Course Structure:

To satisfy the requirements of the award, you must complete 24 units (144 units of credit) as outlined below:

4 core units (listed below):

• BUSN11016 Introduction to Study and Professional Practice
• COMM11108 Communicating for Social Change
• SUST11001 The Changing World and Sustainability
• BUSN13004 Professional Business Practice and Experience

2 majors totalling 16 units (from those listed below):

• Creative Writing
• Literary Studies
• Geography
• History and Politics
• Liberal Arts
• Strategic Communication
• Theatre Studies
• Visual Arts
• Pathway to Teaching (Early Childhood)*
• Pathway to Teaching (Primary)*
• Pathway to Teaching (Secondary)*

PLUS 1 minor totalling 4 units (from those listed below):

• First Nations Studies
• Digital Storytelling
• Discovering Theatre
• Essential Geography
• Liberal Arts
• Literature
• Strategic and Social Communication
• Visual Art Practices
• World History
• Writing Stories.

NOTE: No more than twelve Level 1 units out of the 24 units may be credited toward the degree.

* The Pathway to Teaching majors provide a fast-track to a Master of Teaching. Only one Pathway to Teaching major can be selected. Students who choose Pathway to Teaching must select a second major from approved Discipline Teaching Areas including Literary Studies, Geography, History and Politics, or Strategic Communication. Liberal Arts may be selected only if units meet eligibility for entry into the Master of Teaching. Selection of the Pathway to Teaching major does not guarantee entry into the Master of Teaching course. Students must still apply and be accepted into the Master of Teaching as per normal processes using academic and non-academic entry requirements. Once accepted into the Master of Teaching, students can apply for the four units of credit from the Pathway to Teaching major. Completion of the Bachelor of Arts alone does NOT meet eligibility requirements for teacher registration. Students who select the Pathway to Teaching major must select a second major in a Discipline Teaching Area. This pathway is suited to students who wish to obtain a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching qualification as their pathway to an accredited teaching qualification. This is an alternative pathway to teacher registration to the Bachelor of Education.

A unique feature of the Creative Writing major is that it provides you with the chance to write a sustained creative writing dissertation of any genre over the course of your final year. This feature makes the Creative Writing major an invaluable pathway for those students interested in the Master of Creative Writing course. 

Do you have a passion for writing? Are you a budding poet or writer? Do you love writing short stories and poems? Our Creative Writing major offers you the chance to develop the skills and knowledge you'll need as a writer in the digital age. You will develop a tool kit of writing styles and genres, including traditional fiction, non-fiction, poetry and scriptwriting, as well as experimental and hybrid genres such as speculative fiction, flash fiction, lyric essays, docufiction, and concrete poetry, among others. This major also encourages you to explore the vast array of opportunities that technology provides the creative writer in creating 'born digital' works.

A standout feature of the Creative Writing major is that it provides you with the chance to write a sustained creative writing dissertation of any genre in your final year. This feature makes the Creative Writing major an invaluable pathway into the Master of Creative Writing where, as a prospective Master of Creative Writing student, you could acquire some credit.

The Geography major offers a diverse set of units in geography, the environment and related discipline areas such as Geopolitics. You will be exposed to an integrated humanities approach that provides excellent foundational discipline knowledge as well as industry-specific knowledge and skills. You will explore contemporary human geography and environmental issues that will improve approaches to managing the environment. You will develop a unique set of knowledge and skills that are useful in a wide range of careers.

History is both the study of the human past and a method of enquiry that allows us to better understand ourselves and the world around us. It requires the sophisticated use of evidence and argumentation to explain continuity and change over time. The skill sets that you can develop from studying history include the ability to identify, analyse, contextualise and synthesise information, to interpret and evaluate evidence and scholarly sources, usually with the objective of explaining the causes of the complex historical events that shape our own unique experience.

If you select units from the Literary Studies major; Geography major; History and Politics major; and/or from the First Nations Studies minor for the Liberal Arts major, then you cannot take the Literary Studies major; Geography major; History and Politics major; nor the First Nations Studies, Essential Geography, Literature and World History minors.

