Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Social Science in International Relations (Dual Degree)

at Western Sydney University - Bankstown Campus Australia

This is a broadly based, inter-disciplinary four-year double degree offering flexibility and choice within a wide range of offerings in the social sciences, as well as studies of International Relations and Asian Studies and an Asian language.

This degree seeks to equip you with all the interdisciplinary and specialist skills and knowledge that you will need on entering the workforce or on proceeding to advanced study.

Heritage and Tourism

In a highly mobile world (migration, tourism, media and communications, travel and transport) and in contemporary life where the preservation of historical and natural environments present as one of the major challenges facing all societies, heritage has become a touchstone for social and cultural identity, our understanding of modernity, peace and development, our senses of citizenship, custodianship and community. 

This major introduces contemporary heritage issues and provides an in-depth understanding of tourism as a social phenomenon.

It enables a critical examination of the relationship between heritage and tourism in number of settings within Australia (including Indigenous Australia) and internationally. 

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Social Sciences.

It will give you the skills and versatility to work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives and communication skills.

You need to include a Social Science Major, so you can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Social Science program structure.

 Indonesian

Language majors will enable you to develop an appropriate level of proficiency in a second language, which may be used for professional purposes such as teaching, interpreting and translation, business or international relations.

If you are undertaking a language major in Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian or Japanese you will be able to use the language in question according to its grammatical and pragmatic principles, communicate with native speakers appropriately in the spoken as well as the written mode, and demonstrate an understanding of the cultures and societies associated with the language.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Social Sciences.

It will give you the skills and versatility to work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives and communication skills.

You need to include a Social Science Major, so you can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Social Science program structure.

Geography and Urban Studies

Students in this major examine the geography of contemporary Australian cities and regions. Geography is the integrated study of people, places and environments.

The cutting edge interests of today’s Geographers include post-colonialism, the emergence of global information economies, indigenous issues, class and cultural disparities, population movement, sexuality and space, and the global diffusion of popular culture. Urban Studies is a newer discipline focused on social justice within the city, through its critical assessments of peoples’ access to scarce urban resources, such as housing, transport, education and employment.

The political, economic, and cultural forces that shape cities and urban policy are the key concerns of the Urban Studies curriculum.

These applied interests in urban well-being and city structure are the intellectual basis for the Urban Planning profession. The Geography and Urban Studies major is a compulsory component of the University’s accredited Planning course.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Social Sciences.

It will give you the skills and versatility to work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives and communication skills.

You need to include a Social Science Major, so you can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Social Science program structure.

Indigenous Australian Studies

What does it mean to live in Indigenous Australia? The Indigenous Australian Studies major offers you the exciting opportunity to acquire key cultural competencies that will enable you to understand and work more effectively with Indigenous Australians in professions such as the arts, communications, media, education, government and non-government, policy, health, sciences, and community services.

The Indigenous Australian Studies major addresses the cultural, historical, social and economic issues affecting Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and relationships.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Social Sciences.

It will give you the skills and versatility to work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives and communication skills.

You need to include a Social Science Major, so you can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Social Science program structure.

Innovation and Change

This major explores the links between leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of dynamic domestic and global environments. The major introduces the concepts of change and innovation as they relate to organisational transformation of businesses. You will deal with conflicting viewpoints to understand the complexity of the organisational relationships involved in change and innovation.

To prepare you for management roles, the major examines the challenges associated with developing sustainable, innovative and creative organisations, and includes assessments that facilitate engagement with elements of organisational change and innovation.

The major develops an understanding of how to initiate a business venture, taking advantages of perceived opportunities and mobilising the required resources. To this end, different theories and perspectives on leadership and entrepreneurship are examined, and you will be encouraged to apply them to real-life situations as a way of preparing to be future leaders and entrepreneurs.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Social Sciences.

It will give you the skills and versatility to work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives and communication skills.

You need to include a Social Science Major, so you can design your own academic program within the Bachelor of Social Science program structure.

History and Political Thought

Since the revival of humanist thought in the Renaissance, universities have placed studies in history and political thought at the centre of exploring what it is to be human.

At the heart of the History and Political Thought major are four compulsory units, which introduce the student to the modern history of humanity (since 1500). Although Europe is very prominent in the major, you will be invited to compare its history to the histories of Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The major culminates in a capstone unit in students’ final semester, discussing historical theories and methods. A wide range of elective units covers European, American, Australian and Asian history and political thought, and includes thematic units which range widely over time and place.

