Honours degree of Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences for 2013

Major study areas

AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS STUDIES

In this discipline, students are encouraged to engage with what it means to be an Australian today, how our history might have unfolded differently, and how Australia can further enhance its democratic ideals. They use a comparative approach to understand key issues and experiences of Indigenous peoples not only in Australia, but in international contexts.

COGNITIVE SCIENCE

Cognitive science is the study of thinking, in humans primarily, and to a lesser extent in animals and machines. It is an interdisciplinary field that has developed over the last few decades from the shared interests of psychology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, and neuroscience. The common goal of cognitive scientists is to understand the nature of the mind from a scientific viewpoint.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications focuses on the role of media in society and how this influences the way we receive communications and the way we communicate with each other. Today, we get most of our news and knowledge from mass media and social media, so it is vital that students learn about the structures of communications industries and how to critically analyse the media.

COMMUNITY WELFARE AND COUNSELLING

Our community welfare and counselling program is vocationally-driven - we aim to give students the knowledge and skills that they need for ethical and social welfare practice. Graduates have the necessary skills to participate in a number of fields - counselling, child protection, disability services, youth justice, aged care, homelessness, family violence. While they are studying, we also provide students with work placements in welfare agencies, so that they can see what it's really like to work in these areas.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Criminal justice addresses the complex issue of crime and the way in which it affects the lives of us all. It draws on diverse areas including psychological studies, sociology and Indigenous studies to stimulate fresh thinking. Students compare regional, state, national and international crime and crime prevention policies, while also considering radical alternatives for dealing with crime.

HISTORY

History is not simply about dates and facts, but about new ways to interpret and understand the past, allowing us to make sense of the world today. History at Monash delves into different aspects of the human experience, and considers societies and civilisations across a range of periods and continents. Students can study everything from medieval and renaissance Europe to contemporary worlds, Asian civilisations and nations at war.

JOURNALISM

Our journalism program is the largest undergraduate journalism program in Australia. Our students are taught by real journalists. Through a combination of academic and practice-based work, students gain a solid foundation in all production technologies - print, video, radio and online - in metropolitan, regional and international contexts.

POLITICS

Politics at university is more concerned with explaining how and why different political systems are constructed, and how they work, than surface level politics such as current affairs. Students look at what happens, but also investigate why, such as the causes of political events and hidden meanings and motivations.

PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES

Psychological studies provides a sequence of units that cover popular applied areas of psychology, such as forensic psychology, the psychology of sport, and psychology and work. It is ideal for students who are not intending to take up psychology as a profession, but want to complement studies in education, social welfare, journalism, criminal justice and sociology.

SOCIOLOGY

Sociology explores people and the relationships that they have in different contexts such as families, schools and workplaces. Sociologists look to things like social class, gender, ethnicity, power and culture to understand and explain the differences in how people live, think and feel.

WRITING

Writing at Monash offers students the opportunity to understand a range of writing practices and to become familiar with different kinds of writing and language use for different audiences and purposes. Students gain a detailed understanding of the range of techniques used in contemporary writing practice, and graduate with valuable analytical, editorial and creative skills, applicable to a variety of careers.