Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Creative Industries (1842)

  • Approved Abbreviation: BA/BCrInd
  • Western Sydney University Program Code: 1842
  • AQF Level: 7

CRICOS Code: 095720D

This program applies to students who commenced in 2021 or later.

Students should follow the program structure for the session start date relevant to the year they commenced.

For Commencement Year 2017 - 2020 - please refer to: 1842.1 Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Creative Industries

Arts graduates who previously would have planned a career in fields such as publishing or curating now face a future where they will be required to continuously adapt and reapply their skills to changing work environments. This double degree brings together the existing Arts program with studies in emerging creative industries, allowing students who are interested in pursuing careers which require the diverse skill set of Arts graduates to also engage with new paradigms of creative and cultural production, developing skills in entrepreneurship and working in collaborative projects with creative industries in Greater Western Sydney (GWS).

Students in this double degree also have the opportunity to complete a semester of study overseas and receive advanced standing towards their BA majors and minors subject to Western Sydney University limits on advanced standing. Students are encouraged to do so but must discuss this with a BA program advisor first.

  • Director of Academic Program - Dr Nicole Bridges

Study Mode

Four years full-time or eight years part-time.

Program Advice

Dr Milissa Deitz

Prospective students should visit the following websites for general enquiries about this program.

Enquire about this program| Local Admission | International Admission |

Location

Campus Attendance Mode Advice
Parramatta Campus - Victoria Road Full Time Internal See above
Parramatta Campus - Victoria Road Part Time Internal See above

 Accreditation

The Bachelor of Creative Industries is accredited by professional organisations including the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) and the Media Foundation of Australia (MFA).

Work Integrated Learning

Western Sydney University seeks to enhance student learning experiences by enabling students to engage in the culture, expectations and practices of their profession or discipline.  This program includes a placement or other community-based unpaid practical experience.

There is a mandatory work component required for completion of this program.  Please contact the Program Advisor listed above for information.

International students should also refer to the link below for more information and a link to the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS).

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) for international students

Admission

Students are admitted on the basis of their ATAR score.

Assumed knowledge: two units of HSC English.

Recommended studies: HSC English Standard, or equivalent.

Applicants wishing to pursue a major in Music will be selected by one of three methods:

1. Attain an HSC Music result in band 4 or above. No audition is required.

2. Hold the following AMEB or equivalent (e.g. Trinity College) qualification:

a. PASS standard (minimum) of 6th Grade Performance (instrument or voice) AND

b. PASS standard (minimum) of 4th Grade musicianship and/or theory.

No audition is required.

3. Attend an audition in person as a performer and/or composer. Applicants applying as a composer will need to bring recordings and/or scores of original compositions to the audition. After applying to UAC or Directly to Western applicants are required to book an audition online.

Online audition booking system

If not auditioning, applicants wishing to pursue a Music major will need to upload their supporting documentation (e.g. AMEB certificates demonstrating level of achievement in performance and musicianship and/or music theory).

Applications from Australian and New Zealand citizens and holders of permanent resident visas may be made via the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) or directly through the Western Portal. Use the links below to apply via UAC or Western Sydney University. Applications made directly to Western Sydney do not have an application fee.

http://www.uac.edu.au/
https://westernsydney.uac.edu.au/ws/

Applicants who have undertaken studies overseas may have to provide proof of proficiency in English. Local applicants who are applying through the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) will find details of minimum English proficiency requirements and acceptable proof on the UAC website. Local applicants applying directly to the University should also use the information provided on the UAC website.

International students currently completing an Australian Year 12 in or outside Australia, an International Baccalaureate in Australia or a New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 3 must apply via UAC International.

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

All other International applicants must apply directly to the University via the International Office.  

International students applying to the University through the International Office can find details of minimum English proficiency requirements and acceptable proof on their website.

International Office

Overseas qualifications must be deemed by the Australian Education International - National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (AEI-NOOSR) to be equivalent to Australian qualifications in order to be considered by UAC and Western Sydney University.

Program Structure

Qualification for this award requires the successful completion of 320 credit points including the subjects listed in the recommended sequence below.

Students must complete

  • 40 credit points of Arts core subjects
  • 40 credit point Arts Core Minor
  • 80 credit points of Creative Industries core subjects (which includes one Introduction to Major Pool subject)
  • 80 credit point Arts Major
  • 80 credit point Creative Industries Major

Arts Core Subjects

Subject Title Credit Points
HUMN 1052Australian Politics and Active Citizenship10
HUMN 1053Diversity, Language and Culture10
LANG 1029Foundations of Academic English10
LANG 1030Thinking Critically About Texts and Society10
Total Credit Points40

Arts Core Minors

Students must select one minor from the list below

Note: Not all minors are available on all campuses

Important Note

Students cannot undertake a Major in the same subject area as their Core Minor for this double degree.

