BlogArtsTop 5 Arts and Humanities Faculties in Australia for 2022 Revealed

Top 5 Arts and Humanities Faculties in Australia for 2022 Revealed

Wanting to dive into the world of arts and humanities with a Bachelor of Arts degree but not sure which university in Australia would be the best for you?

Well, you’ve come to the perfect place. We’ve created a list of the top five Bachelor of Arts degrees that are offered in Australia. 

Take a look! 

#5. The University of New South Wales

UNSW Bachelor of Arts

Image sourced from UNSW Arts

Rankings 

Fifth on the QS Top Universities Ranking for the best Arts and Humanities courses in Australia is The University of New South Wales (UNSW).  

UNSW is ranked 46th in the world for its Arts and Humanities degrees according to the QS Top Universities Rankings for 2022! 

About 

The University of New South Wales was founded in 1949. The Bachelor of Arts degree is a part of UNSW’s Arts and Social Sciences Faculty. 

You can graduate from the Bachelor of Arts degree once you have completed 144 credit points over 3 years. You may want to major in Media, Culture and Technology, French Studies or English!

In 2020, over 45,000 students were enrolled to study at UNSW from over 130 countries.

You can check out one of our articles about what it’s really like studying a Bachelor of Arts at UNSW here!

You can also take a look at and apply to the scholarships that UNSW offers its potential students here. 

Entry Requirements 

To be eligible for the Bachelor of Arts program at UNSW, you’ll need to achieve an ATAR of 80. 

UNSW’s main pathway program that is offered to Year 10s, Year 11s, Year 12s and mature age students is UNSW Gateway. You can apply through UNSW Gateway to select the alternative admissions avenue that best suits you.

UNSW also offers early conditional offers for HSC students who already know what they’d like to study or just want a little less stress on results day.

You can take a look at UNSW’s early offers here!

#4. Monash University

Image sourced from Monash University

Rankings 

Monash University is ranked fourth in Australia for its Arts and Humanities degrees according to QS Top Universities Rankings of 2022. 

Monash University ranked 42nd out of universities around the world that offer arts and humanities degrees. So, they made it to the top 50 globally! 

About 

Monash University is based in Melbourne and was founded in 1958. The institution’s namesake is Sir John Monash who was a renowned general in WWI. 

Just about 59,000 students were enrolled to study at Monash in 2020 making it the largest cohort in Australia! 

Monash Uni is spread across 4 Australian campuses as well as an institute in Malaysia. Monash prides itself on its international connections, fostering over 100 university partners from across the world. 

Monash University’s Bachelor of Arts program is a 3 year full-time degree comprising 144 credit points. 

You can browse the scholarships that Monash has on offer here! 

Entry Requirements 

To be eligible for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Monash University, you’ll need to secure yourself an ATAR of 70. 

Learn about the Monash arts degree here!

You’ll also need to have graduated from Year 12 English. 

If you haven’t gotten the ATAR, don’t stress — Monash offers single unit courses for those who haven’t met the academic requirements. Monash also offers a Diploma of Education and a Diploma of Tertiary Studies program.

You can take a look at all of Monash’s alternative entry pathways here!

#3. The Australian National University

Bachelor of Arts ANU

Image sourced from The Australian National University

Rankings 

The Australian National University is ranked number 3 for its Arts and Humanities degrees in Australia according to QS Top Universities Rankings of 2022. 

Globally, ANU is 25th for Arts and Humanities according to QS Top Universities Rankings by Subject 2022. 

QS Top Universities has just released their World University Rankings for 2022 where ANU has maintained their impressive rank by securing their place as the top university in Australia.

About 

The Australian National University was founded in 1946 and is the only university to have been established by the Federal Parliament. 

Originally two separate institutions, Canberra University College, established in 1929, was combined with the Australian National University in 1960. So, while ANU is a relatively young institution, its roots can be traced back to the late 1920s. 

The Bachelor of Arts program offered at ANU is a 3 year undergraduate degree comprising 144 units.

As of 2020, there are 18,394 students enrolled to study at ANU. 

ANU offers plenty of scholarships for both domestic and international students. Some of the scholarships for ANU’s Arts and Social Sciences program includes:

You can check out all of the scholarships for yourself here! 

