Bachelor of Arts (Languages)

There's considerable freedom of choice in what to study in a Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree, but there are a few requirements that you will have to follow. These requirements are listed here and explained in detail below.

So let's go through what each of these requirements means in turn:

Requirement 1
Requirement 2
Requirement 1
Requirement 2
Requirement 1
Requirement 2
Requirement 1
Optional Honours requirement

What are credit points?

• Students doing a Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree are able to choose to study in many different 'subject areas', for example, History, English and, of course, a wide range of languages offered by the Faculty of Arts.
• A semester-length component in a particular subject area is called a 'unit of study'.
• Each unit of study is worth a certain number of credit points. From 2006, most units of study at the University of Sydney will be worth 6 credit points each.

How do I get 192 credit points?

• Most people studying full tie take 4 years to complete a Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree.
• Full-time students usually earn their 192 credit points by taking units of study worth a total of 48 credit points per year (usually 24 credit points per semester) over the four years of their degree, that is:

48 credit points X 4 years = 192 credit points!

What are 'junior' credit points?

• You start your degree by taking 'junior' units of study. They form a foundation for more advanced 'senior' units of study.
• Junior units are sometimes called 1000 level units because their study codes all have the form 1XXX, e.g. CHNS1101, SCLG1001 etc.

How would I get my junior credit points?

• Most full-time students take units of study worth a total of 48 junior credit points their first year (generally a total of 24 credit points in each semester). It is important to remember that 48 credit points is also the maximum number allowed in first year.
• To make up your 48 credit points in your first year, most students take four 6 credit point junior units in each semester.
• You will need to make sure that you include any prerequisites you may need for the units you plan to take later on. You can check the Faculty of Arts Handbook to find out if there are any prerequisites for senior units in the subjects you plan to study later in your degree program. Note that all languages have junior prerequisites.
• Here is an example of how you might put together 48 junior credit points in your first year:

• The pattern of units you choose may differ from that given in the example above. If you're aiming to complete your degree over four years, however, just remember to make sure that you earn 48 credit points in your first year, and that you put in place the correct prerequisite units.

Can I do more than 48 junior credit points?

• Yes, you can take up to 72 junior credit points over the course of your BA (Languages) degree. 48 is the maximum you can do in your first year. You can take a further 24 junior credit points in later years if you want to. On the other hand, it is okay if you choose to stay with just the 48 credit points you do in first year, and add extra senior credit points later.

Could I do less than 48 junior credit points?

• Yes as long as you do any necessary prerequisites, but...for two reasons, it's not a good idea to skimp too much on junior credit points!
• Firstly, remember that junior credit points form a foundation for further study. In some cases this is a necessary foundation for more advanced study in a particular subject area. In all cases, junior units provide an opportunity to work at developing the skills and ways of thinking that you will need ffor more advanced learning at the tertiary level.
• Secondly, junior units of study offer you the chance to sample a range of subject areas and gain a variety of learning experiences, even in subjects that you may not go on to specialise in.
• If you're studying part-time, it is usually recommended that you do a minimum of 18 junior credit points in your first year.

What are 'senior' credit points?

• 'Senior' units of study build on the foundation of learning established by junior units of study. From 2006, all senior units in the Faculty of Arts are worth 6 credit points.
• Senior units in Arts are sometimes called 2000 and 3000 level units because their unit of study codes all have the form 2XXX or 3XXX, e.g. SPAN2601, HSTY2608, etc.
• You can take some units of study from other faculties as part of your Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree.

How would I get my senior credit points?

• Most full-time students in the BA (Languages) program will start to take senior units of study in their second year. At this stage many students narrow down the range of subject areas in which they are studying.
• You can gte the credit points required to complete your degree over your second, third and fourth years by choosing subjectas that add up to 24 credit points in each semester:
  24 credit points X 6 semesters = 144 credit points
  144 credit points plus the 48 credit points earned in Year 1 = 192 credit points!
• If all of the 144 credit points you take over your second, third and fourth years are from senior units, you'll have more than the minimum requirement of 120 senior credit points. If you prefer, you could choose instead to stay with just 120 senior credit points, and make up the additional 24 credit points needed for your degree with extra junior units of study. It's your choice!

