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.

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 of a Bachelor of Arts, graduates 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 of a Bachelor of Asian Studies, graduates will be able 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.

More information about ATAR requirements for individual programs can be found HERE.

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

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 http://www.uac.edu.au/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 Studies Major

Australian Indigenous Studies Major

Biological Anthropology Major

Chinese Language Major

Contemporary Europe Major

Criminology Major

Digital Humanities 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 Evolutionary Biology 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 Ancient Greek Minor

Advanced Arabic Minor

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 Latin Minor

Advanced Persian Minor

Advanced Spanish Studies Minor

Advanced 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

Criminology 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

Forensic Linguistics 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 Evolutionary Biology

Human Rights Minor

Indonesian Language 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

Music Technology Minor

Pacific Studies Minor

Persian Minor

Philosophy Minor

Philosophy and Science Minor

Political Science Minor

Political Theory Minor

Popular Music

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 and the following list:

ESEN1101 Essential University English

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 and the following list:

ESEN1101 Essential University English.

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 consist of:

12 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:

ASIA1025 Asia and the Pacific: Power, diversity and change

ASIA1030 Asia and the Pacific in Motion

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

ASIA2065 Comparative Politics (Asia Pacific)

ASIA2067 Economies of Emerging Asia

ASIA2301 Prehistoric Origins: Archaeology of Asia and the Pacific

ASIA2302 Culture and Modernity in Asia: Anthropological Perspectives

ASIA2304 What is Literature? Asian Perspectives

ASIA2307 History of Empire in Asia

ASIA2308 Linguistic Histories in Asia and the Pacific

ASIA2311 Gender and Cultural Studies in Asia and the Pacific

INTR2010 International Relations in the Asia-Pacific

STST2001 International Security issues in the Asia Pacific

24 units from completion of language courses from one of the following lists:

Arabic Language

ARAB1002 Introductory Arabic A

ARAB1003 Introductory Arabic B

ARAB2011 Intermediate Arabic A

ARAB2012 Intermediate Arabic B

ARAB3001 Advanced Arabic A

ARAB3002 Advanced Arabic B

Burmese Language

BURM1002 Burmese 1

BURM1003 Burmese 2

BURM2001 Burmese 3

BURM2002 Burmese 4

Chinese Language

CHIN1012 Modern Chinese 1A: Spoken Chinese

CHIN1013 Modern Chinese 1B: Written Chinese

CHIN2022 Modern Chinese 2A: Spoken Chinese

CHIN2023 Modern Chinese 2B: Written Chinese

CHIN3020 Modern Chinese 3

CHIN3021 Modern Chinese 4

CHIN3022 Modern Chinese 5

CHIN3023 Modern Chinese 6

CHIN3024 Modern Chinese 7

CHIN3025 Modern Chinese 8

CHIN3041 Case Studies in Translation: Chinese/English

CHIN3211 Advanced Readings in Chinese A

CHIN3212 Advanced Readings in Chinese B

CHIN3216 Chinese-English Interpreting

French Language and Culture

FREN1003 Introductory French I

FREN1004 Introductory French II

FREN2024 Continuing French I

FREN2025 Continuing French II

FREN3006 Intermediate French I

FREN3007 Intermediate French II

FREN3008 Advanced French Topics

FREN3107 Current Affairs and the French Press (Advanced)

Hindi Language

HIND1100 Hindi 1A

HIND1200 Hindi 1B

HIND2300 Hindi 2A

HIND2400 Hindi 2B

HIND3500 Hindi 3A

HIND3600 Hindi 3B

Indonesian Language

INDN1002 Indonesian 1A

INDN1003 Indonesian 1B

INDN2002 Indonesian 2A

INDN2003 Indonesian 2B

INDN3002 Indonesian 3A

INDN3003 Indonesian 3B

Japanese Language

JPNS1012 Spoken Japanese 1

JPNS1013 Spoken Japanese 2

JPNS1014 Written Japanese A

JPNS1015 Written Japanese B

JPNS2012 Spoken Japanese 3

JPNS2013 Spoken Japanese 4

JPNS2014 Written Japanese C

JPNS2015 Written Japanese D

JPNS3005 Advanced Japanese: Issues in Contemporary Japan

JPNS3006 Advanced Japanese: Language in Context

JPNS3007 Advanced Japanese: Readings in Culture and Society

JPNS3008 Advanced Japanese: Readings in Literature

JPNS3023 Advanced Readings in Japanese History

JPNS3024 Advanced Readings in Japanese Law

Korean Language

KORE1020 Modern Korean 1

KORE1021 Modern Korean 2

KORE2521 Modern Korean 3

KORE2522 Modern Korean 4

KORE3012 Modern Korean 5

KORE3013 Modern Korean 6

Literary Chinese Language

CHIN3030 Literary Chinese 1

CHIN3031 Literary Chinese 2

CHIN3015 Advanced Literary Chinese

Mongolian Language

MNGL1002 Mongolian 1A

MNGL1003 Mongolian 1B

MNGL2002 Mongolian 2A

MNGL2003 Mongolian 2B

Portuguese Language

PORT1001 Introductory Portuguese I

PORT1002 Introductory Portuguese II

PORT2001 Continuing Portuguese I

PORT2002 Continuing Portuguese II

Sanskrit Language

SKRT1002 Sanskrit 1A

SKRT1003 Sanskrit 1B

SKRT2103 Sanskrit 2A

SKRT2104 Sanskrit 2B

SKRT2105 Sanskrit 3A

SKRT2106 Sanskrit 3B

Spanish Language

SPAN1001 Introduction to Spanish I

SPAN1002 Introduction to Spanish II

SPAN2001 Continuing Spanish I

SPAN2002 Continuing Spanish II

SPAN3001 Intermediate Spanish I

SPAN3012 Intermediate Spanish II (Language and Culture)

SPAN3022 Intermediate Spanish II (Language and Linguistics)

Tetum Language

TETM1002 Tetum 1

TETM1003 Tetum 2

TETM2004 Tetum 3

TETM2005 Tetum 4

Thai Language

THAI1002 Thai 1A

THAI1003 Thai 1B

THAI2002 Thai 2A

THAI2003 Thai 2B

THAI3002 Thai 3A

THAI3008 Advanced Readings in Thai Language and Culture

Vietnamese Language

VIET1002 Vietnamese 1A

VIET1003 Vietnamese 1B

VIET2002 Vietnamese 2A

VIET2003 Vietnamese 2B

VIET3002 Vietnamese 3A

VIET3003 Vietnamese 3B

48 units from completion of majors, minors and courses offered by the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific

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 Bachelor of Arts (Honours)