Degrees & programmes

A General Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Social Science degree offers a flexible degree structure which is spread over a minimum of three years of full-time study. The General Degree requires students to study at least two approved majors (i.e. a specialised study taken to third year level), selected from a wide choice of subjects. While major subjects require specific courses to be taken, with some choice within certain majors, outside the majors students have the freedom to choose from a wide range of courses. The degree structure is also adaptable, in that students may change majors as they go along, based on their experience of their courses.

General Degrees are suitable for students with a general interest in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, who wish to construct their own course of study rather than being committed to a prescribed set curriculum.

Students enrolling for a degree programme will take at least 20 semester courses; of these eight to ten semester courses will form part of two majors selected from the lists below.

• Students who select both majors from the list of Bachelor of Arts majors will register for a Bachelor of Arts degree.
• Students who select both majors from the list of Bachelor of Social Science majors will register for a Bachelor of Social Science degree.
• Students who select one major from each list will choose to register for either a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Social Science degree.
• Students can also choose one major from the list of majors offered by departments outside the Faculty but must also take a major in either the Arts or Social Sciences.

Structured Degree Programmes are special combinations of disciplines and courses which have been curriculated to provide you with a particular knowledge and skills base. Every programme is made up of specific, pre-set courses for each year of study, and every year of study builds on the knowledge and skills developed during the previous year.

Structured Degrees are suitable for students with an interest in specific aspects of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences who wish to follow a structured course of study, are reasonably sure of their interests and willing to commit themselves to a tightly-structured curriculum. It is possible to change from certain named degree programmes to a general degree programme.

The Faculty also offers a number of specialisations. These are General Degrees which offer specialised curricula in particular subject areas or disciplines and which may have additional admission requirements.

The General Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc) degrees may also be completed through the extended programmes, which are open to African, Chinese, Coloured and Indian South African students whose National Benchmark Test score(s) show that they have the potential to succeed, but who have not obtained the School-Leaving scores necessary for mainstream admission. Applicants need not apply specifically for an Extended programme, but will automatically be considered for admission if they are ineligible for the general degree but meet the Extended programme requirements.

The degree obtained through the Extended programmes is identical to the General BA or BSocSc, but students are encouraged to spread their courses over four rather than three years, and are given academic support through a mentorship programme, foundation courses and additional tutorials and workshops.

There are two types of Extended Degree Programme:

• The Quantitative Programme offers majors in Economics or Psychology. Students are given additional mathematical training and support.
• The Non-Quantitative Programme covers all other BA and BSocSci majors. Students are given foundational training in reading, writing, information processing and critical thinking skills.