Whether you want to learn a new language or study a new culture, explore great books, ideas or minds, discover the past, analyse the present or consider the shape of the world's future, the Bachelor of Arts will expand your horizons and challenge you to think outside the box. Offering broad choice across more than 45 subject areas in the humanities and social sciences, no two arts degrees are quite the same. You will study a major and a minor, choosing both from our broad choice across the humanities and social sciences, or selecting your minor from the University's shared pool. Whatever your focus, when you undertake our Bachelor of Arts degree you will be guided by the expertise of an internationally respected group of educators. With arts and humanities at the University of Sydney consistently recognised as among the top 20 faculties globally in academic rankings, our Bachelor of Arts degree is both highly regarded and well supported by research leaders. As a reflection of our global outlook, you will be encouraged to take advantage of extensive exchange opportunities with leading universities overseas. A number of our majors offer internship placements, enabling you to develop your networks and gain invaluable work experience before graduation. Understanding the Arab world is today of vital importance. Arabic is the fifth most widely spoken language in the world. It is one of the official languages of the United Nations and the religious language of one and a half a billion Muslims, as well as millions of Christians and Jews. Political and economic developments in the Arab world and parts of the Middle East, like the internationalisation of businesses and professions around the world, have made understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Arabic an increasingly valuable skill. Arabic is also a language with a rich literary and cultural heritage that deserves to be studied in its own right. The major in Arabic Language and Cultures equips you to understand the political, social, and cultural importance of the Arab world and its complex regional significance on the global stage. It focuses on the acquisition both of language skills and of cultural competency. You can major in Arabic with or without prior knowledge of the language. To complement your language study, you can choose from a wide range of Arabic literature, culture, art, and film classes. Our teaching is strongly focused on student participation, communication, and cultural immersion, which will help you develop both communicative Arabic language skills and cultural competency. You will gain the background knowledge necessary to understand the diversity of Arab societies today and over time, and be equipped to conduct cross-regional projects and to interrogate geo-cultural boundaries. Graduate opportunities Our graduates enter a wide range of careers. Examples include: Business and government consultant Community development Diplomatic services, international and cultural affairs Language Teacher Language Specialist Policy analyst Media and communications Public service positions Translator and interpreter Tourism and cultural officer