Courses

French, Italian, Modern Greek and Spanish may be taken as "major sequences" within the Bachelor of Arts. A major sequence is a progressive sequence of topics taken at the first, second and third levels of the degree. When the sequence is taken only at the first and second level, this is called a "minor sequence". Normally, a full-time student will undertake first-level studies in a sequence in the first year of enrolment, second-level studies in the second year and third-level studies in the final year.

There are currently 36 different major sequences available in the Bachelor of Arts to commencing first-year students. First-level topics are designated with a four-digit numerical code beginning with a digit 1 (eg. ITAL 1121 is a first-level topic in Italian). First-level topics are weighted at 4.5 units each. This means that a full-time student would normally take four first-level topics in each Semester. Second-level and third-level topics are generally weighted at 6 units each, and they have four-digit numerical codes beginning with 2 or 3.

Students may take a language not only as one of the subjects within the Bachelor of Arts but also as part of degree programmes such as the Bachelor of International Studies (BIS), whose degree structures allow and encourage the inclusion of second-language study. The Bachelor of International Studies provides a contemporary and historical understanding of foreign societies, cultures, languages and systems of government and of the complex relationships within the international system. A language is recommended as part of the degree in Computer Science. A programme in European Studies combines majors in a European language. The recently-restructured Bachelor of Education permits students to take a language as a major, but with some rearrangement of the unit distribution across the three years and with special emphasis placed on language proficiency.