Course details

Summary

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) is Otago's most flexible undergraduate degree programme, enabling students to study from a selection of more than 40 arts and social science subjects, as well as papers offered elsewhere in the University. Academic breadth is complemented by in-depth knowledge gained through majoring in one or two subjects with the option of minors in one or two others.

Students are taught by research-active scholars, are expected to undertake a diverse range of learning tasks and are challenged to develop their intellectual independence. Graduates of the programme are well-informed, versatile, independent thinkers with the information literacy, communication, research and interpersonal skills necessary for a career or further academic study. The completed BA is an entry qualification for the PGDipArts in the major subject of the degree.

Politics

Politics is the study of how power is organised and used, theoretically, nationally and internationally. Power relations affect every aspect of our lives, determining what we think, say and do, and how we co-operate to make the world a better place.

Politics at Otago offers opportunities to explore the politics of New Zealand, to compare the politics of a range of countries and regions, to study conflicts and co-operation between states, and to ask important theoretical questions about the nature of power and justice.

Programme Requirements

100-level

Two 100-level POLS papers 36

200-level

• Two 200-level POLS papers
• One further POLS paper at 200-level or above
• One of CHIN 241 Contemporary Chinese Society, GEND 201 Introduction to Feminist Theory, GEND 208 Governing Bodies, PHIL 227 Morality and Politics: Hobbes to Hume, PHIL 228 Ethics, PSYC 204 Justice, Race and Class, or PUBH 203 Health Policy and Politics, may be substituted for one 200-level POLS paper

300-level

Four 300-level POLS papers

Plus

198 further points; must include 54 points at 200-level or above.

Up to 90 points may be taken from outside Arts

Entry criteria

The minimum requirement for students is the completion of a high school qualification plus satisfactory completion of one year's study at an approved tertiary institution or successful completion New Zealand Foundation Year programme.

We also accept the following International qualifications: International Baccalaureate: IB Diploma with a minimum of 26 points; GCE Advanced Levels: minimum grade of 8.

English Language Requirements:

IELTS score of 6.0 in the academic module (with no individual band below 6.0); Internet-based TOEFL Score of 80 (writing 20); Paper-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 (TWE 4.5); CIE Cambridge International Examinations Grade E or better in AS English; Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) - Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); GCE 'A' Level or 'AS' Level English Language or English Literature - grade C or higher; GCE 'AS' Level General Paper (English) - grade C or higher; APIEL (Advanced Placement International English Language) Examination - grade 3 or higher; IB International Baccalaureate - English at Higher or Standard level in Language A: literature, Language A: language and literature, or at Higher level in Language B; Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 58 with no communicative skills score below 50.