The Bachelor of Arts is the most diverse, most flexible, and most popular degree at The Australian National University. Each of its more than forty majors, in fields throughout the arts, humanities and social sciences, is taught by truly outstanding scholars to ensure that each student receives the very best education, is engaged with cutting-edge research, and learns to think like a researcher. These majors can be coupled with more than seventy minors and specialisations to broaden or deepen your study. Regardless of your choices, your Arts degree will provide you with core skills in critical analysis and in written and oral communication, while developing your adaptability and ability to help shape change and prepare you for a multifaceted career or further study.

The Bachelor of Arts can be combined with all other ANU undergraduate degrees except the PhB as a Flexible Double Degree.

An undergraduate degree offered by the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific

Australia is increasingly looking to Asia - strategically, economically, politically, and culturally - and all eyes are on the graduates of tomorrow to take us there. Watch our video to find out how this degree will prepare you for a successful career in the Asian Century.

With a Bachelor of Asian Studies you will master an Asian language, acquire in-depth contextual knowledge, and graduate with the kind of Asian literacy that gets you noticed by employers.

And if you love adventure, we offer you a variety of study opportunities in the region so you can experience Asia first hand. Plus we’ll provide you with funding to help get you there.

Employment Opportunities

Graduates of the Bachelor of Arts may find work in publishing, policy, education, international development, politics, media, information technology, communications, journalism, aid, advertising, art conservation, government and many other fields.

Graduates of the Bachelor of Arts may find work in publishing, policy, education, international development, politics, media, information technology, communications, journalism, aid, advertising, art conservation, government and many other fields.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will be able to:

1. critically apply theoretical frameworks and research techniques to understanding national and international issues and problems;
2. identify, including through interrogation of databases, relevant sources of information from across a variety of media (print and digital, written and audio-visual) and judge the importance and reliability of those sources;
3. evaluate ideas and develop creative solutions to problems, including through independent pursuit of knowledge and making connections between different disciplinary approaches and methods;
4. communicate and debate both orally and in writing, and work with others, using a variety of media; and
5. understand the ethical implications of ideas, communications, and actions.

Upon successful completion, students will have the skills and knowledge to:

1. Engage with Asia linguistically and culturally as a basis for independent lifelong learning from Asia and with Asia.
2. Use concepts and methods from the humanities and social sciences to develop, review, analyse and synthesise knowledge about Asia, its regions, and its place in the world.
3. Use engagement with Asia’s diversity as a basis for critically reflecting on concepts, methods and knowledge in the humanities and social sciences.
4. Communicate knowledge of Asia to diverse audiences using academic and applied styles, in both English and an Asian language.
5. Exercise critical thinking and judgment in identifying and solving problems, individually and in groups.

Admission Requirements

Admission to all programs is on a competitive basis. Admission to undergraduate degrees is based on meeting the ATAR requirement or an equivalent rank derived from the following qualifications:

• An Australian year 12 qualification or international equivalent; OR
• A completed Associate Diploma, Associate Degree, AQF Diploma, Diploma, AQF Advanced Diploma, Graduate Certificate or international equivalent; OR
• At least one standard full-time year (1.0 FTE) in a single program of degree level study at an Australian higher education institution or international equivalent; OR
• An approved tertiary preparation course unless subsequent study is undertaken.

Click HERE for further information about domestic admission.

The table below is a guide to the entry level required for domestic applicants. Exact entry level will be set at time of offer.

Domestic applicant entry requirements

From 2010, the UAI/ENTER/TER will be referred to as ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) for admission. See http://www.uac.edu.au/undergraduate/atar/ for further information.

Queensland Band equivalents are a guide only - selection is made on a UAI equivalent that is not available to students.

International applicant entry requirements

International applicants may view further information on admissions requirements at Entry Requirements for International Undergraduate Applicants

The University reserves the right to alter or discontinue its programs as required.

Adjustment Factors

The National Access Scheme 2014

ANU offers bonus points for nationally strategic senior secondary subjects, and in recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies. 

Bonus points are applied to all applicants with an ATAR at or above 70. Points are awarded in accordance with the approved schedule, and no more than 10 points (maximum 5 academic points and maximum 5 equity points) will be awarded.

Bonus points do not apply to programs with an ATAR cutoff of 98 or higher.

Bonus Points are only awarded to domestic applicants applying for admission through UAC who have not previously attempted tertiary study.

