Our Departments

Our teaching, research and expertise across the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is divided into five departments. Explore the expertise, research, activity, collaborations, partnerships and subject areas offered in each of our diverse and active departments at the links below.


A pair of hands washes dirt off an artefact at an archaeological digDepartment of Archaeology, Classics and History

Whether piecing together the ancient past, looking at the Middle Ages, colonial Australia, or modern Europe, we delve into the cultures, people and events that have shaped the world and changed life as we know it.

Our researchers and students have access to a wealth of artefacts, libraries and documents and opportunity for field trips, international exchanges and study programs to complement their studies. Innovative 3D visualisations of sites and objects ensure students can fully engage in our educational programs, no matter where they are based.

Find out more about the Department of Archaeology, Classics and History.


Close-up of hands manipulating images on a tablet with a desktop computer blurred in the backgroundDepartment of Creative Arts and Communication

We prepare students for success in a dynamic and rapidly changing world by cultivating creativity, critical thinking, effective communication, cultural awareness, collaboration and community engagement.

We encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in artistic expression and creative work while fostering respect for the history and traditions that have shaped our understanding of the world and ourselves. Students can pursue diverse artistic endeavours as performers, artists, designers, writers, editors, curators, directors, actors, composers, film makers and researchers.

Find out more about the Department of Creative Arts and Communication.


Department of Geography and Planning

Skyline of a busy city at dusk Geography & Planning is about our world and our place in it, and working towards a more liveable, more sustainable world to survive and thrive into the future.

Geography is concerned with our relationships with the physical and built environments and is essential for answering the critical questions currently facing humanity: climate change, ecological collapse, human population growth, economic development, social inequality and accelerating land and water degradation.

Planning is about designing places that will stand the test of time and not cost the Earth.

Find out more about the Department of Geography and Planning.


Artistic public display of colourful umbrellas suspended in the sky among city buildingsDepartment of Literatures, Languages, Linguistics and Cultures

Our department has expertise in the literature of classical antiquity, English literature (from Australia and the wider anglophone world), and seven modern languages, cultures and literatures across Asia and Europe.

Our students learn to be effective communicators as well as critical and analytical thinkers whether by studying classical or modern literature in English and other languages, reading and writing persuasive English texts, or as communicators in Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.

Find out more about the Department of Literatures, Languages, Linguistics and Cultures.


Department of Social and Philosophical Inquiry

Group of young people silhouetted against a sunset  We explore critical questions about our communities and the world from a range of disciplinary perspectives and are attentive to the problems and issues faced by local and global communities.

Our researchers explore the impact of policies, governments, cultures and our changing physical worlds on the most disadvantaged. Our aim is to inform how human consciousness and action can overcome those systems and attitudes that seek to maintain inequality and uphold injustice.

Our students seek to understand and develop responses for peaceful, sustainable and resilient communities.

Find out more about the Department of Social and Philosophical Inquiry