Arts (Politics), Bachelor

Ranked top 50 in the world for social sciences and languages, and with 30+ study areas, our Bachelor of Arts degree offers maximum choice and flexibility. The unique Professional Futures program, and our internships and industry connections ensure you will graduate career ready.

whitespaceAbout politicsPolitics is the study of power relations in society. It helps you understand essential issues about how societies are organised and their key institutions, including government, parliament and political parties.Why study politics?Politics offers you a way of engaging in vital questions about power and authority, how people govern communities and the relationship between ideas and practice. You’ll learn how contemporary political systems emerged and the fundamental ideas that propelled their development. You’ll learn to evaluate and compare different political systems and their key institutions.What will you study?Where does power come from, who has it, and how does it affect who gets what? Politics is concerned with ideas of freedom, democracy, equality and security. What do such ideas really mean, and how can we achieve them in practice?Politics is an excellent discipline for learning about the interrelationships in the human world, and for acquiring a diverse range of interpretive, analytic and synthetic (especially conceptual) skills. You will engage in critical debates about things like:Resource allocationSocial behaviour and political actionThe management or resolution of conflictPower strugglesIdeologies and political movementsThe nature of the government and the state.What careers will you be ready for?Studying politics will allow for employment opportunities in areas such as:PoliticsGovernment administrationNGOsJournalismIndustrial relationsLobbying and advocacyBusiness and much more.Who will be teaching you?Monash University politics staff includes some of the leading scholars and commentators on Australian politics who have published widely in the field, and can be heard or read across Australia’s media whenever a major event occurs in national or state politics: elections and public opinion; terrorism and the responses to it; foreign policy; globalisation; the role of the media; and Canberra’s place in managing the Australian economy.Global studyWith Monash’s impressive international links, you’ll have the opportunity to venture into new and challenging contexts to enhance your learning.Short term programs:The European Union: From consensus to crisis – ItalyExchange programs include:Monash Malaysia – MalaysiaNational University of SingaporeUniversity of Tokyo – JapanSciences Po – FranceFree University of Berlin – GermanyQueen Mary University of London – EnglandLeiden University – The Netherlands.