Studying Arts at Monash: a guide

[keltingmeith]

Joseph/Nick (or any other Monash students geniuses), do you know if you're able to undertake a double major in a double degree? E.g. - I looked at a course map for arts/law and with the arts part, you have 8 major units, 4 minor units and 4 arts electives. - Would that mean that you could have all of your law units (and law electives), and have a double major in x and y??

Assuming that it all works with timetabling?

EDIT: I just wanted to clarify that the example included overloading for two arts electives

Overloading doesn't give you more units, unfortunately - if your degree is 24 units big, you can only use 24 units. No more, no less.

Overloading only lets you do more units in a semester, and you'll have to underload in another semester.

[Glasses]

Overloading doesn't give you more units, unfortunately - if your degree is 24 units big, you can only use 24 units. No more, no less.

Overloading only lets you do more units in a semester, and you'll have to underload in another semester.

Ohhhh, ok thank you That makes sense now

[BKiles445]

Hi Joseph (or someone else), could someone please explain what the 'Arts specified study' part is of the Arts course at Monash, and how it differs from a major?

Thank you

[Joseph41]

Hi Joseph (or someone else), could someone please explain what the 'Arts specified study' part is of the Arts course at Monash, and how it differs from a major?

Thank you

Hi there,

Apologies for the abhorrently tardy response. EulerFan101 provided a pretty nifty response to this in the Ask Monash University thread, which I assume you've seen by now. But if not, here it is:

Courtesy of EulerFan101

It's basically electives, but with two catches:

1. They must be from the faculty of arts.
2. You must complete a minor.

I've added this question to the opening post.

[Joseph41]

Bump.

For any new Arts students, I highly recommend signing up as a 'Peer' as part of the PAL Program.

Basically, you will be assigned a 2nd or 3rd year Arts student (or 4th year, in my case), who you can ask questions, chill out with, or entirely ignore throughout the course of the year. There really is no disadvantage!

[Joseph41]

Some more things added to the opening post:

What can I do with an Arts degree?

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Good question. I'm probably not in the best position to answer this, because I'm still studying myself. But I do know that many employers value Arts degrees. You need a certain mindset and way of thinking to do well in Arts, and a lot of those skills (both critical and creative thinking, for example) are applicable to the workplace.

I'm going to directly quote 'Career FAQs', here. "The flexibility and versatility of an arts degree means that graduates have the lion's share of choices when it comes to which industry they can enter. In 2011 bachelor’s graduates from the humanities most frequently found employment in business, human resources, marketing, arts and media, as well as the legal, social and welfare professions. Arts graduates were similar, typically finding work in business administration, sales, management, media, hospitality and government agencies. In other words, the possibilities are endless and it’s really up to you where you choose to take your degree and apply your skills."

What am I doing with my Arts degree? Well, I'm using it as a foundation for further study.

Writing a good Arts essay

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Arts is rife with essays - particularly some areas of study. You have probably written essays before, but things change a little when you get to uni. (Or, indeed, when you begin an Arts degree.) There is great variation between Arts essays and essays of, say, Science or Laws. But more than there, there is great variation even within Arts. You will get the hang of essay writing soon, and the library can always help you if you feel overwhelmed. But if you want to read more about writing essays in Arts, try this thread.

What is involved in Honours?

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For straight Arts, Honours is an optional year (full-time)/two years (part-time) of study. Typically, you undertake Honours in the area(s) of study in which you majored. Honours at Monash can be undertaken even if you didn't study at Monash for your undergraduate degree.

The structure of Honours will differ slightly from discipline to discipline. However, you will likely "complete 24 credit points coursework (2 coursework units, 12 credit points each)... and a research thesis worth 24 credit points, usually 15,000-18,000 words in length, supervised by an academic staff member."

If you're interested in Honours, you may like to attend an information session (I think these are last year's dates, but keep an eye out for the new ones).

Peers Ambassadors Leaders (PAL) Program

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Also available to Arts students is the Peers Ambassadors Leaders Program. Peers (first year students) are “assigned a student mentor who helps their transition to university life.” Ambassadors are second and third year students who mentor their peers, and also participate in a number of leadership activities. Leaders are third year students, and receive further training still.

