Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Course

Studying humanities develops general knowledge and specific intellectual skills relating to human thought and relations, such as the way we communicate or how the past has affected the present. Social science analyses and explains societies and the relationships of individuals within those societies.

Students selected as deans scholars in arts will be eligible to choose the campus at which they wish to undertake their Bachelor of Arts program. The Deans Scholars Program applies only to the Bachelor of Arts. Specialised degrees, double degrees or double awards are not included in the program.

Participants in this program receive a scholarship which is renewable for each year of the course, subject to satisfactory academic performance (normally a distinction grade average).

The faculty offers students in the deans scholars in arts the opportunity to plan, in consultation with an adviser, personalised courses that differ in academic merit and scope from the normal Bachelor of Arts degree program.

Graduates are expected to:

• develop the intellectual capabilities inherent in the interpretation of sources of knowledge
• develop the capacity for quantitative and qualitative analysis, critique and creative thinking in various humanities, arts and social science disciplines
• develop an understanding of the present interpretations and potential future developments in the issues underlying the content of and approaches to the disciplines they study
• become aware of the combination of personal and cultural understandings, ethical attitudes, and (where appropriate) the physical and aesthetic appreciations that underpin the traditional liberal arts education provided by the faculty
• develop the skills of written and oral presentation, argument and analysis, including other practical skills such as computer skills, as are appropriate to the disciplines they study
• demonstrate the capacity to apply these studies in the changing circumstances of intellectual life and of the profession they are likely to inhabit
• have an understanding of international trends and of the intellectual context of economic, technological and social change
• develop the skills and attitudes required to undertake life-long learning.

Course progression requirements

The performance of deans scholars in arts will be evaluated at the end of each year. Students are expected to continue achieving at the same high level at which they entered the program (normally distinction level). Students who are unable to maintain the required level of performance in each year may forfeit their Deans Scholars Award.

This course consists of a compulsory arts major and arts minor, with additional studies chosen from a variety of arts disciplines.

Areas of study

For information on majors and minors, refer to the 'Areas of study' section in this Handbook at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2011handbooks/aos/index-ug-byfaculty-arts.html.

Students complete:

(a.) an arts major (48 points)

(b.) an arts minor in a different area of study (24 points)

(c.) a first-year arts sequence in a third area of study (12 points)

(d.) another 12 points of arts at first, second or third-year level

(e.) additional units to make up a total of 144 points.

By combining some of the core arts requirements, students can complete a double major in two different arts disciplines. For more details on this option, contact the Faculty of Arts.

No more than 10 units (60 points) are to be completed at a first-year level.

Students must complete a minimum of 36 points at third-year level (across the duration of the degree).

Of the 144 points, 96 points must be in the structure outlined in steps (a.) to (d), and the remaining 48 points may be taken from disciplines in the Faculty of Arts or from disciplines outside the faculty. This means students can study a second major from the Arts faculty*, or a major (equivalent) from another faculty. A major from a faculty other than Arts usually requires the permission of that faculty.

* Including psychology units.

Bachelor of Arts