Introduction - Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts at Monash University is one of the largest, most diverse and dynamic arts faculties in Australia. We deliver arts programs across four campuses: Caulfield, Clayton, Malaysia and South Africa. Our courses are increasingly available via off-campus learning over the internet. We also offer intensive units at our Monash Prato Centre in Italy that students can take as part of their degree.

Our offerings include a broad range of humanities, languages and social sciences, from history to human rights, Japanese to journalism and philosophy to politics. Courses offered range from undergraduate diplomas and degrees, through to postgraduate coursework and research degrees. Monash Arts is justly proud of the research capacity of its staff. Our lecturers are working at the cutting edge of scholarship in their fields, and they carry their expertise and their enthusiasm into their teaching.

The Faculty of Arts is composed of schools as well as a number of centres, including:

  • Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation
  • Centre for Geography and Environmental Science
  • Centre for Theatre and Performance
  • Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics
  • Media, Film and Journalism
  • Monash Asia Institute
  • Monash European and EU Centre
  • Monash Indigenous Centre
  • Philosophical, Historical and International Studies
  • School of Arts and Social Sciences (Malaysia)
  • School of Social Science (South Africa)
  • Social Sciences
  • Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music.

Visit the faculty website for more information about arts at Monash.

Units

From 2011 all postgraduate arts units moved to the APG generic prefix coding. Prior to this, Arts units had individual prefix codes to identify individual Arts disciplines. For further information and a translation table consult the faculty's Unit code conversion utility.

Faculty structure and contacts

The chief officers of the faculty are the dean and the faculty manager. The dean is a professor of the faculty and presides over meetings of the faculty, the faculty board and its committees, and is especially concerned with staffing and finance. In addition, the faculty has four associate deans whose areas of responsibility include education, graduate research, research and international affairs.

The faculty manager is responsible for the administration of the faculty, including superintendence over student administration and services, and provision of advice on policy and planning matters.

Students wishing to bring any relevant matters to the attention of the student members of the faculty board should feel free to do so. The student members can be contacted via the office of the faculty manager, Faculty of Arts, first floor, Menzies building, Clayton campus.

Research and coursework areas

The Faculty of Arts has divided its administration of courses into two main areas: the Arts Research Graduate School and the Arts Coursework Office. The course information section is divided into the same two sections: research and coursework.

Where to get help and advice in the faculty

Throughout their university course, students are strongly encouraged to seek advice regarding any problems they experience with studies or workload with their tutors and lecturers, or their supervisor. The faculty also has experienced course advisers who can assist students with administrative inquiries or direct them to the correct service for academic difficulties. Refer to the faculty website for details on how to make an appointment with a faculty course adviser, or follow the link in your my.monash portal.  Students are also strongly encouraged to observe the relevant course requirements listed in this handbook to avoid getting into course-related difficulties, which can result in a delay in completing their course.

Academic and Professional Writing

The faculty provides services and resources to those who want to improve their academic learning skills, including the quality of their academic English and approaches to study, at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Assistance is offered in such areas as oral communication and presentation, reading, study and exam preparation, effective listening and note-taking in lectures and seminars, analysis, problem-solving and critical thinking, and academic essay, report and thesis writing.

Contact: Caulfield +61 3 9903 1196; Clayton +61 3 9905 5069; or visit the Academic and professional writing website.

Support services

In addition to faculty services, the University offers a wide variety of support services for students. For a comprehensive list of these services visit the Student life and support services website.