Majors

What is a Major?
What is cross-listing
What majors are available?

What is a "Major"?

A major is an area of specialisation within your degree. Upon completion of your selected major you will have a broad understanding of that subject area and the ability to focus on, and carry out further research in that field. The subject area that you choose to major in is indicated on your degree.

Completion of a major normally constitutes the successful completion of at least 6 senior units of study (36 credit points) within a specified subject area, or cross-listed to that subject area (see below). There are often core units of study that must be completed within a major, and in most instances enrolment into a senior unit of study requires the successful completion of 2 junior units of study as a prerequisite, therefore you will need to take care when choosing your subjects.

There are two types of majors available to most students enrolled in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, they are a Table A major which is usually a requirement, and a Table B major. You will need to check the resolutions of your own degree in the Undergraduate Handbook to see how many majors you can do, or are required to do. Useful information and study plans for your degree can be found at http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/undergraduate/index.shtml.

A Table A major is a major in a subject area that is taught within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. In most degrees it is compulsory to complete a Table A major. Available Table A majors are listed at the bottom of this page.

A Table B major comes from a collection of majors available to students within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, but that are taught in other Faculties. Table B majors are also listed at the bottom of this page.

What is cross-listing?

Sometimes the subject matter taught in a unit of study may span 2 or more subject areas. In these cases a unit may be cross-listed to one or more majors. The ‘cross-listing’ of a subject is a formal agreement between the departments involved, you can’t apply to have a unit cross-listed to your major individually. If you choose to crosslist a unit to your major, it cannot then be counted towards another major. The general rule on cross-listing is that a maximum of 18 senior credit points can be cross-listed to a major, but this can vary depending on the major.

There is a searchable tool that allows you to look at an historical list of crosslisting, but either the individual unit of study or by the major that is associated with it. Please refer to the Student Administration Manual for coursework students.

What majors are available?

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers a wide range of majors to its students;