the performing arts, including the ability to communicate effectively, the ability to analyse the performing arts into their various components with the view to increasing one's ability to communicate effectively about the performing arts, and the ability to think independently about various issues associated with the performing arts and the promotion of performing arts activities in the community;
• a basic understanding or ability to place any particular performance of any Western genre within its cultural context, with due regard to the historical, economic, and sociocultural factors that impinge upon the performance and contribute to the generation of performance phenomena being communicated from the performers to an audience, and also with respect to the values placed by the audience upon the performance being communicated;
• an awareness of the desirability of being able to make critical aesthetic judgements about a particular performance with respect to aesthetic values held by the society and/or culture that may be identified as the tradition within which the performance is normally presented;
• the capability of being self-critical.

Structure of the Bachelor of Performing Arts

The BPA degree is available on the Clayton campus for students who wish to prepare themselves for careers in the performing arts and related areas. The BPA allows students to undertake a major sequence of studies in a principal art form, as well as a minor sequence of studies in a different art form, or, with special approval, in a discipline taught by another department or faculty. Students may, if they wish, also complete a first-year sequence in another art form.
Major and minor sequences are available in music, drama, and film and television studies. A minor sequence in dance and visual arts is possible.
To qualify for the BPA students must also complete sequences in interdisciplinary studies (involving participation in a multimedia performance project) and in the history, nature and analysis of the arts.

Bachelor of Performing Arts/Bachelor of Laws

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