Undergraduate

Bachelor of Arts

  • Course code: B-ARTS
  • VTAC code: 3800538001
Clock
Duration
3 years full time / 6 years part time
Location
Mode (Location)
On campus (Parkville)
Calendar-month
Intake
February, July
Key dates
Dollar
Fees
Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) available
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Checklist
Entry requirements
88.00 - Guaranteed ATAR 2025
87.00 - Lowest selection rank 2024 (guide only)
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Entry pathways
Special entry options and Access Melbourne are available
Learn more

Admission requirements

Admission criteria

This information will help you find the most useful and relevant admission and selection requirements based on your circumstances.

  • Completed secondary education recently (within the past two years) Chevron-down
  • This is information for applicants with recent secondary education (within the past two years)

    Applicants are selected according to academic merit, in the form of the ATAR or notional ATAR calculated by the relevant Tertiary Admissions Centre. Courses which select primarily on ATAR will have minimum ATARs set in advance, and you can only be selected below this point if you have additional criteria to be considered.

    The standard required to receive an offer may be above the minimum ATAR. It is determined by the number of applications and the number of places available.

    External assessment is a key component required in all qualifications approved as entry pathways to the University of Melbourne. For this reason, you’ll need an ATAR or notional ATAR for courses which select primarily on ATAR, and study scores to satisfy prerequisites (not simply completing the subject).

    Please note: The University of Melbourne does not make ATAR adjustments for VCE graduates who have met the requirements of the VCE - Baccalaureate. For more information about this award, refer to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

    Prerequisites

    All applicants must satisfy the course prerequisites. Usually this is achieved through the relevant Australian Year 12 subject but there are other ways you can satisfy prerequisites.

    Criteria that may apply in addition to ATAR

    If you’re not clearly-in, factors may be taken into consideration in addition to your ATAR or notional ATAR:

    Access Melbourne

    Circumstances described in your SEAS application. For some applicants, selection guarantees may apply. For all applicants eligible for Access Melbourne, offers are regularly made significantly below the lowest selection rank offered to and the minimum ATAR. Check if you are eligible for Access Melbourne.

    Elite Athletes and Artistic Performers Entry Scheme

    Additional consideration is given on an individual basis based on the circumstances described in your Elite Athletes and Artistic Performers Entry Scheme application. For some applicants, selection guarantees may apply. For all applicants eligible for the Elite Athletes and Artistic Performers Entry Scheme, offers may be made below the lowest selection rank offered to. Find out about the scheme.

    Adjustments for the following criteria are already made as part of the ATAR calculation and we do not adjust for:

    • Extension studies undertaken as part of Year 12
    • Bonus points for completed language subjects.
    Personal statements

    Only relevant work and community experience will be considered and only where work experience is specified in the course selection criteria.

    ATAR-based admission information for Semester 1 2023

    ATAR-based admission for the Bachelor of Arts (includes data also for any Bachelor of Arts Graduate Degree Package offers, if applicable).ATAR
    Lowest ATAR where a recent Year 12 student offer was made (excluding students made offers through special entry schemes) 88.00
    Lowest ATAR to which an offer was made (including students made offers through special entry schemes) 68.30
    Minimum ATAR required for consideration (only applicants eligible for special entry schemes were admitted below the minimum) N/A for this course
    Guaranteed ATAR for applicants who completed Year 12 and were eligible for the Access Melbourne categories of regional or remote and/or disadvantaged financial background * 74.00
    Guaranteed ATAR for Indigenous applicants who completed Year 12 70.00
    Guaranteed ATAR for Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars who completed Year 12 and attended an under-represented school* 90.00
    Guaranteed ATAR for Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars who completed Year 12 and did not attend an under-represented school* 95.00

    *All students who achieve the specified guaranteed ATAR and meet the course prerequisites will be offered a place

    ATAR profile of those offered places in the Bachelor of Arts wholly or partly on the basis of ATAR in Semester 1, 2023 (includes data also for any Bachelor of Arts Graduate Degree Package offers, if applicable). Does not include consideration of student background and equity.

    ATAR-based offers only, across all offer roundsATAR
    Highest rank to receive an offer 99.85
    Median rank to receive an offer 91.05
    Lowest rank to receive an offer 88.00

    ATAR profile of those offered places in the Bachelor of Arts (Chancellor’s Scholars) wholly or partly on the basis of ATAR in Semester 1, 2023. Does not include consideration of student background and equity.