Training for the program includes a three-day (two night) camp, run by the Faculty of Arts. The training camp involves guest speakers on a range of topics, including mental health support, and issues of genders and sexualities. The camp is a great way to get to know your fellow Ambassadors and Leaders (and that's coming from somebody who very much dislikes camps).

Ambassadors and Leaders may be involved in a portfolio. There are four portfolios: academic, development, social, and visibility. Eac portfolio is responsible for different parts of the program. For example, the academic portfolio might run a study skills session; the social portfolio might organise a PAL trivia night.

In summary, it is a wonderful initiative, and a great opportunity to get more involved in university life.

[Coffee]

Quick question about majors/minors at Monash!

I have a friend who completed one major and three minors in her degree at Deakin. Is it possible to do the same at Monash? I'm interested in doing either a BA or a B.Ed (Hons)/BA with a specialisation in secondary education.

Thanks 

[Joseph41]

Quick question about majors/minors at Monash!

I have a friend who completed one major and three minors in her degree at Deakin. Is it possible to do the same at Monash? I'm interested in doing either a BA or a B.Ed (Hons)/BA with a specialisation in secondary education.

Thanks 

Hi Coffee,

Sorry for not responding to this sooner. I see you've posted the question now in the Ask Monash thread. I think that this is probably the way to go, because to be honest, I'm not 100% sure of the answer. There are certainly enough units to complete three minors (at least in a straight B.A.); whether or not Monash will actually recognise them is another issue.

If that doesn't work out, you could try asking directly at Arts Student Services (Level 2, Menzies).

[Joseph41]

Added:

Can I study three minors?

Courtesy of Ask Monash University

You can complete one major and three minors as part of our straight Bachelor of Arts, view the course map here.  Within the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education (Hons), you can complete one major and two minors, however won't have space for a third.  View the course map here.

[Aqua97]

question about readings. Readings are quite long and tedious, but are they absolutely necessary? or are lectures alone sufficient?

[Joseph41]

question about readings. Readings are quite long and tedious, but are they absolutely necessary? or are lectures alone sufficient?

Good question. This depends on the unit a bit. You can usually gauge how much emphasis is placed on readings (for each unit) by about Week 2 or 3, I've found. My experience is that there is great variation. In some of my units, the readings have been absolutely essential for basically all tutorials and assignments. For others, I didn't do a single one, and got by more than comfortably with just the lectures and tutorial discussions.

So yeah, I'm afraid there's no real definitive answer, here. If I had to generalise, I'd say that readings are usually important, but often not absolutely essential.

If you were asking about a particular unit, you could try the subject review thread to see if somebody has more specific advice.

Question added to the OP!

[Joseph41]

Added to opening post:

First in the Family

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If you’re the first in your family (of your generation) to attend university, you are likely eligible for the First in the Family Program. According to the page linked above, eligible students are:

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1. Those with parents or guardian who did not complete post secondary education.
2. Students with sibling(s) who have attended post secondary institutions, but your parents or guardian did not.

And the program offers:

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1. A chance to meet new friends with similar interests and backgrounds at social events.
2. An opportunity to gain expert knowledge in your area of study from an academic mentor.
3. Survival tips, support and meet new friends through a social mentor and seminars.

Vertical degree

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So this is a really, really, really cool opportunity that I really think I would have leapt on should have it been available in 2013. Basically, you finish your undergraduate degree *and* your Masters in four years. That’s the sickest. You can find more information here. But seriously, that’s a really great opportunity. For context, I’m in my fourth year and haven’t even started Masters, and I’m studying straight Arts.

At this stage, the available Masters are limited, but still. Check it out. From the page linked above, here is how it works:

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You complete 2 years of your Bachelor of Arts course and then:

1.   In third year you take Masters level units as your electives,
2.   In fourth year you complete the remainder of the Masters course.

And you can find a sample course structure here.

I wanted to get into Laws but didn’t

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Well that’s okay. There’s a grouse new option in 2017, namely the Bachelor of Arts (Law Pathway). You might be interested in the relevant flyer, found here.

Basically:

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You enrol in the Bachelor of Arts (Law Pathway). In your first year, you study four Arts units and four Laws units. And then, if you achieve a credit average (60%) in all four Laws units, you are guaranteed a place in the second year of a double degree of Laws/Arts.

