Course information for - 2027 entry
Domestic
  • Domestic
  • International

Offered at 3 locations
  • Brisbane
  • Melbourne
  • Strathfield

Duration
1 year full-time or equivalent part-time
ATAR
N/A
Fees (first year)*

$18024 CSP

Start dates

Semester 1 intake: Beginning March 2027

Applications open August 2026

Midyear (Semester 2) intake: Not offered this intake

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 coursework and potential internship and fieldwork opportunities. You will also enhance your critical and innovative thinking skills, building the credentials to apply for graduate research degrees (such as a research master's 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.

Commencing Semester 1 (full-time)

  • Honours Thesis units Honours Thesis unitsHONS401 Honours Research Project A 20 cp
  • Honours Coursework units Honours Coursework unitsHONS403 Theories and Methods in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Studies 10 cp
  • Honours Coursework units Honours Coursework unitsHONS404 Research Communication 10 cp
  • Honours Thesis units Honours Thesis unitsHONS402 Honours Research Project B 30 cp
  • Honours Coursework units10 cp

Commencing Semester 1 (part-time)

Graduate statement

Insight

As a Bachelor of Arts Honours graduate, you possess research based knowledge and insight into some of the great social and cultural debates faced by humanity in different eras and contexts. This awareness is based on a variety of approaches to knowing and learning inclusive of Indigenous knowledges, reflexive practice, applied critical approaches, and empirical evidence. This course initiates your professional role in social and cultural aspects of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences by applying the insight gained across numerous possible disciplinary settings, thereby actively working towards greater knowledge, skills in reading, writing, communication and research. You also have insight into the various stages required to plan, manage and implement a year-long project. The knowledge and skills you have developed in your Honours course may act as a bridge to further study at postgraduate levels or into the workforce. 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 a Bachelor of Arts Honours graduate you have empathy with the challenges and obstacles to human flourishing and also the thinkers, change-makers and creators who have contributed deeply to societies around the world. Depending on the subject you have chosen to focus on you may have explored ancient or modern historical experiences, social and environmental sustainability, political, business or economic conundrums, creative and cultural contributions, great thinkers and religions, or social justice issues through criminology, youth work or human rights.You will have had the opportunity to explore the ways in which these challenges are intimately related to human dignity and socially and environmentally marginalised communities. This empathy is grounded in the specific learnings and applications of a variety of approaches to the arts, humanities and social sciences including protocols and approaches to research used by Indigenous researchers whose care for country and community, engagement with analysing problems, and listening to diverse voices, provides new directions for research in Australia and around the world. In your own research project, you will have developed ethical strategies for seeking out, questioning and using evidence. As a graduate empathy is translated into action through application in a variety of professional roles contributing to affecting lasting change. As an ACU graduate you value human dignity and diversity. This appreciation is founded on deep reflection, and empathy. You have the opportunity to 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 a Bachelor of Arts Honours graduate, you utilise imagination to develop approaches to defining and achieving socially and culturally informed, evidence based approaches across a wide range of possible areas in the arts, humanities and social sciences. You use a range of technologies to facilitate engagement with information, case studies, histories, and voices. You use critical and creative thinking to enhance engagement with, and practice of, key techniques in understanding the lives of others, analysing social and cultural trends, using evidence to build an argument, communicate clearly and consider the needs of different stakeholders. You appreciate the role of these skills to actively translate imagination into action in societies and cultures. You implement evidence-based approaches to completing taks to enable informed decision-making across a range of institutional and organisational foci within culturally respectful and community-sensitive frameworks. 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 a Bachelor of Arts Honours graduate you actively apply skills, knowledges, and empathy to positively impact human dignity, contributing meaningfully to the common good. Your empathy, skills, and knowledge in fields in the arts, humanities and social sciences are impactful through strategic and innovative methods of application in relevant professional settings. Impact is also established as a graduate, through effective communication that raises awareness about, and develops empathy for, social and cultural sustainability in the world around you. As a graduate, your impact is ultimately to protect and preserve social, cultural, and creative aspects of healthy communities. 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 Advisers.

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 5.00 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 5.00 on the ACU seven-point scale across the visual arts/design units in their final year of study; or
  3. Where a student has completed a double degree at the Bachelor level, the GPA rule will be calculated/assessed for the major within the relevant degree in the National School of Arts and Humanities.

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 2027 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*

$18024 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

Apply directly to ACU

Apply now

Deferment

No deferment available.

Staff Profile

Staff profile Dr Ellen Warne

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. 

Staff profile Assoc. Prof. Gil Davis

Assoc. Prof. Gil Davis

Director, Ancient Israel Program, National School of Arts and Humanities

Associate Professor Gil Davis directs the Ancient Israel Program which offers a full Major and Minor in the archaeology, history and languages of ancient Israel to students in Arts, Education, Theology and the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation together with an annual dig in Israel and school outreach. His research interests range across ancient Israel, Archaic Athens, communications, epigraphy and especially numismatics and archaeometallurgy. His publications centre mostly on geolocating and isotopically identifying ancient silver ore sources and matching them with coins and silver artefacts. He has been the Managing Editor of the last eight volumes of the Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia, the peak body for numismatics in Australia. 

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