There are also several Arts / Creative Industries majors which share multiple common subjects, and as such these majors are incompatible and cannot both be undertaken in this double degree program. Students may select one of the following majors, but not both:

0025 Musicology or 0209 Music
0023 Music Performance or 0209 Music
0017 Innovation and Change or 0078 Enterprise Innovation

Introduction to Major Subject Pool

Students select one of the following subjects as their Introduction to Major Subject – one which corresponds to the Creative Industries major selected

Subject Title Credit Points
Select one of following:10
Advertising: An Introduction
Creative Writing: The Imaginative Life
Introduction to Culture and Society
Introduction to Screen Media
Fundamentals of Australian Law
News and Media Today
Image Design
Introduction to Literary Studies
Music Production
Organisational Behaviour
Public Relations Theory and Practice
Web and Time-based Design
Total Credit Points10

Equivalent Subjects

The subject listed below counts towards completion of the Introduction to Major Pool Subject for students who passed this subject in 2021 or earlier. 

HUMN 1017 - Everyday Life, replaced by HUMN 1066 Introduction to Culture and Society

Recommended Sequence

Recommended sequence subject to variation based on the students nominated Creative Industries major.

Full-time star-year intake

Plan of Study Grid
Year 1
Autumn sessionCredit Points
LANG 1029 Foundations of Academic English 10
HUMN 1053 Diversity, Language and Culture 10
COMM 1036 Introduction to the Creative Industries 10
Select one Creative Industries Introduction to Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Spring session
LANG 1030 Thinking Critically About Texts and Society 10
HUMN 1052 Australian Politics and Active Citizenship 10
BUSM 1008 Enterprise Leadership 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Year 2
Autumn session
Select one Arts Minor Subject 10
Select one Creative Industries Major Subject 10
Select two Arts Major Subjects 20
 Credit Points40
Spring session
BUSM 1010 Financing Enterprises 10
Select one Arts Minor Subject 10
Select one Creative Industries Major Subject 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Year 3
Autumn session
BUSM 1006 Enterprise Innovation and Markets 10
Select one Arts Minor Subject 10
Select one Creative Industries Major Subject 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Spring session
COMM 3011 Creative TEAMS 1 10
Select one Arts Minor Subject 10
Select one Creative Industries Major Subject 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Year 4
Autumn session
COMM 3012 Creative TEAMS 2 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
Select two Creative Industries Major Subjects 20
 Credit Points40
Spring session
COMM 3010 Creative Industries Professional Project or Internship 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
Select two Creative Industries Major Subjects 20
 Credit Points40
 Total Credit Points320

Full-time mid-year intake

Plan of Study Grid
Year 1
Spring sessionCredit Points
Select one BA Core subject (Level 1) 10
Select one BA Core subject (Level 1) 10
Select one BA Core subject (Level 1) 10
Select one Creative Industries Introduction to Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Autumn session
Select one BA Core subject (Level 1) 10
BUSM 1008 Enterprise Leadership 10
COMM 1036 Introduction to the Creative Industries 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Year 2
Spring session
BUSM 1010 Financing Enterprises 10
Select one Arts Minor Subject 10
Select one Creative Industries Major Subject 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Autumn session
Select one Arts Minor Subject 10
Select one Creative Industries Major Subject 10
Select two Arts Major Subjects 20
 Credit Points40
Year 3
Spring session
COMM 3011 Creative TEAMS 1 10
Select one Arts Minor Subject 10
Select one Creative Industries Major Subject 10
Select one Arts Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Autumn session
BUSM 1006 Enterprise Innovation and Markets 10
COMM 3012 Creative TEAMS 2 10
Select one Arts Minor Subject 10
Select one Creative Industries Major Subject 10
 Credit Points40
Year 4
Spring session
COMM 3010 Creative Industries Professional Project or Internship 10
Select one Arts Minor Subjects 10
Select two Creative Industries Major Subjects 20
 Credit Points40
Autumn session
Select two Arts Major Subjects 20
Select two Creative Industries Major Subjects 20
 Credit Points40
 Total Credit Points320

Arts Majors

Students cannot undertake a Major in the same subject area as their Core Minor for this double degree.

Note: Several fields of study are available in both the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Creative Industries major pools; whilst students must select 2 different majors for this double degree, the program has been structured so that, after selecting the Bachelor of Arts major, students may choose to also undertake another of the Arts majors in the Creative Industries should they wish to (0009 English, 0005 Creative Writing, 0264 Cultural and Society or 0070 Digital Cultures). Students completing another Arts major for the Creative Industries component must complete the corresponding Introduction to Major subject in their first year.

The Bachelor of Arts major to be selected from the list below

Note: Each major must have no more than three Level 1 subjects (including the Introduction to Major subject) and a minimum of three Level 3 subjects)

Note: Not all majors are available on all campuses

Creative Industries Majors

The Bachelor of Creative Industries major to be selected from the list below