    ATAR-based offers only, across all offer roundsATAR
    Highest rank to receive an offer 99.95
    Median rank to receive an offer 99.95
    Lowest rank to receive an offer 90.65
  • Completed some or all of a higher education qualification Chevron-down
  • This information is for applicants with higher education study from the last seven years (excluding extension studies taken as part of Year 12).

    If your last study was more than seven years ago, see the information about the non-school leaver entry pathway in the section for applicants with work and life experience below.

    Applicants are selected according to academic merit, usually in the form of the weighted average mark.

    Your weighted average mark (WAM)

    If you have completed any higher education study, a weighted average mark (WAM) (weighted according to the point value of the individual subjects) is calculated. Your WAM is calculated across any undergraduate and graduate coursework study you have undertaken. Any research study undertaken is considered in addition to your WAM. Instructions on how to calculate a WAM

    If you have less than a year (1 EFTSL) of higher education study

    Your entire academic record is considered and both your ATAR (or other final secondary result) and your WAM will be considered.

    If you’ve completed less than a year (1 EFTSL) of higher education study and don’t have a secondary qualification assessed by the University as equivalent to the VCE, you won’t be eligible for entry. You may be eligible, however, under the non-school leaver entry pathway, see the section for applicants with work and life experience below.

    If you have a year (1 EFTSL) of higher education study

    Generally, your WAM will be primary factor in assessment, particularly if your study is in a relevant discipline.

    If you have more than a year (1 EFTSL) of higher education study

    WAMs will be calculated across all your higher education study and across the last year (1 EFTSL) and the higher of the two will be considered in assessment. If the points equating to the last EFTSL fall within a study period (e.g. a semester) then all subjects within that study period will be included in the calculation.

    The information provided in your VTAC personal statement regarding your motivation in applying for the course and your study and career goals will also be taken into consideration.

    VTAC personal statements

    Some elements of your VTAC personal statement may be considered during assessment:

    • Relevant work and community experience will be considered only where work experience is specified as part of the course selection criteria
    • Explanations about why the WAM does not truly represent your potential:
      • Difficult circumstances - we would typically assume that these have been dealt with via special consideration and other internal mechanisms at your previous institution. If this is not the case, you can describe the issue and the impact it had in a personal statement and attach independent supporting documentation to corroborate your claim.
      • Please note: if you have previous higher education study you are not eligible for Access Melbourne (excluding extension studies done as part of Year 12 and applicants eligible for the non-school leaver entry pathway). For most applicants with higher education study we do not look at information provided in the VTAC SEAS application, only at information provided in the personal statement.
    • If you believe your performance was impacted by the discipline you were studying and you are now seeking a ‘fresh start’, you can mention this in this form. If your higher education study was consecutive, recent, not more than a year, and your secondary results are above the level required for entry, then in some cases you may be assessed mainly on your secondary results.

    If you have completed more than a year of tertiary study, details about your motivation in applying for the course and your future study and career goals will be considered.

    Prerequisites

    All applicants must satisfy the course prerequisites. Usually this is achieved through the relevant Australian Year 12 subject but there are other ways you can satisfy prerequisites, including through the completion of approved tertiary subjects

    There is no time limit for satisfying an English prerequisite but other prerequisites must generally be satisfied within the last 10 years to ensure the knowledge is current.

    Advanced standing (credit)

    Advanced standing (sometimes known as credit or recognition of prior learning) may be awarded based on prior study. It is not awarded for work experience in undergraduate degrees. Learn more about Advanced Standing.

  • Completed some or all of a VET qualification Chevron-down
  • This information is for applications who have completed all or some vocational education and training (VET) study from the last seven years.

    If your last study was more than seven years ago, see the information about the non-school leaver entry pathway in the section for applicants with work and life experience below.

    To be considered for entry, your study must be at Diploma or Advanced Diploma level and in a discipline relevant to the course you are applying for. If this is not the case, assessment will be based on other study completed (typically secondary results).

    Applicants are selected according to academic merit, usually in the form of the weighted average mark.

