Reviewing the Arts

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Tags: summer-2012

Professor Fred D'Agostino, Executive Dean, Faculty of Arts

Are you a UQ Bachelor of Arts (BA) alumnus? If so, you are in good company: 47,307 BA students have graduated from the University since 1911.

For more than 100 years, UQ’s BA has been the biggest and most popular undergraduate program in Queensland, and is one of the leading arts programs in Australia.

Critical to the BA’s ongoing success is the review that occurs every seven years to comprehensively evaluate its quality, structure, focus and outcomes, and ensure that the program remains intellectually stimulating and relevant.

In July 2012, BA Review Committee Chair Professor Hilary Fraser, from the University of London, joined Professor Kaye Basford, President of the Academic Board, Professor Michael McManus, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Anne Pauwels, from the University of London, and Professor Phyllis Tharenou, from Flinders University, to begin the extensive review process.

“We have consulted with as many people as possible to get the best feedback we can,” Professor Fraser said.

“We have spoken with current BA students, academic teaching staff, professional association representatives, and employers, and have also analysed over 1500 survey forms.

“And UQ’s programs are being benchmarked against international partner, the University of Toronto.”

The BA Review Committee has submitted its response and recommendations to the University Academic Board, which will be considered by the Academic Board Standing Committee.

Associate Dean (Academic) Associate Professor Deborah Brown said the review gave the University an opportunity to rethink the future of the BA.

“In changing national and international contexts, the review gives us the chance to develop a range of new initiatives to keep it at the cutting-edge of BA programs,” she said.

Currently, UQ’s BA is a three-year program with an OP10 entry cut-off, and offers majors taught through all six faculties: 28 in Arts, 10 in Social and Behavioural Sciences (SBS), two in Science, and one in each of Business, Economics and Law (BEL); Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology (EAIT); and Health Sciences.

Fast Facts about UQ’s BA…
BA is UQ’s most popular undergraduate degree, with 6066 students enrolled in Semester 1, 2012

• Has median OP/Rank entry of 7/91

• Offers 45 majors and 15 associated dual degree programs

• Includes the five most popular majors of Psychology, International Relations, Political Science, History and English

• Strongly supports dual degree students, most of whom are enrolled in their first preference program

• Provides good career outcomes and earnings prospects for graduates

• Produces outstanding graduates, with six Rhodes scholarships being awarded to UQ BA graduates in the last 10 years, and 13 of 114 (11%) current Australian Ambassadors and High Commissioners being UQ BA alumni.

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