Humanities and social sciences

What to expect

Getting a degree in humanities and social sciences

What to expect

If you are interested in the big picture, the timeless questions, really getting your head buzzing, then it’s hard to go past the humanities and social sciences.

This is the second largest of our fields of study after business and management. It is also one of the most complicated — lots of courses and specialisations within courses, different kinds of careers and many further study options.

Many faculties have had a hard time in recent years, and funding issues have endangered some disciplines. However, those who do opt for the humanities are very satisfied with what they get. While some students find they need more practical learning or more vocational direction, for most students, the chance to explore their interests in the humanities and to learn for the sake of it is still too appealing to turn down.

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Getting a degree in humanities and social sciences

Visit the University Ratings section for humanities and social sciences course ratings.

Courses and specialisations

The Bachelor of Arts is the flagship qualification in this field. The beauty of a general course like the ‘BA’, as it is called, is the freedom it gives you. You can choose to explore whatever fascinates you — Egyptian artefacts, Middle English poetry, linguistic structures, or theories about culture and aesthetics.

Disciplines like philosophy are as old as the university institution itself but there are also social science disciplines such as politics and sociology. These cover plenty of theory but also critically analyse practical ‘real world’ problems.

If you are concerned about job prospects, consider doing a double degree; for a meal ticket add law, education, engineering, business, or one of many others. In addition, some of the newer specialisations in the humanities and social sciences are in vocational areas, including library and information studies, policy and government.

Getting in

With so many courses on offer in the humanities and social sciences field, it will not be too tough to find a place in a relevant degree somewhere. However, cut-offs in arts degrees in the major metropolitan universities are surprisingly high. Be prepared to put down a few different preferences.

Where to study

After degrees in business and management, courses in humanities and social sciences are the most widely available of all fields. Many courses offer part-time options, quite a few will accommodate distance education students.

As for the availability of different specialisations, although the closure of some humanities departments has narrowed down the discipline menu in some institutions, there is still plenty to choose from. And remember, there is much choice within as well as between courses, so you don’t stop making decisions on enrolment day.

What to look for

Unlike other university faculties, most disciplines in the humanities and social sciences have not been able to raise money by selling their services, getting grants from big business or attracting overseas students (who tend to go into the more ‘applied’ or vocational studies). With shrinking amounts of money to spend, there has been much publicity about increasing student-staff ratios and declining library services — and libraries are the workshops of these disciplines. Check out the stats on both of these things.

If you think you might do postgraduate research, the universities with established research track records are usually best.

Careers for humanities and social sciences degree graduates

A clear career path might not present itself straight away, but a good degree in this field will open up a very wide range of occupations and workplaces.

There are some specialisations in the humanities and social sciences field that offer clear career paths (e.g. counselling, library studies) but for graduates of others, it takes a while for their skills and knowledge to reap rewards. However, ten years down the track, graduates find their way to positions where communication, critical thinking, research, and problem-solving skills are highly prized and, many claim, equip graduates for an evolving labour market. And if you want to have your cake and eat it too there are lots of double degrees available.

These courses always score very well in the national survey of overall satisfaction of university graduates. Graduates are very pleased with the teaching, their university workload and their skills. In 2009, there was a 30 per cent graduate unemployment rate. For those who did enter the labour market, the average starting salary of $46,569 was average compared to other fields of study. Career pathways may include postgraduate study, with
34 per cent of graduates going on to further study. Many government and major corporations offer programs for graduates of humanities and social sciences.

For more information

Other related fields that may be of interest include business and management , communications , economics , education and training , languages , law , psychology , and social work .

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