How to apply

Academic Bonus Points: senior secondary students do not need to apply for ANU academic bonus points. They are automatically added in accordance with the schedule.

Educational Access Scheme: senior secondary students do not need to apply if their school is part of the Priority School Funding Program or Country Areas Program. All other applicants should refer to www.uac.edu.au/undergraduate/eas for more information.

Scholarships

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Arts flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must consist of:

48 units from the completion of one Arts major

Ancient Greek Major

Ancient History Major

Anthropology Major

Arabic Major

Archaeology Major

Art History Major

Art Theory Major

Asian Art History Major

Asian Studies Major

Australian Indigenous Studies Major

Biological Anthropology Major

Chinese Language Major

Contemporary Europe Major

Criminology Major

Development Studies Major

Economic Studies Major

English Major

Environmental Studies Major

European History Major

French Language and Culture Major

Gender, Sexuality and Culture Major

Geography Major

German Language and Culture Major

Hindi Language Major

History Major

Human Rights Major

Indonesian Language Major

International Communication Major

International Relations Major

Italian Language and Culture Major

Japanese Language Major

Korean Language Major

Latin Major

Latin American Studies Major

Linguistics Major

Mathematics Major

Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies Major

Music Major

Pacific Studies Major

Persian Major

Philosophy Major

Political Science Major

Psychology Major

Sanskrit Language Major

Sociology Major

Spanish Major

Thai Language Major

Urdu Language Major

Vietnamese Language Major

Either:

24 units from the completion of one Arts minor or specialisation:

Advanced French Studies Minor

Advanced German Studies Minor

Advanced Hispanic Culture Minor

Advanced Hispanic Linguistics Minor

Advanced Hispanic Studies Specialisation

Advanced Italian Studies Minor

Advanced Spanish Studies Minor

American Studies Minor

Ancient Greek Minor

Ancient History Minor

Anthropology Minor

ANU Leadership and Research Minor

Applied Linguistics Minor

Arabic Minor

Archaeology Minor

Art History Minor

Art Theory Minor

Asian Art History Minor

Asian Studies Minor

Australian Indigenous Studies Minor

Australian Politics Minor

Biological Anthropology Minor

Chinese Language Minor

Classical Chinese Minor

Climate Science and Policy Minor

Comparative Politics Minor

Contemporary Europe Minor

Crime and Deviance Minor

Cultural Studies Minor

Demography Minor

Development Studies Minor

Digital Humanities Minor

Economic Studies Minor

English Minor

Environmental Policy Minor

Environmental Studies Minor

European History Minor

Film Minor

Forensic Anthropology Minor

French Language and Culture Minor

Gender and Sexuality Minor

Geography Minor

German Language and Culture Minor

Health, Medicine and the Body Minor

Heritage and Museum Studies Minor

Hindi Language Minor

History Minor

Human Ecology Minor

Human Rights Minor

Indonesian Language Minor

Integrative Methods in Environment and Society Minor

International Communication Minor

International Relations Minor

Italian Language and Culture Minor

Japanese Language Minor

Korean Language Minor

Latin Minor

Latin American Studies Minor

Linguistics Minor

Mathematics Minor

Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies Minor

Music Minor

Pacific Studies Minor

Persian Minor

Philosophy Minor

Philosophy and Science Minor

Political Science Minor

Political Theory Minor

Russian Minor

Sanskrit Language Minor

Social Psychology Minor

Social Research Methods Minor

Sociology Minor

Spanish Minor

Sustainable Development Minor

Thai Language Minor

Urdu Language Minor

Vietnamese Language Minor

Visual Arts Practice Minor

24 units from completion of courses listed in any Arts major, minor, or specialisation

Or:

24 units from completion of ANIP3007 Australian National Internships Program D

24 units from completion of courses listed in any Arts major, minor, or specialisation.