Liberal Arts provides you with an opportunity to design your own major by selecting 8 units (48 units of credit), including no less than four advanced level (Level 2 and 3) units. This will allow you the flexibility to pursue a study stream that suits your interests. You must meet the usual pre-requisites and co-requisites for these units.

It is possible to select the Liberal Arts major if you want to transfer credit from another course to the Bachelor of Arts, provided you meet the CQUniversity requirements and are approved for transfer of credit.

You will require the approval of the Head of Course to enrol in the Liberal Arts major, as well as approval for the choice of units to be included in this major. Please seek advice from the Course Advice Team in the first instance if you want to undertake the Liberal Arts major.

The Literary Studies major brings together two distinct but complementary disciplinary approaches: literary studies, where literature is read for its own sake and for the values it reveals in stories, poems and plays about our lived and imaginary experiences; and cultural studies, where ideas and concepts derived from a broad study of culture are explored through a variety of texts including film, media, television, advertising and the like. You will be able to demonstrate advanced reading and writing skills while applying critical thinking and advanced modes of textual analysis to a broad range of texts, genres and media. You will communicate using cogent, discipline-based and context-relevant research and participate, both self-reflexively and ethically, in discipline critical debates.

In addition to the four core units in the Pathway to Teaching (Early Childhood) major, students can complete any other four Arts units from eligible Pathway to Teaching disciplines, provided they do not exceed 12 AQF 5 units across the degree, and that all unit pre-requisites are met. Pathway to Teaching disciplines are: Creative Writing, Literary Studies, Geography, History and Politics, Strategic Communication, and Theatre Studies. Liberal Arts may be selected only if units meet eligibility for entry into the Master of Teaching.

The Pathway to Teaching (Early Childhood) major is designed to fast-track students to a Master of Teaching and provisional teacher registration in State, Catholic and Independent schools in Australia. The Pathway to Teaching (Early Childhood) will commence your post graduate studies to prepare you to teach across the Australian Curriculum in the Preparatory Year to Year 2 in Australian primary schools and in early childhood settings (long day care settings & kindergartens/pre-prep). Students who select the Pathway to Teaching (Early Childhood) major can claim four units of credit into the Master of Teaching (Early Childhood), an approved course with the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). This major is suited to students seeking to become an early childhood teacher in childcare/early learning centres and kindergartens.

Selection of this major does not guarantee entry into the Master of Teaching course. Students must still apply and be accepted into the Master of Teaching as per normal processes using academic and non-academic entry requirements. Once accepted into the Master of Teaching, students can apply for the four units of credit from the Pathway to Teaching (Early Childhood) major. Completion of the Bachelor of Arts alone does NOT meet eligibility requirements for teacher registration. Students who select the Pathway to Teaching major must select a second major in a Discipline Teaching Area. This pathway is suited to students who wish to obtain a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching qualification as their pathway to an accredited teaching qualification. This is an alternative pathway to teacher registration to the Bachelor of Education.

In addition to the four core units in the Pathway to Teaching (Primary) major, students can complete any other four Arts units from eligible Pathway to Teaching disciplines, provided they do not exceed 12 AQF 5 units across the degree, and that all unit pre-requisites are met. Pathway to Teaching disciplines are: Creative Writing, Literary Studies, Geography, History and Politics, Strategic Communication, and Theatre Studies. Liberal Arts may be selected only if units meet eligibility for entry into the Master of Teaching.

The Pathway to Teaching (Primary) major is designed to fast-track students to a Master of Teaching and provisional teacher registration in State, Catholic and Independent schools in Australia. The Pathway to Teaching (Primary) will commence your post graduate studies to prepare you to teach across the Australian Curriculum in the Preparatory Year to Year 6 in Australian primary schools. You will begin to demonstrate the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers with evidence and commence study that will qualify you for professional registration with the Queensland College of Teachers, the administering body in Queensland.

