Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications)

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

Let's go through what each of these requirements means in turn

What are credit points?

• Students doing a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) degree study in a range of subject areas. These include, of course, Media and Communications, as well as other subject areas of their choice, such as Linguistics, History, and French.
• A semester-length componen 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, all units of study are worth 6 credit points each.

How do I get 192 credit points?

• Most people studying full-time take four years to complete a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) 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 foundatin for more advanced 'senior' units. Junior units of study are worth 6 credit points each.
• Junior units are sometimes called 1000 level units because their study codes all have the form 1XXX, e.g. CHNS1101, LNGS1005 etc.

How would I get my junior credit points?

• Most students studying full-time take junior units of study worth 48 credit points in their first year (generally a total of 24 credit points per semester). It is important to remember that 48 credit points is also the maximum number allowed in the first year.

What junior units of study should I do in my first year?

• To make up 48 credit points in your first year, most students take four 6 credit points junior units in each semester. However, you will need to make sure to include:
  Your three core units of study:
  Principles of Media Writing (MECO1003)
  Australian Media Studies (MECO1001)
  Academic Writing (ENGL1000)
• You should also include an junior prerequisites that you may need for the units you plan to take later on. You'll need to 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.
• 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 into place the correct core and prerequisite units.

Can I do more than 48 junior credit points?

• Yes, you can take up to 72 junior credit points in your BA (Media and Communications) degree. 48 is the maximum you can do in your first year. You can take a further 24 junior credit points in the later years if you want to. On the other hand, it is okay if you choose to stay with just the 48 credit points that you've already got from first year, and add extra senior credit points later instead.

Could I do less than 48 junior credit points?

• Yes, as long as you have the core units and the necessary prerequisites, but...forr two reasons, it's not a good idea to skimp on junior units!
• Firstly, remember that junior units form a foundation for further study. In some cases this is a necessary foundation for more advanced study in 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 for more advanced learning at the tertiary level.
• Secondly, junior units of study offer the change to sample a range of 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.

What are senior credit points?

• Senior units of study build on the foundation of learning established by junior units of study.
• Units of study in the Faculties of Arts and Economics and Business are classified simply by either Junior or Senior, and from 2006 all senior units are worth 6 credit points each. Senior units in Arts are sometimes called 2000 or 3000 level units because their unit of study codes all have the form 2XXX or 3XXX, e.g. JCTC2606, ARBC3601, etc.
• Intermediate credit points will only be relevant to you if you choose to do some units from Science in your degree.

How do I get 120 senior credit points?

• You can't start taking senior units of study until you have the appropriate foundation of junior units in place. In many (but not all) cases this means that you have to take junior units in the same subject area, as prerequisites for your senior units. You'll need to check the Faculty Handbook to find out if there are any prerequisites for senior units in the subject areas that interest you.
• Most full-time students in the Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) program will start to take senior units of study in their second year. At this stage many students narrow down the range of subjects in which they are studyingm perhaps taking units of study from two or three subject areas, rather than three or four as in the first year.
• You can get the credit points required to complete your degree over your second, third and fourth year by choosing subjects that add up to 24 credit points in each semester:

24 credit points X 6 semesters = 144 credit points
144 credit points + 48 credit points from Year 1 = 192 credit points!

• If all of the 144 credit points you take over the second, third and fourth years are from senior units, then 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 will be permitted to do up to (but no more than) 30 credit points per semester in your second, third and fourth years (though not in your first). 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 (and very unlikely that you'll have a life while you do it!)

What senior units should I do?

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

What is a major?

• To earn a major in a subject area (from Part A) in the Faculty of Arts, students will complete 36 senior credit points in that subject area.

What senior units of Media and Communications should i take?

• In addition to the units required for your Media and Communications major, there are further COMPULSORY senior units of study from the Media and Communications subject area.
• The units of study you need to take to fully satisfy Requirement 4 (including both the major and additional compulsory units) are:

• Please note that the Media requirements change from year to year.

• You must have at least one more major, in addition to your Media and Communications major, in your BA (Media and Communications) degree.
• This will require at least 36 credit points in one subject area from Part A of the Table of Units of Study.

What is Part A of the Table of Units of Study?

• Part A refers to the units of study that are listed in the Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Handbook, 'Table of Units of Study': Part A. These units all come from subject areas taught within the Faculty of Arts.

Can I do an extra major if I want to?

• Yes, you can fit in another major in addition to the required ones, as long as you plan your subject choices very carefully.

• Usually in fourth year, you will be required to do an internship and a project on your internship in either Semester 1 and 2.
• The Media and Communications department will give you information about how to arrange this internship when the time comes.

• Here is an example of how you might put together the requirements for your BA (Media and Communications) degree over the four years:

• So, that makes 36 senior credit points in Year 2, 36 senior credit points in Year 3, and 48 senior credit points in Year 4, which fulfills this degree's requirement of 120 senior credit points.
• When you sum up 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 (Media and Communications) degree!!

Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) - Degree Overview