Undergraduate - CourseBachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Visual Arts

The Bachelor of Arts is a general, flexible degree which allows students to match academic interests with career aspirations to create a personalised course progression.

Monash Arts students learn about the diverse world in which we live, and how we might live in the future. They are encouraged to think about cultural, linguistic and geographical difference and to ask how and why these variations have occurred over time. Studying Arts encourages students to take an innovative approach in tackling world issues and fosters a global perspective. Arts students think about how communication works, how people make themselves understood to others, and how they make meaning through artistic expression. Arts students have the ability to assess evidence, and the research skills to acquire information. They use these skills to find out why we are the way we are.

To do this, they need to think critically and creatively. Arts students are self-reliant researchers, seeking out a variety of resources in order to answer complicated questions. They are expert communicators who can convey complex ideas in speech and writing. They resist easy answers, or simplistic solutions.

Arts students strive to develop an ethical and intellectual framework within which they can understand what it means to be human, and how this changes over time.

Visual arts studies offered by the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture in the studio practice and theory areas are chosen from visual practices, or art history and theory.

These course outcomes are aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework level 7, the Bologna Cycle 1 and Monash Graduate AttributesAustralian Qualifications Framework level 7, the Bologna Cycle 1 and Monash Graduate Attributes (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/alignmentofoutcomes.html).

Upon successful completion of the arts component of this course it is expected that graduates will be able to:

• critically analyse, apply and communicate an advanced level of understanding of the content, methods of investigation and theoretical frameworks that constitute the knowledge base of at least one discipline, and utilise the research skills gained from exposure to several disciplines
• demonstrate the critical ability to analyse truth claims and evidence, and utilise training and judgement to adapt skills and knowledge in different contexts
• engage responsibly in scholarship or professional practice cooperatively with others, demonstrating a capacity to accommodate the world view of others and achieve agreed outcomes through the use of highly developed oral and written communication skills
• devise time management practices to manage competing demands, engage in professional development and demonstrate a commitment to life-long learning
• utilise the knowledge base and methodologies of the disciplines studied in order to find innovative solutions and provide authoritative advice, in a range of contexts and in a manner appropriate to the audience.

Upon successful completion of the visual arts component of this course it is expected that graduates will be able to:

• identify and evaluate relevant research concepts in relation to aesthetics, history, theory and cultural issues in the relevant discipline
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the disciplines of the visual and media arts in order to undertake sustained independent studio practice at a professional level
• critically assess contemporary discourse on visual and media arts, speculative design theory and research both locally and internationally
• evolve their own aims, interests and vision, to be expressed through their studio work within the discipline of visual and media arts with a high level of personal autonomy
• interpret, represent and respond to the aesthetic, theoretical, historical and cultural contexts of visual and media arts practice.

This course consists of 96 points in the arts component and 96 points in the visual arts component.

Arts component

Students must complete:

(a.) an arts major (48 points)

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

(c.) additional arts elective units to make up a total of 96 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 ArtsFaculty of Arts (http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/contact-arts/).

Arts elective units can be identified using the browse units toolbrowse units tool (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/search) and indexes of arts unitsindexes of arts units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/index-byfaculty-arts.html) in the current edition of the Handbook. The level of the unit is indicated by the first number in the unit code; undergraduate units are those that commence with the code ATS and numbers 1-3.

Visual arts component

All units are six points unless otherwise indicated.

Students must complete:

(a.) five core first-year art and design units (36 points):

• AHT1101 Introduction to visual language in art design and architecture
• AHT1102 Modernism and the avant-gardes
• OHS1000 Introduction to art and design health and safety (0 points)
• VPR1001 Visual practices 1 (12 points)
• VPR1002 Visual practices 2 (12 points)

(b.) two art history and theory units (12 points):

• AHT2102 International art 1945-2000
• one other 6-point second-year art history and theory unit

(c.) units in a major studio at second and third-year levels chosen as outlined in one of the streams below (48 points)

Major studio streams

Students must complete one of the following streams. Note: those units with an asterisk (*) will already have been completed as part of the core elements of this course.

Visual practices

• VPR1001 Visual practices 1 (12 points)*
• VPR1002 Visual practices 2 (12 points)*
• VPR2001 Visual practices 3 (12 points)
• VPR2002 Visual practices 4 (12 points)
• VPR3001 Visual practices 5 (12 points)
• VPR3002 Visual practices 6 (12 points)

Art history and theory

• AHT1101 Introduction to visual language in art design and architecture*
• AHT1102 Modernism and the avant-gardes*
• AHT2102 International art 1945-2000*
• an additional 36 credit points of art history and theory units (units with a prefix of AHT) taken from either second or third-year
• 12 credit points of complementary studio units offered by the Department of Fine Art

Relevant units can be identified using the browse units toolbrowse units tool (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/search) in the current edition of the Handbook and the:

• index of units by code - Aindex of units by code - A (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/index-bycode-a.html) for art history and theory units
• index of units offered by the Department of Fine Artindex of units offered by the Department of Fine Art (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/index-byou-department-of-fine-art.html).

The level of the unit is indicated by the first number in the unit code; undergraduate units are those that commence with the numbers 1-3.

Arts majors and minors

For the specific requirements of arts majors and minors and information on other arts units refer to the Areas of studyAreas of study (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/aos/index-byfaculty-arts.html) section in this Handbook.

Students cannot graduate from either single degree until they have satisfied the requirements for that award and successfully completed studies to the value of 144 points in the relevant component.

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Visual Arts