My BA in the Division of Humanities, University of Otago

University of Otago Division of Humanities

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The information you need as a new Bachelor of Arts (BA) student at Otago

What you need to know about the BA degree
What you need to do
What will a 3-year BA degree look like?
Where to go for help
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What you need to know about the BA degree

A BA degree is three years of study full-time (it can be studied part-time)
It is made up of 20 papers
Each paper is worth 18 points (credits) - so 360 points in total for the degree
Each paper takes around 10 hours of study time each week
You usually study different papers in each of the first and second semesters, and can also take papers at summer school (Jan/Feb)
your degree must have at least one Major subject and can also have a Minor subject

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What you need to do

Decide what subjects interest you
Choose papers you think you will enjoy
Pick a Major subject to put on your registration form
Choose one paper from your Major subject for each semester if you can
Not sure what Major to choose?
Don't panic!

Decide what subjects interest you

The Prospectus and Guide to Enrolment can help you to choose subjects.

Information for Prospective Students - Find the Current Prospectus on this page
Guide to Enrolment

For the Bachelor of Arts you will need to enrol for either three or four papers in the first semester. If you’re feeling confident choose four, if you want time to “find your feet” at Uni choose three.

Choose papers that you think you will enjoy

These might be subjects you have already done at school and are good at, or subjects you haven’t tried before but look interesting.

You will need to pick a Major subject to put on your registration form

This is the subject that you think you will specialise in within your BA, and go on to study in your 2nd and 3rd years.

A Major subject usually takes up nine papers of your 20 paper degree. The Guide to Enrolment specifies which papers make up any specific Major.

You can also choose a Minor subject as well, which is five papers, but we recommend you don’t worry too much about doing this in your first year.

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Choose at least one paper from your Major subject for each semester if you can

This makes it easier to cover the requirements for the Major as you progress through your degree.

However, if you aren’t sure what your Major will be after the first semester it’s fine to continue to choose a wide range of papers that interest you in the second semester. This means that you have more choice of Majors after your first year.

Not sure what Major to choose?

If you are not sure what Major to choose a good approach is to include two papers from each of three subjects in your first year. This gives you lots of choice for your Major. It also means you will have no problem meeting the prerequisites (first year papers you are required to complete) for study in your second year of your chosen Major.

NOTE:

For double degrees e.g. Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws, or another second degree, you will need to choose eight papers in your first year.