The ATAR requirement is 90.00 (plus SEAS, I think).

Why not study a concurrent Diploma?

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Sometimes, you can study a Diploma concurrently with your degree. There are two on offer: Diploma in Languages, and Diploma in Liberal Arts. It will generally add one more year to your study period.

Arts internships

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If you’re looking for something a bit different, you might be interested in an internship. Internships allow you to gain more experience whilst still achieving credit toward your degree. Some really great opportunities can be found at this link (I actually had no idea that most of these existed).

Didn’t get into Arts?

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There are lots of different pathway opportunities. Don’t give up!

These include:

-   Single unit studies
-   TAFE
-   Monash College
-   MAP – Monash Access Program
-   Indigenous pathways

More on each of these is available at the link above.

VCE Extension Studies

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Game changer!

“If you’re a high achieving Year 12 student, Monash Extension will give you a taste of uni before finishing school – and you’ll be rewarded for it. You’ll complete two first year university subjects as part of your final year of school studies.” In 2017, you can study:

Spoiler

- Accounting
-   Biology
-   Biomedical science
-   Chemistry
-   Global Cultural Literacies*
-   History (Medieval & Renaissance)*
-   International Studies*
-   Mathematics
-   Mobile applications development
-   Musicology*
-   Physics
-   Principles of Commerce*
-   Psychology*

*New in 2017.

[Joseph41]

Added a little more to the opening post.

And I thought I'd bump this, considering the time of year, what with preferences and the like. I'm happy to answer any questions as best I can now that uni is done.

[Muuru]

Thanks for the guide.

I can relate to much of what was stated. I began my Arts degree in 2009 and I only ended up scraping into the course at Monash after a manic few years in VCE emotionally. I achieved fairly average results in my first year in the Arts course but I was very grateful for a certain History Professor who saw potential in me at the beginning of my second year. He told me that he would be more than willing to take me on for Honours when the time came about (I did not end up taking that offer, though). I ended up loving the course after that despite what others thought about Arts students at the university. I went on an international study tour in Europe during that year as well, which was the highlight of my course.

Post-Arts, I have completed a Master of Teaching and a Graduate Certificate in Education at The University of Melbourne. People are likely to scoff at that as well; however, I am very fortunate to have been presented with multiple promotion opportunities at work in the past year or so. I am now a Lead Teacher earning well above the median wage and loving what I am doing very much.

I never saw the Arts degree as a gateway to employment but rather as a means of bettering myself as a person for employment. I enrolled in Arts to begin with since I wanted to deepen my content knowledge and make my eventual Education degree more meaningful (teaching was where my heart lied). In the end, I think the most valuable thing that I ended up learning in the Arts degree was how the university game worked, e.g. how to write effective essays, developing 'soft skills' such as critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving, adaptability, etc. I had worked out how to play the university game well in my final year and was achieving consistent High Distinctions.

Do not rely on Arts to enhance your employability but at the same time do not fool yourself into thinking that most other undergraduate courses are any better. Most undergraduate degrees have almost identical graduate employment and salary outcomes, whether it be Arts, Science or Commerce, due to how generalised they are. It is what you make of those courses that count, and I believe I have made the most of my Arts course.

I suppose the main message to take away is that the Arts degree - and any degree, for that matter - is what you make of it. Be realistic about what you want to get out of Arts. Know what it can do for you and what it cannot do for you. Most importantly, have a plan in place during the degree and for when you exit the degree. 'Keeping multiple doors open' has been my mantra ever since entering university and employment and remains so until this day. It has served me well, I think.

[Joseph41]

^Muuru, what a fantastic post; thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

I have a couple questions for you, should you happen to be around at any point:

1. What were some of your favourite Arts units at Monash?

2. (And this one comes from somebody highly considering the course) How did you find the MTeach? I'd be really interested in any perspectives you may have, and particularly the influence of your BA on that Masters degree (on which you touched a little in your post).

But gosh darn, I loved your post. Thank you so much, once again. +1.

EDIT: And if anybody is currently considering studying Arts at Monash, please feel free to read the opening post and ask any questions that it doesn't cover. I'm more than happy to keep adding to this, particularly before the change of preference period.