Why a Bachelor of Arts?
| Why study for a Bachelor of Arts degree? If you enrol in the BA (three years, full time) you will become part of the intellectual and cultural tradition that has done most to shape the society and world you inhabit. Almost everywhere in the western world the Arts are at the heart of a university; from the earliest times to the present the study of the humanities has been at the centre of what universities do. It is in the Arts that the big questions about human beings are confronted; questions about human behaviour, beliefs, social organization, creative activities and much more besides. Although many other activities have found a home in the university over the last twenty years, the study of Arts, broadly defined, is still the major focus of student activity in western societies. Many students are unaware that they are joining the mainstream of the western tradition; they overvalue vocationally specific degree programmes and fail to recognise the real potential of generalist awards like the BA. The BA is a generalist degree and allows you choose your areas of study to meet your interests and career goals. More than thirty subjects are available to you, while subjects from non-Arts areas can also be included. Some will be familiar others less so but all offer exciting challenges. As BA students you have a smorgasbord of intellectual opportunity before you and the chance to explore many facets of the human condition. Although in many universities the range of Arts subjects has been reduced the choice available to you at UNE remains remarkably broad. If you are interested in the humanities you have as comprehensive a range of subjects at UNE as you will find anywhere in Australia. As you enrol in the BA you may be wondering what career paths are open to you. There are many jokes about the alleged uselessness of a BA because it is easy to see where a degree in engineering, nursing or commerce might lead but less obvious for Arts. In fact an Arts degree is, in many ways, the most valuable of all and BA students have one of the highest rates of post-graduation employment. There are limited openings for people with highly specialised degrees but BA graduates are not limited by narrow specialisation. The employability of Arts graduates is a reflection of the skills they acquire during their study and this needs to be more widely acknowledged. Robert Reich, a distinguished American economist, was asked to identify the skills that would serve people well in the first decade of the twenty-first century. He suggested that people who could think in abstract terms, who had well developed conceptual abilities, who could think critically, who could analyse problems and create solutions, who had general research skills and who could communicate effectively would almost certainly be the most employable. He might have been describing the skills fostered during a BA. When employers consider a BA graduate for a job they know that the person has a range of skills and has applied them successfully. Employers today are looking for flexibility in their staff, they expect to retrain them for the particular task they want them to do, and that is why are looking for people who are intellectually flexible, have analytical minds and good communication skills. A student with a BA has shown they can think for themselves, can acquire and process information, can communicate their thoughts effectively and exercise initiative. That is exactly what employers are looking for and no career is closed to BA graduates. As Janet Holmes a Court told the Financial Review, for her company, "Arts graduates make the best employees". Whether you are looking for a degree to enhance your career prospects, or simply fulfilling a deeply held desire to learn more about things that interest you, the BA offers you an exciting and stimulating challenge. |