Bachelor of Arts

Federation's Arts degree was rebuilt fairly recently after facing internal pressure to be cut, and the version that survived is noticeably more focused than a generic humanities degree: a new History and Heritage Studies major sits alongside a strengthened Indigenous Studies major, plus options in Literature, Media and Screen Studies, Sociology and Writing. The History and Heritage Studies major in particular leans into regional and local heritage and tourism content, a reasonable fit for a university whose home city, Ballarat, built its identity around goldfields heritage and has an active heritage-tourism industry on its doorstep.

The Indigenous Studies major covers identity, reconciliation, human rights and Aboriginal health and visual arts, taught across Federation's Mt Helen, Berwick and Gippsland campuses, all locations with meaningful Aboriginal community presence and partnerships the university draws on for guest teaching and placement opportunities.

Like Federation's other undergraduate degrees, the Arts program builds in a work placement component through the university's cooperative education model: a genuine point of difference from Arts degrees at universities where a humanities student might graduate without ever setting foot in a workplace tied to their study.