Bachelor of Arts in Peace and Development Studies

at Western Sydney University - Parramatta South Campus Australia

Tailor your studies to your specific goals by combining our Bachelor of Arts degree with the Bachelor of Creative Industries degree.

When you graduate after four years, you have two degrees, and the unique skills relevant to the contemporary employment environment.

The Arts component combines academic knowledge with practical real life training. It is designed to equip you with a broad range of skills and knowledge in research and critical enquiry, and is sufficiently flexible to cater to a range of career aspirations and personal interests.

In the Creative Industries component you will combine a core of entrepreneurship with major studies including culture and society, creative writing, design, enterprise innovation, journalism, literature, media arts, music performance and photo media.

Chinese

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 Chinese, 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 targets the wide application of information technology in business and commerce in Accounting.

This degree combines information technology with knowledge required by professional Accountants. It allows students to develop skills in application development, program design, systems analysis and design, networks, web-design, and the implementation of technology.

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.

Philosophy

Philosophy has always asked the ‘big questions’, for example, about the limits of our knowledge, the best way that humans can live together, how we understand the world around us, and what is ‘the good life’.

Our philosophy major enables you to develop particular skills and attributes – such as clear thinking, capacities to assess arguments and values, and sound understanding of important philosophical views – that have always been essential to university scholarship and which continue to be valuable for graduates in both public and private life.

Students must maintain a grade point average of 5 or above to remain in the program. Those who do not maintain this average will be transferred to the Bachelor of Arts.

Get ready for a journey of discovery when you study Science at Western. Develop the skills you need to investigate a wide range of scientific disciplines from astronomy to zoology. Help create a sustainable future in all businesses and industries.

Pick which subjects suit your career goals. Open up to a world of unlimited opportunities in astrophysics, conservation biology, drug design and pharmaceuticals, environmental health, food formulation, forensics, biomedical and biophysical research, hospital or pathology labs,  plant science and horticulture, and wildlife management. 

Forensic Science

This major provides students specialised expertise in forensic science including methods of forensic analysis, crime scene investigation, forensic photography, forensic investigation, crime and criminal justice and complex cases. Career opportunities include forensic scientists, crime scene investigators, private investigators and consultants, police officers, drug analysts, researchers and academics, and specialised forensic science practitioners. The main employers of forensic scientists are State and Federal police services, State and Commonwealth Government Health Departments and analytical chemistry laboratories. Graduates will be versatile with a wide skills base with (depending on their choice of electives) potential for employment in analytical chemistry and microbiology, quality control and assurance, biochemistry and molecular biology, scientific research, education and the chemical industry.

Get ready for a journey of discovery when you study Science at Western. Develop the skills you need to investigate a wide range of scientific disciplines from astronomy to zoology. Help create a sustainable future in all businesses and industries.

Pick which subjects suit your career goals. Open up to a world of unlimited opportunities in astrophysics, conservation biology, drug design and pharmaceuticals, environmental health, food formulation, forensics, biomedical and biophysical research, hospital or pathology labs,  plant science and horticulture, and wildlife management. 

Anatomy and Physiology

This degree will provide you with the opportunity to learn about the basic sciences underpinning human health, wellbeing and its application to human disease. The anatomy and physiology major focuses on the anatomy and physiology of the human body in relation to health and disease. The degree also allows for enrolment in a variety of free electives, so students can design their own learning journey.

This double degree is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Business.

Study in the Bachelor of Arts component is designed to develop communication and personal skills, creativity and a capacity for independent thought, adaptability to new situations and problem-solving skills, attributes increasingly demanded by employers.

 Peace and Development Studies

The Peace and Development Studies major is concerned with methods for promoting peace, human rights and sustainability. It involves a critical analysis of inequalities of power and opportunity that lead to international and local conflict, social dislocation and environmental degradation. Students will examine the structural causes of racist and gendered violence, environmental crises, forced migration, poverty, resource conflict, and inter-generational inequity.

The inter-related network of solutions includes empowerment and self-determination, sustainable living, constructive development, peacemaking and peace building.

These require understanding of the theories and method for identifying, measuring and resolving conflict and environmental degradation. The assumptions and failings of traditional development practice are critically assessed. Students will engage social theory within an interdisciplinary and applied framework, at local, national and international levels.

The major is comprised of three fields: 1) structural inequality, social justice & human rights; 2) development and sustainability; 3) peace and humanitarian responses/actions.

This double degree program is designed for students whose interests span the Arts and Sciences. Our graduates work across a range of academic and professional disciplines, including the opportunity to develop global perspectives.

Biology

Biology is underpinned by cells, the fundamental units necessary for organisms to grow, reproduce and interact with each other and the environment. Cells are also the basis of emerging computer models and bio-technology innovations. Biologists integrate principles from many disciplines, including chemistry, bio-physics, genetics, biochemistry, physiology and bioinformatics, for a more complete understanding of animal, plant and microbial cell function.

Understanding these processes and the principles that govern the organization and function of cells are a necessary framework for creating the next advances in developmental biology and disease mitigation. At Western Sydney University, the strong emphasis on hands-on experience gives biology graduates an excellent foundation for careers in: teaching, academia, research, biotechnology, industry, law and administration. The flexibility of the major also enables students to combine their interest with other disciplines including ecology, environment, zoology and agriculture and environmental health.

With this degree, you will learn how to plan, develop and integrate applications and information systems into a global business environment.

Today, to implement technology, practising professionals need to not only have knowledge and skills in information and communications technology, but they also need to understand the context in which computer technology can best be selected, applied and implemented.

Mobile Computing

This major covers theories and technologies used for the development of distributed applications for hand-held mobile devices. Students completing this major will understand the advanced principles related to mobile hardware devices, data storage and transmission, and communication networks. In addition they will identify, analyse, and formulate solutions to real-world problems in the mobile domain. In devising these solutions students will also consider principles associated with user interface design, professional and ethical issues, in particular those relating to security and privacy of user data and user behaviour related to mobile devices and its applications.

This double degree program is designed in recognition of the globalising nature of the information technology industry.

In the IT area, the program allows students to develop skills in application development, program design, systems analysis and design, networks, web-design, and the implementation of technology.

 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 offers a highly valued career path in criminology and law. The Bachelor of Criminology degree offers students the opportunity to study crime and criminal justice in both a conceptual and an applied way that particularly stresses social and cultural definitions of criminality and the reactions to it.

The Bachelor of Laws program satisfies the academic degree requirements for admission to practice as an Australian lawyer. Students will engage in collaborative face-to-face problem and case-based learning, will be supported by online learning materials, and will participate in authentic assessment to develop knowledge and skills.

Areas of focus in the Bachelor of Criminology include criminal justice institutions and practices, the development of criminology as a discipline and its various strands, forms and patterns of victimisation, crime prevention strategies and debates, aspects of juvenile justice, the evolution of prisons and different forms of punishment, law enforcement and surveillance, violence, gender and crime, and cultural depictions of crime and contemporary debates in criminology. The degree addresses the criminalisation of disadvantage through race, class, disability and gender, with a focus on the nexus between social and criminal justice. This will equip students with the specialist skills and knowledge that a new graduate would need on entering the workforce or on proceeding to advanced study.

The Bachelor of Laws provides students with a broad progressive legal education with a strong practical orientation to the law. Students develop skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, research, communication, collaboration, self-management, and ethical and professional awareness and judgement. Students will also develop skills in legal advocacy, negotiation, and legal technology and extend their professional and learning experiences through work integrated learning, clinical placement and international exchange engagements.