    Your weighted average mark (WAM)

    If you have completed a Diploma or Advanced Diploma in a relevant discipline a weighted average mark (WAM) (weighted according to the point value of the individual subject) will be calculated. Qualifications which are not graded (for example, where only competency results are awarded) are not suitable for entry as assessment is based on the WAM. Instructions on how to calculate a WAM

    Access Melbourne

    If you’ve undertaken vocational education and training (VET), you can apply through Access Melbourne, our special entry scheme.

    Personal statements

    Only relevant work and community experience will be considered and only where work experience is specified as part of the course selection criteria.

    Prerequisites

    All applicants must satisfy the course prerequisites. Usually this is achieved through the relevant Australian Year 12 subject but there are other ways you can satisfy prerequisites.

    There is no time limit for satisfying an English prerequisite but other prerequisites must generally be satisfied within the last 10 years to ensure the knowledge is current.

    Advanced standing (credit)

    Advanced standing (sometimes known as credit or recognition of prior learning) may be awarded based on prior study. It is not awarded for work experience in undergraduate degrees. Learn more about Advanced Standing.

  • Applicants with work and/or life experience Chevron-down
  • Applicants in this category typically fall into one of the following categories:

    • Applicants with non-recent secondary education (older than the last two years). If you have secondary study from the last seven years, see the section for applicants with recent secondary education.
    • If your last study was more than seven years ago, see the information about the non-school leaver entry pathway.
    • Applicants with an overseas secondary qualification
    • Applicants who are eligible for the non-school leaver entry pathway
    • Indigenous applicants who don’t fit into one of the categories described above but are assessed as likely to succeed in the proposed course, see additional information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people below.

Additional information

  • Advanced standing Chevron-down
  • Advanced standing (sometimes known as credit or recognition of prior learning) may be awarded based on prior study. Advanced standing is not awarded for work experience in undergraduate degrees.

    The University has a range of credit agreements with other tertiary education institutions. Use our credit tool to calculate how much credit you may be eligible to receive when you apply for Advanced Standing.

    How to apply for Advanced Standing

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Chevron-down
  • We are committed to improving participation in higher education by Indigenous students. If you tell us you are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent (through the VTAC course application and/or the VTAC SEAS application), your status will be verified by Murrup Barak, the Melbourne Institute for Indigenous Development.

    Once verified, an assessment will be made to determine whether you are likely to succeed in the course you apply for. The usual entry requirements and entry standards for the course will not necessarily apply. However, they will be considered as part of the assessment of whether you are ‘likely to succeed’. When determining your ‘likelihood to succeed’, the additional support available through Murrup Barak and the Wilin Centre will be taken into consideration.

    For some applicants, an Indigenous selection guarantee may apply. Indigenous applicants regularly receive offers when their ATAR (or notional ATAR) is significantly below the lowest selection rank to which an offer was made and the minimum ATAR for a course.

  • Student profile of the Bachelor of Arts Chevron-down
  • The table below gives an indication of the likely peer cohort for new Bachelor of Arts students at the University of Melbourne. It provides data on students who commenced undergraduate study and were enrolled after the census date in Semester 1, 2023. It includes data for students offered the Bachelor of Arts, in combination with data also for any corresponding Bachelor of Arts Chancellor’s Scholars Program and/or Graduate Degree Package offers (if applicable).

    Applicant backgroundNumber of studentsPercentage of all students
    Higher education study (domestic)2549.2%
    Vocational education and training (VET) study (domestic)170.6%
    Work and life experience (admitted on the basis of previous achievement not in the other categories) (domestic)120.4%
    Recent secondary education - admitted solely on the basis of ATAR (regardless of whether this includes the consideration of adjustment factors such as equity) (domestic)194870.8%
    Recent secondary education - admitted where both ATAR and additional criteria were considered (eg, audition, interview) (domestic)N/AN/A
    Recent secondary education - admitted on the basis of other criteria only and ATAR was not a factor (eg, portfolio, audition, entrance test etc) (domestic)N/AN/A
    Recent secondary education - overseas secondary qualification (not including the International Baccalaureate Diploma) (domestic)572.1%
    International students46316.8%
    All students2751100.0%

    <5 - the number of students is less than 5.
    N/A - students not accepted in this category.
    N/P - not published, the number is hidden to prevent calculation of numbers in cells with less than 5 students.