Bachelor Of Arts (Community & Environment)

Note: Students undertaking the BA at Batemans Bay, Bega, Moss Vale or Shoalhaven must complete a major in Community and Environment

Overview

The BA (Community and Environment) is an interdisciplinary degree constructed from a range of subjects offered by the Faculties of Arts, Commerce and Education.  These subjects are offered by a range of delivery modes including videoconference lectures and seminars, web-based audio lectures and study modules, face-to-face classes in Shoalhaven, Batemans Bay, Bega and Moss Vale, and online classes taught in combination with classes at the Wollongong campus.
Students gain a broad general education with an emphasis on gaining transferable skills in written and oral communication. While the traditional humanities and social sciences skills of: reading for comprehension, writing essays and making convincing presentations etc. are central, so are the related skills of: report and submission writing, understanding the use of statistics in arguments, and using new technologies to find and present information.

Students are able to study progressions of subjects, often Australian in content, in the areas of environment, social and public policy, cultural heritage (including Aboriginal studies, history and literature), and communication studies.

Advanced Standing

Information about Approved Credit Transfer Arrangements is available at www.uow.edu.au/handbook/generalcourserules/UOW028672.html

Course Requirements

The Bachelor of Arts (Community and Environment) is made up of 144 credit points of subjects listed in the course structures for the Faculty of Arts and the General Schedule.   The degree requires students to complete the 54 credit point major in Community and Environment as set out below.  The remainder of the credit points in the degree can be made up of subjects from the Course Structures of the Faculty of Arts or the General Schedule.  Students who wish to do so may complete another major or minor study as well as Community and Environment, but this normally means that they commute to Wollongong for some subjects.

For a list of other major and minor studies available, please see the Bachelor of Arts (Course Code 702).  In their first two semesters of study, students must undertake at least 12 credit points in subjects taught by member units of the Faculty of Arts. Students may count no more than 60 credit points of 100-level subjects in the degree.  Students should refer to the Award Rules for the Bachelor of Arts for further details.  Major studies completed are noted on the student's testamur awarded at Graduation.

Assessment

Assessment in this course varies between subjects, but typically includes a combination of essays, tutorial/seminar presentations and in-class tests and/or exams.  Some subjects may have an additional practical component.  The assessment requirements of each subject are set out in the individual subject outlines which students receive in the first week of session.

Honours

A Community and Environment Honours year is available at our South Coast and Southern Highlands campuses.  The end-on Honours year will be made up of coursework and a supervised thesis.

To be eligible to study honours, students must have completed a major in Community and Environment with an average of at least 70% across the major, and with the additional requirement of a Distinction in two subjects at 300-level in the major. The Faculty of Arts Honours Handbook can be accessed as a PDF document.

See also Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Community and Environment

Why does Australia Day mean different things to different people?  What part is played by the media, government, the community, scientists and industries in dealing with the environment? How and why does social policy change over time? How can we find out what other people think about cultural issues?  What role does history play in helping us to understand present day social change?  As a student in the Bachelor of Arts (Community and Environment) you will explore these questions. You will also engage with a wide variety of information and communication technologies and will learn to use web-based discussion boards, e-library facilities, videoconferencing technology, audio-streamed lectures and electronic assignment submission methods.  Employers are looking for graduates with these skills.

Major Study

The Community and Environment major is made up of 54 credit points, consisting of one core subject, ARTS112 and 48 credit points of humanities and social science elective subjects which must be taken from the list below. Of the 48 credit points, at least 16 credit points must be taken at 200-level and at least 24 credit points must be taken at 300-level. The remainder of the degree consists of electives chosen from Arts or from the subjects offered from the other degrees offered at the South Coast and Southern Highlands campuses or from the General Schedule.

Note:  For Students planning to proceed to the Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary) or Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary), in order to be eligible for entry into the Graduate Diploma in Education program they will need a good average mark (currently around 70), and must complete the requirements of their degree. The Department of Education and Training also requires a certain pattern of study which is different for primary and secondary teachers.  Students need to plan this into their degree.

The Faculty of Education can advise students on a course of study which satisfies the requirements of the Department of Education and Training (DET) for Primary or Secondary teaching. 

Students intending to be Primary teachers may need to incorporate into their BA degree the two Education subjects EDUF111 and EDUF212 or two Psychology subjects. Please check with the Faculty of Education (EDUF subjects) or Health and Behavioural Sciences (PSYC subjects) or check the web Undergraduate Course Handbook for the availability of these subjects at locations outside Wollongong .

Honours

See Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Study Program