This combined degree is designed for students who want to combine their interest and expertise in International Relations and Asian Studies with a good understanding of basic business issues, complemented by a high level of knowledge relevant to a specific business discipline.

Graduates will have a solid grounding in the relationships of societies, cultures, languages and systems of government within the international system.

Students will develop their capacity to appreciate the historical development of relations among nation states, and analyse contemporary political, economic, social and cultural issues such as globalisation, transnationalism and migration.

Students complete a major in International Relations and Asian Studies, a minor in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish or Japanese languages, and a major in Marketing. When combined with a high level of knowledge from the specific business majors, you will be ready for the workplace of the future.

Human Resource Management

The Human Resource Management Major is designed for people who seek careers in human resource management and industrial relations. Graduates’ careers focus on enhancing the value of human and social capital through supporting employee engagement for many different kinds of organisations, market-oriented and community-oriented organisations and many kinds of people.

The teaching philosophy is based on knowledge in action, a fusion of the Australia Human Resource Institute’s capabilities for HR professionals and the Western Sydney University Graduate Attributes designed to secure success. An aim of the program is to instil those values and attitudes that can support leaders in judgements about balancing the pursuit of organisational objectives with creating opportunities for developing people’s capacities and careers. The perspectives are local and international, with an emphasis on the value of cultural and demographic diversity. 

The Bachelor of Arts (Dean’s Scholars) degree is designed to develop your communication and personal skills, creativity, capacity for independent thought, adaptability to new situations, and problem-solving abilities.

Innovation and Change

This major explores the links between leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of dynamic domestic and global environments. The major introduces the concepts of change and innovation as they relate to organisational transformation of businesses. You will deal with conflicting viewpoints to understand the complexity of the organisational relationships involved in change and innovation.

To prepare you for management roles, the major examines the challenges associated with developing sustainable, innovative and creative organisations, and includes assessments that facilitate engagement with elements of organisational change and innovation.

The major develops an understanding of how to initiate a business venture, taking advantages of perceived opportunities and mobilising the required resources. To this end, different theories and perspectives on leadership and entrepreneurship are examined, and you will be encouraged to apply them to real-life situations as a way of preparing to be future leaders and entrepreneurs.

With our revamped Bachelor of Business, you’re the boss. Start your major in your first year of study. Combine business subjects with majors and electives from across the whole university for a more diverse and adaptive skill set. Mix theory with real world industry projects. Gain industry-specific accreditation from Australia’s leading institutions.

Management

The Management major equips you with the expert skills to create a career as a management specialist. You will be prepared to succeed in a range of roles in contemporary private, public, and not-for-profit organisations in Australia and abroad. In this major you will develop strategic management knowledge to enable effective organisational decision making.

The units in this major focus on organisational learning and development and behaviour, operations management, leadership and entrepreneurship, change and innovation, and policy. You can look forward to a range of careers in the broad and complex field of management.

With our revamped Bachelor of Business, you’re the boss. Start your major in your first year of study. Combine business subjects with majors and electives from across the whole university for a more diverse and adaptive skill set. Mix theory with real world industry projects. Gain industry-specific accreditation from Australia’s leading institutions.

Property

The Property major equips you with the expert skills to create a career as a property specialist. You will be prepared to succeed in a range of roles in the property industry, including careers in valuation, property investment, property funds management and property development.

The practical Property major units focus on the property investment, business, planning and law, with opportunities for engagement with industry, dependent on availability. If you are seeking professional accreditation, you will also undertake specialised units in building and statutory and specialised valuation.

The core units in the Bachelor of Business will provide you with a foundation of business knowledge and develop your skills in innovation, career planning, and numeracy. The Property major builds on this knowledge and skills in an applied discipline based context.

Property specialists work for institutional investors with multi-billion dollar commercial property portfolios, major property companies, valuation firms and leading property advisory companies, both in Australia and overseas.

The Bachelor of Business (Property) is accredited by the Australian Property Institute (API) and depending on electives chosen, students may be eligible for API Certified Practising Valuer (CPV) certification. Students, depending on chosen electives, are also eligible for API certifications of Certified Property Practitioner, Certified Property Manager, Certified Asset Manager and Certified Development Practitioner. Note: Accreditation is currently being sought for program 6037 Diploma in Business/Bachelor of Business.

This major is available on-campus in full time and part time modes or by distance. Please contact the Property major Academic Program Advisor for information on the distance mode offering.