Could I do more than 24 credit points per semester?

• You might want to take more than 24 credit points in one semester - perhaps to make up for a unit of study that you have failed or to try to get through your degree more quickly.
• You are permitted to do up to (but no more than) 30 credit points per semester in your second, third and fourth (though not in your first) years. However, be aware that 30 credit points in a single semester is a very heavy load. It's unlikely that you'll be able to do your best in each unit you take.

What senior units should I do?

• It's a good idea to first put in place the senior units that are required components, and then consider your other choices. Let's look at the remaining requirements.

This requiremtn means gaining a credit average across all the units of study you attempt in each calendar year in the first three years of enrolment, or until the required study abroad is completed (whichever is the later) as well as in all senior units of study in the language major.

• This does not mean you need to earn a credit grade for each unit!
• It means that when your results are averaged out, your average mark is a credit (65%) or higher. For example, three passes and three disctintions average out to a credit average across the six units.

What's a major?

• To earn a major in a subject area (from Part A) in the Faculty of Arts you must complete 36 senior credit points in THAT subject area.

What are my choices for my language major?

• In the Bachelor of Arts (Languages), one of your majors must be a language chose from the following list:

Arabic Language & Culture

Chinese Studies

French Studies

Germanic Studies

Hebrew (Modern)

Hindi-Urdu

Indonesian & Malay Studies

Italian Studies

Japanese Studies

Korean Studies

Modern Greek

Spanish

What are my choices for my second major?

• Your second major must be from Part A of the Table of Units of Study in the Faculty of Arts.

What is Part A of Table of Units of Study?

• Part A refers to the units of study that are listed in the Table of Units of Study in the Faculty of Arts Handbook.
• All Part A units come from subject areas taught within the Faculty of Arts.

Could my second major be another language?

• Yes you can do two language majors, but...it might be wise to think about including at least some of the non-language units of study in your degree as well. It's great to be a polyglot, but when you come face the job market, you'll need other skills and knowledge as well.

Usually during your third year, some of yor credit points have to be earned in a country in which your language major is spoken. So, your semester or year abroad must be undertaken at an appropriate university in Europe, the Middle East, or Asia.

• If you go overseas for a semester, 24 credit points have to be earned, a certain number of which must be towards your language major.
• If you go overseas for one year, then 48 credit points must be earned, a certain number of which must be towards your language major. Check with the Degree Director first, to make sure that you fulful this requirement correctly.
• If you choose the SEMESTER abroad option, an example of your third year would be:

• If you choose the YEAR abroad option, an example of your third year would be:

• Part B refers to the units of study that are offered by other faculties to those in Arts degrees, e.g Government, Economics or Psychology units of study.
• You may be able to do up to 60 credit points (12 junior and 48 senior) from Part B of the Arts Table of Units of Study. This allows you to do one major from a subject area in another Faculty.

A special aspect of this degree is that you may make the fourth year of this degree an Honours year. Please note that this is not compulsory, but it is an opportunity that you may choose to take up, if you wish.

To take up this option, as well as completing the above requirements, you need:

• to have completed at least 48 credit points in the subject area concerned, at an average of credit or above
• where applicable, to have completed any honours entry requirements of the department involved
• the written approval of the Chair of the department concerned.

• Here is an example of how you might put together the requirements of the BA (Languages) degree over your second, third and fourth years:

• So, that makes 24 senior credit points in Year 2, 48 in Year 3, and 48 in Year 4, adding up to 120 senior credit points.
• When you sum the credit points earned in Years 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the degree - you can see they add up to 192 credit points ... i.e. your Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree!!

Bachelor of Arts (Languages) - Degree Overview