Entry Requirements 

To be eligible to study a Bachelor of Arts at ANU, you’ll need to achieve an ATAR of 80. 

If you haven’t received the required ATAR, you can apply to ANU’s main pathway provider, ANU College. ANU College is a program that delivers alternative avenues into ANU. 

ANU also offers adjustment factors on the basis of hardship, elite athlete adjustments or academic-based increases. You can have a more extensive look at ANU’s adjustment factors here. 

#2. The University of Sydney 

USYD - Bachelor of Arts (Top Arts Degrees in Australia)

Image sourced from FDC Building

Rankings 

Nationally, the University of Sydney has secured second place for its Arts and Humanities programs according to the QS Top Universities Rankings of 2022. 

For Arts and Humanities, the University of Sydney ranked 22nd in the world according to QS Top Universities Rankings by Subject in 2022. 

About 

The University of Sydney was founded in 1850 and is Australia’s oldest university. Like Melbourne Uni, The University of Sydney is a part of Australia’s six sandstone universities.

There are over 47,000 students currently enrolled to study at the University of Sydney.

A Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney is a 3 year full-time degree and consists of 144 credit points.

If you’re considering the prospect of studying Arts at USYD, then make sure to check out our previous articles about what it’s like to study the degree and its pros and cons!

You can also take a look at the scholarships that the University of Sydney has on offer here.

Entry Requirements 

You’re going to want a minimum ATAR of 80 to be guaranteed entry into the Bachelor of Arts program at the University of Sydney. However there are still plenty of alternative entry pathways into the degree if you haven’t gotten the ATAR. 

The Year 12 alternative entry pathways include pathways for:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students 
  • Academic and school leadership 
  • Disrupted schooling 
  • Elite athletes and performers 
  • Financial hardship and regional students 
  • Portfolio and audition pathways 

So, there are quite a few options. Potential students also have the opportunity to add ATAR points through the Academic Excellence Scheme. 

You can have a deeper look at the entry requirements here!

#1. The University of Melbourne 

University of Melbourne - Bachelor of Arts

Image sourced from Wikipedia

Rankings 

According to the QS Top Universities Rankings 2022, the University of Melbourne has ranked first place in Australia for its Arts and Humanities degrees. 

The University of Melbourne is ranked 16th in the world for Arts and Humanities. 

With some of the fresh 2022 information released, the University of Melbourne has ranked second in Australia according to the QS World Universities Rankings. 

About 

Founded in 1853, The University of Melbourne is Australia’s second oldest university and also one of the country’s six sandstone Universities. So, if you’re a history buff, this might be the place for you.

Just like other Bachelor of Arts degrees, The University of Melbourne offers a broad range of majors to complement your humanities degree. You may want to specialise with a Criminology major, Gender Studies or Sociology! 

You can take a look at all of your possible majors if you scroll down on this page. 

You can complete Melbourne’s Bachelor of Arts degree in 3 years after completing 300 credit points worth of subjects. 

In 2020, 48,000 students enrolled to study at The University of Melbourne. 

If you’re interested in the scholarships that The University of Melbourne has on offer for Arts students then you can check them all out here!

Did you know that humanities graduates are rated in the top 10 lowest job success outcomes? Read why here!

Entry Requirements 

To get into a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, you’d need to get an ATAR of 85. 

Check out more on the Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne Uni here!

Melbourne Uni’s main alternative entry pathway is known as Access Melbourne. It’s a program offered to students who haven’t quite gotten the required ATAR but are still keen on studying at Melbourne. 

You can apply to Access Melbourne on account of a variety of reasons. Maybe you couldn’t get the ATAR that you had hoped for due to financial hardship, medical conditions or the location of your residence. 

We’ve given you the info. Now it’s time for you to choose! Good luck! 


Gemma Billington is a Content Writer at Art of Smart and an undergraduate student at the University of Technology Sydney. While studying Journalism and Social and Political Sciences, Gemma enjoys spending her time at the gym or reading about Britain’s medieval monarchy – ideally not at the same time. She currently creates and administers social media posts for Central News and writes for the student publication, The Comma. After completing her undergraduate degree, she hopes to study a Masters of Medieval History and is very excited about the prospect!

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