On completion of their course, students are expected to have developed:
Applicants should possess the Victorian Certificate of Education (or equivalent) including English, or the first year of a TAFE associate Diploma or Advanced Certificate, or previous tertiary level study. Mature-age applicants are required to undertake the Special Tertiary Admissions Test if they do not otherwise meet tertiary entrance requirements. All applicants should be willing to undertake a normal work load of forty-eight points a year full-time or twenty-four to thirty-two points a year part-time or by distance education. Part-time and distance education students should note that this may have implications regarding eligibility for Austudy or similar schemes.
The various components leading to the awarding of the degree are defined in terms of disciplines, interdisciplinary programs, subjects and sequences. A discipline is a distinct area of study in which a major can be taken. An interdisciplinary program is a distinct area of study comprising subjects from more than one discipline. A subject is a prescribed amount of work extending over a semester at a certain-year level within a discipline or interdisciplinary program.
The disciplines from which students may select subjects for inclusion in an arts degree are not confined to those taught by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Students who are interested in taking subjects from outside the school should discuss this option with the administrative officers at the outset of their studies. In most disciplines there is more than one subject at a given level. A student must spread first-year work over at least four disciplines, three of which must be offered by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The value of a subject is expressed in points and a normal year's work for a full-time student is forty-eight points.
Students must complete a major sequence in journalism, a minor sequence in mass communications and an arts minor sequence. Students should be aware that they may include subjects from other disciplines for credit towards the Bachelor of Arts (Journalism). Currently these subjects include GSC1301 (Welfare issues), GSC1306 (Behavioural studies A), GSC1611 (Understanding university learning), GSC1601 (Basic statistics and computing for social sciences), GSC1801 (Introduction to Koorie society).
A first-year sequence is a pair of first-level subjects which form the first part of a major or minor sequence.
A minor sequence requires the completion of twenty-eight to thirty-two points of study and will normally comprise a first-level sequence followed by two second-level subjects, or two second-level subjects followed by two third-level subjects.
The journalism sequence requires the completion of sixty-six points, comprising three first-level subjects (eighteen points), four second-level subjects (thirty-two points) and two third-level subjects (sixteen points).
All upper-level subjects require prerequisites.
A candidate for the degree must fulfil the following requirements to receive the award of the Bachelor of Arts (Journalism):
(a) complete a total at least 144 but not more than 162 points;
(b) complete a minimum of eight and a maximum of ten first-level subjects, including the prescribed humanities and social sciences sequences;
(c) complete the prescribed journalism sequence (sixty-six points), a compulsory minor sequence in mass communications (thirty-two points) and an arts minor (twenty-eight to thirty-two points);
(d) undertake additional subjects to complete the minimum 144 points needed for the degree.
The arts minor may be chosen from Australian studies, community studies, gender studies, history-politics, Indonesian, photography (with permission only) or sociology (details are provided under discipline headings).
The course of study is normally a minimum of three years full-time or five years part-time, and normally cannot extend beyond eight years.