Step 2: Choosing Your Major

When you choose your first year units of study you are laying the foundation for your entire course. One of the decisions we ask you to make today is what major or majors you will take as part of your course.

What is a major?

A major is an area of specialisation. To gain a major in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences you need to successfully complete 36 senior credit points in a subject area (that is, six senior units of study).

Choosing your major(s)

When you choose your first year units of study, keep in mind that the choices you make may impact on what major(s) are available to you later on. Often, the senior units that make up a major require the successful completion of specific junior units of study, or a certain number of junior credit points from a particular subject area or areas. There are some exceptions to this rule and you will need to read the information provided for each major.

You should also be aware of the resolutions of your course. Some courses have a select group of core majors from which you must choose, with the option of taking an additional major(s) from either the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (Table A) or another Faculty (Table B).

To learn more about majors offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and other faculties, as well as units of study which complement your choices and interests, view the Choosing your Major and Choosing Units of Study videos.

Connecting core requirements

In some courses, students are required to take certain ‘core’ or ‘compulsory’ units of study in addition to their major. You can see if that applies to you by checking your Course Pathway on the previous screen and resolutions.

Making your choices today

As you make your choices, you'll need to begin by going through the range of majors offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and other faculties. Majors offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are selected from Table A and majors offered by faculties such as Education and Social Work, Science, and the Sydney Business School are selected from Table B.

It’s important to remember that all courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences require you to take at least one major from Table A – though some courses require specific majors/subject areas to be completed. You can confirm if this applies to you, by checking your course requirements in Step 1.

If you do have a core major or subject area that is part of your course that you must choose from or study, this will appear above Table A. Once you have made your choice(s) from this Core Majors/Subject Area, you can continue to select other another major from Table A or B according to your course resolutions.

You will find further below, Table A and Table B, listing the majors available to you as an Arts and Social Sciences student. By clicking on each major a pop-up will appear where you can read a description, including skills you can expect to gain, the kind of issues you’ll investigate and some potential career pathways. Once you have made a choice, click the red 'Add this to my majors' button.

The My Enrolment Planner will list your choices under My Majors. You can remove a choice from the list at any stage of your planning. Remember, the My Enrolment Planner is keeping track of your choices only; you will still need to complete your formal enrolment.

If you need further clarification of how majors work, revisit your Course Pathway.