Of course an Arts degree does not fit you for a specific job, rather it lays the foundation for success in many spheres. Our graduates are found in many walks of life. But the message we are getting from employers more and more is that they want graduates with good generalist degrees. Thus students entering the Faculty should see their studies here as an excellent passport to the future. But rarely will a BA suffice. You should see your studies here as part of a larger package, where you will need to combine your generalist degree with either a vocational program (through our combined degrees), a specialised postgraduate coursework degree or on-the-job training provided by an employer (and sometimes a combination of these). What you can have confidence in is that the excellence of the generalist foundation the Faculty seeks to provide. In the rapidly changing learning environment of The University of Sydney you will have the opportunity, through our combined and specialist degrees, to link the skills you acquire in the humanities and social sciences with other areas of the University - law, economics, science, education, engineering, and nursing, to name but a few, developing generalist skills relevant to all fields in conjunction with specific expertise. Graduates from this Faculty have forged stimulating and important careers in many fields, such as the professions, the media, government, business, industry, commerce, community organisations and the arts.
An education in the humanities and social sciences, however, is more than just a means of fitting you for the demands of a career. By introducing you to the riches of the humanities, the social sciences, languages, music and the arts, the Faculty seeks to develop new horizons for all its students, to help them achieve their potential as productive, fulfilled, creative, imaginative, tolerant and useful citizens. We believe that what you learn here will stand you in good stead for the rest of your lives, not just your working lives.
You are joining a body of about 6,500 students, almost 5,500 of whom are undergraduates, with an academic staff of about 200 and 80 administrative staff. Students come from a diversity of backgrounds: Australian and overseas born, of English and non-English speaking backgrounds, domestic and international students, students of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, recent school leavers and older students who may have begun or completed other forms of vocational or higher education, with a range of employment experiences, all creating a richness in the student population which contributes to the scholarly debates in formal tutorials and seminars and in your informal discussions.
You will find that the various units you have the opportunity to study, in your Arts and other Arts-related degrees, are taught not only within the departments and inter-departmental programs in the Faculty itself, but also in other departments outside of Arts, especially in Science, Economics and Education. Your future may see you take a fourth year to do an honours degree, and the Faculty of Arts is proud of its advanced level units of study which attract students who wish to undertake research in depth in their chosen field. Or you may take a second or combined degree, enter postgraduate research or coursework in this or another university.
only cause tourism subjects don't have textbooks, so I have no reference for future readings, so i have to pay careful attention in lectures. Lectures do provide you with very good information that you will need later on.