Or:

48 units from completion of a second Arts major

The Bachelor of Asian Studies flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must include:

12 units from the completion of the following compulsory courses:

ASIA1025 Culture and Society in Asia and the Pacific

ASIA1030 Asia in Motion: Dynamics of Asian Societies

A minimum of 24 units from one of the following language subject areas:

ARAB Arabic

CHIN Chinese

FREN French

HIND Hindi

INDN Indonesian

JPNS Japanese

KORE Korean

SKRT Sanskrit

SPAN Spanish

THAI Thai

URDU Urdu

VIET Vietnamese

A minimum of 12 units from the completion of discipline courses from the following list:

ASIA2026 The Politics of China

ASIA2065 Comparative Politics (Asia Pacific)

ASIA2109 Politics of South Asia

ASIA2301 The Peopling of Asia & the Pacific

ASIA2302 Culture & Modernity in Asia

ASIA2303 Ethnography & Religion in Asia

ASIA2304 What is Literature? Asian Perspectives

ASIA2307 Empire in Asia

ASIA2308 Language & History in Asia & the Pacific

ASIA2310 Comparative Politics

ASIA2311 Gender and Cultural Studies in Asia and the Pacific

ASIA2516 Indonesia: Politics, Society and Development

INTR2010 International Relations of the Asia-Pacific

STST2001 International Security Issues in the Asia-Pacific

STST2002 Internal Security

A minimum of 6 units from the completion of regional courses from the subject area ASIA at 1000, 2000 or 3000 level – Asian Studies or from the following list:

ARCH2050 Archaeology of Southeast Asia

ARTH2056 Art and Architecture in Southeast Asia

ARCH3024 In the footprints of Siddartha: The Archaeology of Buddhism

CHIN1012 Modern Chinese 1A: Spoken

CHIN1013 Modern Chinese 1B: Written

CHIN1202 Continuing Chinese - Chinese Extension

CHIN2022 Modern Chinese 2A: Spoken

CHIN2023 Modern Chinese 2B: Written

CHIN3022 Modern Chinese 5

CHIN3023 Modern Chinese 6

CHIN3024 Modern Chinese 7

CHIN3025 Modern Chinese 8

CHIN3035 Readings in Chinese History

CHIN3041 Case Studies in Translation: Chinese/English

CHIN3201 Cantonese A

CHIN3202 Cantonese B

CHIN3203 Cantonese C

CHIN3211 Advanced Readings in Chinese A

CHIN3212 Advanced Readings in Chinese B

CHIN3216 Chinese English Interpreting

ENVS2005 Island Sustainable Development: Fiji Field School

ENVS2017 Vietnam Field School

GEND2031 Cinema in South East Asia: Genre and Cultural Identities

INTR2012 China's New Approaches to Asia Pacific Security

INTR2014 Indian Foreign & Security Policy

INTR2016 US Security Policy in Asia

INTR2018 Japan's Security Dilemmas

INTR2020 Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula

INTR2024 Nuclear Politics in Asia

INTR2028 Southeast Asia - ASEAN & Regional Order

JPNS2024 Japanese Grammar and Expressions

JPNS3012 Teaching Japanese: Content

JPNS3023 Advanced Readings in Japanese History

JPNS3102 Debating Japan: Contemporary Intellectual Debates

KORE1020 Modern Korean 1

KORE1021 Modern Korean 2

KORE2521 Modern Korean 3

KORE2522 Modern Korean 4

KORE3012 Modern Korean 5

KORE3013 Modern Korean 6

LING1001 Introduction to the Study of Language

LING2003 Introduction to Syntax

LING2005 Language Change and Linguistic Reconstruction

LING2007 Morphology

LING2010 Phonetics: Sounds of the World's Languages - Later Year

LING2028 Japanese Linguistics

LING3012 Field Methods

LING3030 Austronesian languages

LING3031 Papuan Languages

LING3032 Advanced Forensic Linguistics

LING3013 Issues in Advanced Japanese Linguistics

LING6009 Field Methods

PASI2002 Australia in Oceania in the 19th and 20th centuries

PASI2006 War in the Islands: The Second World War in the Pacific

PASI3003 Oceanic Encounters: Gender and Sexuality in the Pacific

POLS2070 Politics in Central Asia

SKRT3002 Sanskrit 4A

SKRT3003 Sanskrit 4B

SOCY2022 Environmental Sociology and History

SOCY2061 Contemporary Chinese Society

STST2003 Securing Australia's Asia-Pacific Arch of Instability

STST3002 Australia's Security in the Asian Century

TIBN1002 Tibetan 1A

TIBN1003 Tibetan 1B

6 units from the completion of 3000-level courses from the subject area ASIA – Asian Studies

12 units from the completion of courses from any courses or subject areas listed

24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU

Majors

Bachelor of Arts Majors

Bachelor of Asian Studies Majors

Minors

Bachelor of Arts Minors

Bachelor of Asian Studies Minors

Specialisations

Bachelor of Arts Specialisations

Study Options

Honours

For information about honours, please see the College of Arts and Social Sciences Honours website.