Bachelor of Arts
BA
Duration
3 years full-time
Entry times
Semester 1 or 2 (February or July)
Fees Estimate
Scholarships
Pathways
Pathways include:
- Bachelor of Arts with Honours
- Master of Arts
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Download Brochure
Duration
3 years full-time
Entry times
Semester 1 or 2 (February or July)
Fees Estimate
Scholarships
Pathways
Pathways include:
- Bachelor of Arts with Honours
- Master of Arts
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Download Brochure
Overview
With 30 major subjects to choose from and spanning the humanities, social sciences, languages, and creative arts, Bachelor of Arts (BA) students can follow their passion and gain valuable skills.
Over the three years of your degree, you will gain the critical thinking, creative problem solving, and communication skills that employers want. Unique practical experiences such as internships are on offer too.
- Flexible degree so you can specialise or study a wide variety of topics.
- Develops skills recruiters want – research, writing, critical thinking, analysis, and communication.
- Option of an internship course in second and third year to gain practical experience.
- A wide range of scholarship, postgraduate, and career opportunities are available.
Admission to UC with University Entrance (or equivalent) is required to enrol.
Students with English as an additional language are also required to meet UC's English language requirements.
For information on the enrolment process, please see how to apply for undergraduate qualifications.
Recommended preparation
All Arts subjects, including languages, can be started at first-year level without previous knowledge of the subject. A good standard of oral and written English is important.
Successful study to Year 13 is recommended for advanced Mathematics courses.
Typical degree structure for Bachelor of Arts
-
Arts major courses
-
Arts minor courses
-
Other Arts courses
-
Courses from Arts or other degrees
(1) Students must complete at least 15 points from a prescribed list of courses. These points can be completed during any year of the degree.
Each small block represents a 15-point course. However, some courses may be 30 points (or more).
This diagram is an example only – other combinations are possible.
For all major requirements and more information, go to the Regulations for the Bachelor of Arts.
The Bachelor of Arts requires a minimum total of 360 points:
- at least 255 points from Arts courses, including 15 points from a prescribed list of courses
- the remaining 105 points can be from either Arts courses or courses from other degrees.
A minimum of 225 points must be from courses above 100-level, with at least 90 points at 300-level.
The degree takes 3 years of full-time study, or can be studied part-time for up to 10 years.
For study planning help, contact the UC Liaison Office | Te Rōpū Takawaenga o UC (new students) or a College of Arts | Te Rāngai Toi Tangata Student Advisor (advancing students).
Majors and minors
BA students have the option of completing either:
- a major and a minor subject
- two majors (a double major)
Each major has specific course requirements, but all consist of a minimum of 135 points in a single Arts subject. Of these, at least 45 points must be at 200-level and at least 60 points at 300-level.
A minor consists of a minimum of 75 points, including at least 45 points above 100-level, in a single subject chosen from the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Sport Coaching, or in Youth and Community Leadership.
Double degrees
It is possible to combine an Arts degree with other degrees such as the Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Health Sciences, Bachelor of Laws, or Bachelor of Science.
Find out more information about Double degrees.
Conjoint degrees
Students can study the Conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Commerce or the Conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Science, which requires 60 points less than a double degree and will be completed in four years in an intensive format.
For example, students may want to study the Media and Communication BA major with the Tourism Marketing and Management BCom major, or the Cultural Studies BA major with the Computer Science BSc major.
Contact a Student Advisor from each relevant College or School for course planning advice.
The Bachelor of Arts is a highly flexible degree that allows a wide range of choices from major and minor subjects, as well as courses from subjects within other degrees.
See ‘How do I plan my degree?’ above for an example degree structure diagram.
Major and minor Arts subjects
You can also choose to do a minor in Youth and Community Leadership, or minor options in the Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Sport Coaching. See the degree webpages for the list of available minor subjects.
Students should include first-year courses that allow them to advance to 200-level in at least two, and preferably three, subjects.
Compulsory course
All BA students must complete at least one course chosen from the list below, at any year of their studies:
The courses above cannot also count towards your major or minor studies.
Internships
Bachelor of Arts internships combine theory and practice and count towards your degree. UC offers internship papers at 200 and 300-level.
Te Rāngai Toi Tangata | College of Arts has a wide range of options for postgraduate and graduate study with excellent research facilities. These include specialised research centres such as the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies, and National Centre for Research on Europe.
See the complete list of UC research institutes and centres.
Graduate and postgraduate qualifications:
- Graduate Diploma in Arts
- Graduate Diploma in Journalism
- Graduate Diploma in Strategic Communication
- Bachelor of Arts with Honours
- Master of Arts
- Master of Applied Translation and Interpreting
- Master of European Union Studies
- Master of International Relations and Diplomacy
- Master of Linguistics
- Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership
- Master of Policy and Governance
- Master of Strategic Communication
- Master of Te Reo Māori
- Master of Writing
- Postgraduate Certificate in Arts
- Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Humanities
- Postgraduate Certificate in Māori and Indigenous Leadership
- Postgraduate Certificate in Te Reo Māori
- Postgraduate Diploma in Art Curatorship
- Postgraduate Diploma in Arts
- Postgraduate Diploma in Te Reo Māori
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
BA internships count towards your degree. Participants gain a valuable taste of the professional world, apply their knowledge in real scenarios, and explore potential career options.
Arts graduates enjoy a raft of exciting career destinations, for instance in media, government, iwi organisations, international relations, arts, culture, heritage, archives, politics, public policy, writing, editing, PR, communications, conservation, Māori development, tourism, teaching, community development, publishing, design, business, advertising, or marketing.
Find out more about what you can do with a degree from UC.
See Tuition Fee Structure for more information
| Year | Points | Info | Fees (NZD) |
| 2020 | 360 | Banded Fee - total tuition fee dependent on course selection | $6,213 - $6,939 per 120 points |
| 2020 | 360 | Anthropology; Art History and Theory; Chinese; Cinema Studies; Classics; Cultural Studies;Education; English; European and European Union Studies; French; German; History; Human Services; Japanese; Linguistics; Māori and Indigenous Studies; Media and Communication; Philosophy; Political Science and International Relations; Russian; Sociology; Spanish; Te Reo Māori (Band 1) | $6,213 per 120 points |
| 2020 | 360 | Economics (Band 2) | $6,576 per 120 points |
| 2020 | 360 | Geography; Music; Psychology (Band 3) | $6,939 per 120 points |
| 2020 | 360 | Statistics (Band 9) | $6,237 per 120 points |
| Year | Points | Info | Fees (NZD) |
| 2020 | 360 | This is an indicative fee - total tuition fee will be dependent on your course selection (banded) | $28,750 (first 120 points) |
| 2021 | 360 | This is an indicative fee - total tuition fee will be dependent on your course selection (banded) | $29,875 (first 120 points) |
Contact us
For study planning help, contact the UC Liaison Office | Te Rōpū Takawaenga o UC (new students) or a College of Arts | Te Rāngai Toi Tangata Student Advisor (advancing students).
For more general information, email info@canterbury.ac.nz or freephone 0800 VARSITY (827 748).
For the full degree requirements, see the Regulations for the Bachelor of Arts. For more information on facilities, resources, and staff, see the College of Arts | Te Rāngai Toi Tangata.