Students who perform well during their Bachelor of Arts or equivalent program, with a GPA of 5.0 or greater, may apply to undertake a further year of full-time (or part-time equivalent) study to obtain an Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree.

The BA (Honours) is taught in a flexible format featuring disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning and research. All students complete a common core course, and compulsory courses offered by the discipline or cluster most appropriate to each student's area of specialisation.

For the thesis component, students choose from one of the following:

• a written research thesis, or
• a creative and/or digital project with accompanying written exegesis, or
• a work placement program with a written account and analysis.

Total units required

80 units

Program duration

1 year full-time or part-time equivalent up to 4 years maximum.

International students studying this program on campus are required to enrol full time to comply with their student visa requirements and complete their study in the standard minimum program duration. International students requiring enrolment advice should review the program plan corresponding to the semester and year of commencement and can contact their Program Advisor at ProgramAdvice@newcastle.edu.au

Program requirements

This program requires the successful completion of 80 units as follows:

• 20 unit Core course – HASS4000, and
• 60 units of Compulsory courses from one discipline area

Students undertake the Honours program from one of the following discipline areas:

• Ancient History
• Chinese
• Creative and Performing Arts
• English and Writing
• French Studies
• German
• History
• Global Indigenous Studies
• Japanese
• Linguistics
• Politics and International Relations
• Screen and Cultural Studies
• Sociology and Anthropology

Students who wish to complete the Honours program in two discipline areas should apply to the Program Convenor.

Program learning outcomes:

On successful completion of the program students will have:

• Coherent and advanced knowledge of the underlying principles and concepts in one or more disciplines and knowledge of research principles and methods
• Cognitive skills to review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge to identify and provide solutions to complex problems with intellectual independence
• Cognitive and technical skills to demonstrate a broad understanding of a body of knowledge and theoretical concepts with advanced understanding in some areas
• Cognitive skills to exercise critical thinking and judgement in developing new understanding
• Technical skills to design and use research in a project
• Communication skills to present a clear and coherent exposition of knowledge and ideas to a variety of audiences
• Demonstrated the application of knowledge and skills with initiative and judgement in professional practice and/or scholarships
• Demonstrated the application of knowledge and skills to adapt knowledge and skills in diverse contexts
• Demonstrated the application of knowledge and skills with responsibility and accountability for own learning and practice in collaboration with others within broad parameters
• Demonstrated the application of knowledge and skills to plan and execute project work and/or a piece of research and scholarship with some independence
• Knowledge: the advanced capacity to research, analyse, and apply knowledge from disciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives within the Bachelor of Arts Honours
• Critical thinking and research skills: the advanced ability to identify high-quality information and critically analyse it as a user, researcher and producer, with a focus on well-reasoned argumentation
• Communication: The advanced capacity to communicate effectively across written, oral, visual, and digital forms
• Intercultural competence: the advanced ability to engage with a range of diverse perspectives from which knowledge, beliefs, and values are developed and maintained from the local to the regional and global levels
• Work readiness: an advanced capacity to engage in teamwork, initiative, problem solving, ethical decision-making, and project management

Admission to our undergraduate degree programs usually requires successful completion of a senior secondary school qualification similar to the Higher School Certificate (HSC).

TOEFL paper-based test score of 500;

TOEFL internet-based score of 60;

IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0;

PTE GSE score of 50;

Cambridge English: Advanced score of 52.