Do you have a knack for creativity and want to pursue a creative career path? Then, studying a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU might be suitable for you!
Whether it’s Music, English, Advertising or another area you’re passionate in, you sharpen your skill set with this degree.
If a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU sounds interesting, keep reading on!
What is a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU?
Core Units and Majors
How to Get into a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU
What’s the Teaching Format?
What’s the Faculty and Culture Like?
What is a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU?
A Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU is a versatile and innovative program unique to WSU. It is an interdisciplinary degree focusing on linking creative skills with areas in business and law — it’s perfect for anyone who is interested in graduating with a diverse skill set and going into a creative career path.Â
Can this degree be studied in conjunction with another?
Although it is not mandatory, the degree is often studied as a double degree with other creative programs. For example, these are the options for a double degree with a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU:Â
Career Paths
A Bachelor of Creative Industries is a highly flexible course and there are many career paths, depending on your chosen major or sub-major. These include:Â
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- Market researcher
- Photographer
- Writer
- Media Producer
Core Units and Majors
What are the Core Units?
There are 12 core units in a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU and they are taught throughout the three years of the degree.Â
The core units are typically the entrepreneurial and legal part of the degree. For example, Data, Mediation, Power explores the new scope of power brought on by technology and its implications for culture and economy. Additionally, Enterprise Law is another business-related unit which introduces students to the fundamentals of commercial law. Â
What can you study as a major?
While these core units give a strong foundation in business and legal knowledge, your chosen major is where you’ll experience the creative side of the degree. There are 12 available majors in a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU:
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- Advertising
- Creative Writing
- Cultural and Social Analysis
- Digital Cultures
- English
- Enterprise Innovation
- Graphic Design
- Journalism
- Law and the Creative Industries
- Media Arts Production
- Music
- Public Relations
In a Creative Writing major, students produce their own written creative pieces with the help of industry professionals such as authors, editors and publishers. Depending on their chosen units and preferred genre form, they also study contemporary and literary theories to inform and build their skill set.
In a Media Arts Production major, students develop their production skills with a focus on TV production with the first two years dedicated to learning theory and creative media practices. In their last year, students work in teams to undertake projects. In these projects, they will practice activities such as scriptwriting and research, filming, sound recording, video editing and post production.Â
Students also have the choice of studying two sub-majors as opposed to one major.Â
Built-in internships
In the last semester of a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU, the course integrates an internship subject called ‘Creative Industries Professional Project or Internship‘. This allows students to collaborate in real-world projects with Creative Industries professionals in an internship.Â
How to Get into a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU
Typically, students can gain entry into a degree through achieving an eligible ATAR. The ATAR cut-off for a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU is 75.Â
If you are majoring in Music, you will either need to achieve an HSC Music result in Band 4 or above, have attained appropriate AMEB (or equivalent) qualifications or attend an audition.Â
Alternate Pathways
WSU’s ‘HSC True Reward Program‘ provides an option for early offers, in which prospective students can be guaranteed entry to the degree based on their Year 11 or Year 12 subject results and not your ATAR. This will give you an ease of mind when taking the HSC!
Assumed Knowledge
With the exception of the Music specialisation, there is no assumed knowledge or additional assessments when applying for a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU.
Scholarships
While there are no scholarships specific to a Bachelor of Creative Industries, there are general scholarships available at WSU. For example, Academic Excellence scholarship is open for current school leavers who have a minimum of ATAR 90, in which the recipient will be awarded $5000 per year for the duration of their degree.Â
What’s the Teaching Format?
A Bachelor of Creative Industries is studied in semesters. Classes are taught through a mix of lectures, tutorials and depending on your major, other class formats such as practicals.Â
Class Structure
Lectures
Thankfully, lectures at WSU are pre-recorded and online! Lectures provide introductions and information on concepts and theories relevant to the subject.
Expect anything from general information, real-world case studies to hypothetical problem-solving. They are usually one-hour long with 100 to 200 people in attendance, depending upon whether it is a core unit as well as the popularity of the major.Â
Tutorials
After watching the lectures, students attend tutorials to consolidate their knowledge of relevant theories with class discussion and collaboration. Students are expected to engage both with their classmates and the tutor through problem-solving tasks or working through creative exercises.
Depending on your major, class sizes range from 15 to 30 students. Tutorials can be one to two hours long.Â
Practicals
Practicals are small-sized classes with around 15 students. This is the hands-on part of the classes where you will apply the theories to different exercises or scenarios.
For example, in the Media Arts Production major, students work with camera gear in the studio. Practicals can be one to two hours long.
How much time do you spend at uni?
You can expect to spend around 10-15 hours per week attending your lectures, tutorials and major-specific classes. And this excludes the workload for studying and assessment work!Â
Assessments
While assessments will vary depending on your major units, the main assessment types for the core units will include presentations and written assignments.
The layout of the semester divides assessments into 20%, 30% and a final 50% weighting, though this will vary on the unit. Expect a lot of group assessments to build your communication and collaboration skills!Â
Skills That You Develop
While studying a Bachelor of Creative Industries at WSU, you will undoubtedly harness your inner creativity. No matter your major, you’ll learn how to tap into different techniques and think laterally to solve problems or complete projects.Â
With a heavy focus on group work, communication skills are developed throughout the course. This ranges from professional communication, engaging in active discussion with teammates as well as the ability to present ideas to an audience.Â
Using their creative skills, graduates use their diverse skill set to create innovative ideas. These will mostly be applicable to a commercial or legal environment.Â
What’s the Faculty and Culture Like?
Societies and Clubs
Though the Humanities, Communication and Arts Faculty does not have a general society, they offer events such as writing workshops and collaborative projects. Other than this, there are a range of societies at WSU that can help you build within your area of interest as well as diversifying outside of it.
WSU Film Club
The WSU Film Club offers great events if you want to meet new friends while honing in your creativity. There are weekly activities ranging from screenings to film challenges where you create mini videos.
In this club, you’ll have the opportunity for your film creations to be shown in student showcases.Â
Western Business Society
If the business aspect of studying a Bachelor of Creative Industries interests you, Western Business Society might be a society you’d join. This is a large society that focuses on career development through workshops, networking events and motivational talks. On top of this, Western Business Society has many social events such as Black Tie Balls and trivia nights for building your uni friendships.Â
Support Programs
The Humanities, Communication and Arts Faculty is a large department at WSU and there is a lot of space for academic support. If students are feeling behind their classmates, WSU offers a range of academic assistance from student advisors. Student advisors can help with essay writing and research advice, as well as give feedback on written work. Â
Interested in the pros and cons of this degree? Check out our article here!
Lynn Chen is a Content Writer at Art of Smart Education and is a Communication student at UTS with a major in Creative Writing. Lynn’s articles have been published in Vertigo, The Comma, and Shut Up and Go. In her spare time, she also writes poetry.