Selection of this major does not guarantee entry into the Master of Teaching course. Students must still apply and be accepted into the Master of Teaching as per normal processes using academic and non-academic entry requirements. Once accepted into the Master of Teaching, students can apply for the four units of credit from the Pathway to Teaching (Primary) major. Completion of the Bachelor of Arts alone does NOT meet eligibility requirements for teacher registration. Students who select the Pathway to Teaching major must select a second major in a Discipline Teaching Area. This pathway is suited to students who wish to obtain a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching qualification as their pathway to an accredited teaching qualification. This is an alternative pathway to teacher registration to the Bachelor of Education.

In addition to the four core units in the Pathway to Teaching (Secondary) major, students will complete a second minor from eligible Pathway to Teaching disciplines, provided they do not exceed 12 AQF 5 units across the degree, and that all unit pre-requisites are met. Pathway to Teaching disciplines are: Creative Writing, Literary Studies, Geography, History and Politics, Strategic Communication, and Theatre Studies. Eligible minors include:

• Essential Geography
• Liberal Arts
• Literature
• Strategic and Social Communication
• World History
• Writing Stories

Liberal Arts may be selected only if units meet eligibility for entry into the Master of Teaching.

The Pathway to Teaching (Secondary) major is designed to fast-track students to a Master of Teaching and provisional teacher registration in State, Catholic and Independent schools in Australia. The Pathway to Teaching (Secondary) will commence your post graduate studies to prepare you for a career as a secondary school teacher. You will select two discipline teaching areas: a major teaching area (Years 7 - 12) and a minor teaching area (Years 7-10).

You will begin to demonstrate the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers with evidence and commence study which will qualify you for professional registration with the Queensland College of Teachers, the administering body in Queensland. Selection of this major does not guarantee entry into the Master of Teaching course. Students must still apply and be accepted into the Master of Teaching as per normal processes using academic and non-academic entry requirements. Once accepted into the Master of Teaching, students can apply for the four units of credit from the Pathway to Teaching (Secondary) major. Completion of the Bachelor of Arts alone does NOT meet eligibility requirements for teacher registration. Students who select the Pathway to Teaching major must select a second major in a Discipline Teaching Area. This pathway is suited to students who wish to obtain a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching qualification as their pathway to an accredited teaching qualification. This is an alternative pathway to teacher registration to the Bachelor of Education.

Students who select the Pathway to Teaching (Secondary) major must select a second major in a Discipline Teaching Area. This will be selected from: Creative Writing, Literary Studies, Geography, History and Politics, Strategic Communication, or Theatre Studies. Your minor teaching area will be selected from:

• Essential Geography
• Liberal Arts
• Literature
• Strategic and Social Communication
• World History
• Writing Stories

Liberal Arts may be selected only if units meet eligibility for entry into the Master of Teaching.

Minors can not be selected if they relate to the major Discipline Teaching Area.

This pathway is suited to students who wish to obtain a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching qualification as their pathway to an accredited teaching qualification. This is an alternative pathway to teacher registration to the Bachelor of Education.

Strategic Communication involves using contemporary communication approaches to reach diverse audiences. In this major, you will learn both the necessary practical skills and the theoretical understandings which will enable you to create impact, with individuals and in organisations. You will work on real-world scenarios and with real clients, enabling you to develop clear knowledge about how to communicate effectively, devise and implement strategies, and maintain relationships with stakeholders. Graduates with strategic communication skills work in a diverse range of roles, across community, non-profit, government and corporate sectors.

The Theatre Studies major involves the study of theatre through the ages. Study areas include medieval theatre, commedia dell'arte, Shakespeare and modernism as well as a range of contemporary Australian and international theatre plays and practice. You will learn about traditions and methods while developing your own creative practice and understanding of the power of theatre. The skills sets that you can develop from Theatre Studies include the ability to identify, analyse, contextualise and synthesise the dramatic form within its time-specific context.

Creating visual art enables self-expression and self-exploration, but it also has an important social function. As crafted acts of public communication, visual artworks help us all to understand ourselves and our relationship with the world. Contemporary visual art practices are often motivated by forms of social engagement. Through studying the visual arts, you will learn to shape creative thinking skills into a unique process to create engaging and relevant artworks for public display. You will also hone your critical thinking skills to analyse how culture impacts us as individuals, whilst developing skills to professionally interact with arts infrastructure.