Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Course information for - 2025 entry

Offered at 3 locations

Duration
1 year full-time or equivalent part-time
ATAR
New
Fees (first year)*

$17570 CSP

Start dates
Semester 1 intake: Beginning February 2025
Applications open August 2024
Midyear (Semester 2) intake: Not available

Overview

Enhance your career opportunities with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at ACU. Become part of a lively and engaging research community within ACU’s National School of Arts and Humanities. Develop and undertake your own research thesis, or creative project and exegesis/dissertation, to make an original contribution and positive impact to your selected area of study. Embedded in ACU’s vibrant arts, social sciences and humanities community - you will receive the support, guidance, and mentorship to succeed throughout your research journey.

ACU’s prestigious honours program provides the opportunity to gain a competitive edge in your career by engaging with industry, and to develop local and international experience, through an honours internship or a domestic or international fieldtrip. You will also improve your critical and innovative thinking, to build the credentials to apply for graduate research degrees (such as a research masters or PhD) in your discipline.

Careers

Our graduates have pursued careers in:

  • Creative industries
  • Public Sector
  • Non-profit
  • Education
  • Research
  • Academia

Course details

Course structure

Course map

Open all

Please note: Course maps are subject to change.

Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation Stream - Commencing Semester 1 - Full-time

  • Creative Practice and Exegesis/DissertationARTS420Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation A

    NATIONAL MULTI-MODE.

    20 cp
  • Research Theory and MethodsHUMA402Introduction to Thesis Research and Design

    HUMA402 is ONLINE SCHEDULED.

    10 cp
  • Advanced CourseworkHUMA412 Countercultures: Multidisciplinary Perspectives ORCross-Institutional Study

    ONLINE SCHEDULED.

    Cross-Institutional Study - with Course Coordinator approval.

    Students will normally take HUMA412 or, with course coordinator approval, a cross-institutional unit. If directed by the course coordinator, students may enrol in HUMA410 or 411, if available. Note international students must have supervision sessions available on campus.

    10 cp
  • Creative Practice and Exegesis/DissertationARTS422Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation C

    NATIONAL MULTI-MODE.

    30 cp
  • Advanced CourseworkHUMA415 Honours Internship ORAdvanced CourseworkHUMA414 Honours Study Tour ORCross-Institutional Study

    NATIONAL MULTI-MODE.

    Cross-Institutional Study - with Course Coordinator approval

    10 cp

Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation Stream - Commencing Semester 2 - Full-time

Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation Stream (Option 1) - Commencing Semester 1 - Part-time

Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation Stream (Option 1) - Commencing Semester 2 - Part-time

Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation Stream (Option 2) - Commencing Semester 1 - Part-time

Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation Stream (Option 2) - Commencing Semester 2 - Part-time

Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation Stream (Option 3) - Commencing Semester 1 - Part-time

Creative Practice and Exegesis/Dissertation Stream (Option 3) - Commencing Semester 2 - Part-time

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Thesis Stream - Commencing Semester 1 - Full-time

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Thesis Stream - Commencing Semester 2 - Full-time

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Thesis Stream (Option 1) - Commencing Semester 1 - Part-time

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Thesis Stream (Option 1) - Commencing Semester 2 - Part-time

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Thesis Stream (Option 2) - Commencing Semester 1 - Part-time

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Thesis Stream (Option 2) - Commencing Semester 2 - Part-time

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Thesis Stream (Option 3) - Commencing Semester 1 - Part-time

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Thesis Stream (Option 3) - Commencing Semester 2 - Part-time

Graduate statement

Insight

As an ACU graduate you have personal insight founded on an understanding of who you are as a professional, a citizen and a scholar. You embrace change and growth through critical self-awareness and learning autonomy. You are empowered to seek truth and meaning, drawing on the principles of justice, equity, and the dignity of all human beings.

Empathy

As an ACU graduate you value human dignity and diversity. This appreciation is founded on deep reflection, and empathy. You have experience of Indigenous Knowings and perspectives and can engage respectfully when working alongside Australia's First Peoples. You can connect with people and cultures and work with community in ways that recognise the dignity of the human person and all cultures

Imagination

As an ACU graduate you utilise imagination and innovation to solve problems. You critically analyse information from a range of sources to creatively solve practical problems and use critical thinking to make decisions and advance the common good. You appreciate the role of innovation and creative thinking in developing a better future for each person and community.

Impact

As an ACU graduate you recognise your responsibility to work for social justice and a sustainable world founded on a commitment to human dignity and the common good. You lead change through respectful collaboration and effective communication of ideas to diverse peoples, groups and communities in local and global contexts. You are empowered to positively impact your profession and the community.

AQF framework

Bachelor Honours - AQF Level 8

Additional course information

Students will have the opportunity to undertake an industry internship as part of this course. The placement will complement theoretical study by immersing students in project work at key cultural institutions, government agencies, local government or community organisations. Projects are developed in consultation with Course Coordinators.

Entry requirements

An applicant must comply with the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.

