How does the Bachelor of Arts work?

What you need to know about the BA degree

• It is three years of study full-time (it can be studied part-time)
• It is made up of at least 20 papers
• Each paper is worth 18 points (credits) – so 360 points is the minimum total required 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 (January–February)
• Your degree must have at least one major subject and can also include a minor subject

What will a 3-year BA look like?

Structure of the BA over three years of study

Arts major subject | Arts subjects other than the major | Subjects either from Arts or from other degrees

Every BA degree programme of 360 points (20 papers), needs to include:

• 180 points (10 papers) above 100-level
• of which at least 72 points (4 papers) shall be above 200-level

More detailed information about the Structure of the BA programme

Course advice

Our course advisers can help you map out your study plans to help you achieve your goals.

Are you at secondary school?

If you are still at secondary school a University of Otago Schools' Liaison Officer will visit your school at some point during the year – usually twice a year – to help you start planning your first year of study.

Web otago.ac.nz/liaison

Are you on campus?

Once you're on campus, course advisers are available on a drop-in basis and by appointment near the AskOtago Central Hub in the Central Library.

Course advice is available as many times as you need throughout your time at Otago.

Web otago.ac.nz/courseadvice

What you need to do

• Decide what subjects interest you
• Choose papers you think you will enjoy
• Pick a major subject
• 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, Guide to Enrolment and online paper information can help you to choose subjects. You might want to select subjects you have already done at school and are good at, or subjects you haven't tried before but think look interesting.

• Information for Future Students
• Get our guides, including the Undergraduate Prospectus
• Go to the Guide to Enrolment
• View/Download the Bachelor of Arts Prospectus (PDF)

Choose papers that you think you will enjoy

Papers are like topics within each subject – the building blocks of your degree. The first courses you take are called 100-level papers or beginner papers. 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.

We strongly recommend that your paper selection avoids any timetable clashes. Our course advisers can help with this.

Pick a major subject

This is the subject that you think you will specialise in within your BA, and go on to study in your second and third 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.

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.

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.

Consider a minor

You can also start thinking about a minor subject – but don't worry too much about doing this in your first year.

A minor is a subject you have studied at each level but not in as much depth as your major. Your minor can be a subject more commonly taken for a different degree; for example, a BA majoring in Philosophy can include Marketing as a minor subject.

Remember, the Otago BA is very flexible

You can always change your major, your minor, or even your degree if you decide it isn't right for you.