To be eligible to apply for admission to the Bachelor of Arts (Honours), a student must have:

Completed an approved ACU undergraduate degree, or equivalent, normally within the last five years with a minimum GPA as stipulated in the University Guidelines for Honours Programs.

Students must have attained one of the following:

  1. a GPA of 5.50 on the ACU seven-point scale in their major, or field of study, in the relevant undergraduate degree; or
  2. for students who have completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design degree, achieved a Distinction in at least one of any Art Theory unit AND a GPA of 5.50 on the ACU seven-point scale across the visual arts/design units in their final year of study; or
  3. for students who have completed a Bachelor degree in Media, achieved a Distinction in at least one of any Media Theory unit AND a GPA of 5.50 on the ACU seven-point scale across their final year in their media/digital journalism units;


Offers of admission to the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) require the approval of the National Head of School, or nominee, and will only be made where the student's proposed area of study aligns with a demonstrated capacity for Honours research and supervision within the School.

International applicants need to meet the English Language Proficiency requirements as defined in the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.

In accordance with the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy, students who do not meet the standard requirements for entry to Bachelor of Arts (Honours) may be eligible for admission if they can demonstrate equivalent knowledge, skills and/or competencies. Particular equity groups, including students who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, from low SES, regional or remote areas, may also be eligible for admission under equity pathways such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Special Entry Scheme or the Special Consideration for Long Term Educational Disadvantage (Universities Admissions Centre) Education Access Scheme (EAS). In accordance with the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy, any such applications will be assessed by the National Head of the National School of Arts and Humanities.

Disclaimer: The course entry requirements above are for 2025 Admission.

View transparency admission information

Applicants with higher education study

You will need to meet the minimum entry requirements and subject prerequisites for your chosen course. 

If you have completed at least two units of AQF-recognised study at bachelor level or above, we’ll assign you with a new selection rank that reflects your study level, duration, and grade point average.

If your prior study or relevant work experience has provided you with knowledge, skills or experience aligned with the learning outcomes of units in your new course, you may be eligible to gain credit for study or have your prior learning recognised. This means you may be able to complete your ACU course in a shorter timeframe.

You can use our credit search tool to see what you might be eligible for. For more information about credit and recognition of prior learning at ACU, follow the link below.

Search our credit database

Learn more about recognition of prior learning

English language requirements

Overall score of 6.0. Individual score of 6.0 in writing and speaking, and 5.5 in listening and reading.

Pathways

Further study

Graduates from this course may be eligible to apply for a range of postgraduate coursework or higher degree research programs

Fees

Course costs

Average first year fee*

$17570 CSP

*This is an indicative first-year fee based on the tuition fee rates for a full-time student, using unit enrolment data from domestic students who studied the course in the previous year.

A student’s annual fee will vary depending on factors including:

  • Number of units studied per year
  • Choice of major or specialisation
  • Elective units

The University reviews fees annually.

You can view current course costs and domestic tuition fee rates by unit.

Payment options

You should be able to concentrate on getting good marks instead of worrying about how you’ll pay your fees. We have a number of options that can help you ease the financial burden, including government assistance, scholarships and income support. 

Explore your options 

Scholarships

You could be eligible for one of the hundreds of scholarships we award each year to help students from across the university with the cost of studying, accommodation or overseas study opportunities. Some of our scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit, but these aren’t just for the academically gifted; ACU also recognises excellence in community engagement and leadership. We also offer a range of scholarships for those who may be struggling financially or who have faced other barriers to accessing education.  

Search our scholarships

How to apply

Domestic applicants

Direct application

Apply now

Deferment

No deferment available.

Staff Profile

Dr Ellen Warne

National Coordinator, Programs and Quality Assurance, and Deputy Head of the National School of Arts and Humanities (Victoria)

Dr Warne is a Senior Lecturer in history and the National Coordinator, Programs & Quality Assurance, as well as Deputy Head of the National School of Arts and Humanities (Victoria) at the Australian Catholic University. She has worked as a research fellow investigating the long histories of 'working mothers' in Australia. Dr Warne's major research interest has focused on women in women-only organisations from the suffrage campaigns onwards, including the long-standing debates around 'family values' and contrasting dynamics that required women's political and economic engagement in Australia. 

Assoc. Prof. Lisa O'Connell

Associate Professor (English Literature), Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences

Lisa O’Connell is Associate Professor of English at the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences and a specialist in British Literature of the eighteenth century. Her research interests include the history and theory of the novel, women’s fiction, enlightenment, secularization and early global literatures. Lisa has published on a wide range of topics and genres including marriage, nationalism, libertinism, popular anthropology, travel writing, romance, courtesan memoirs, sermons and settler fiction.  Her recent monograph The Origins of the English Marriage Plot: Literature, Politics and Religion in the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge 2019) offers a new account of why and how marriage became central to the realist novel.  Another recent essay reveals the neglected links between Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the fiction of Therese Huber, the little-known German author of the first novel set in the Australian penal colony.     

 

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