Arts[Asian Studies] - about to explode w/ confusion (1 Viewer)

[janice123456]

I just wanted to know, where exactly does an Art[Asian Studies] degree take you? The UAC book suggests careers like Journalism. But say I did Arts @ SYD majoring in Asian Studies and I wanted to do something Journalism related, wouldn't I need a Journalism specific degree??

And what if I wanted to get into the field of Business, wouldnt I need a Business degree?

I must be the most lost person here!

I got a much higher UAI than expected this year. In fact, I have the option of going DFEE to do Law @ UTS or UNSW or do HECS @ UOW - but i'm not sure if Law is for me even though it's crossed my mind a billion times and besides I really like the Asian Studies degree in Sydney. Because after the three years I want to do Performing Arts after my degree in Asia and see where that leads me. But if I take a year off after Arts, where will Asian Studies take me? After all, I need money to support myself in a foreign country and fund my performing arts stint! Where can I career field would I fall into with this combination??

A R G H - i am so stressed out about this! and i know it's not supposed to be like this becase ALL the hard work has been done! aghhhhhhhhhhhhhh. choosing should be easy - why issit so hard??!?!?!?

 

[Triangulum]

To answer the first part, about journalism: you don't specifically need a journalism major to be a journalist. They take different qualifications for different areas - Asian Studies might put you into reporting on Asia, for instance. As long as you can write competently and have expertise on your area, they're not going to reject you just because you didn't study journalism. Probably.

'The field of business' is very broad. What you do at uni really depends on what exactly in business you want to do.

Remember that in Arts (Asian Studies), Asian Studies won't be the only subject you study. Most Arts degrees allow you a range of choices amongst subjects offered across the university.

I'm afraid I didn't really understand your explanation of your future plans in your fourth paragraph, so I can't say much about it. But bear in mind that the course you choose right now is not set in stone. It's possible to transfer between courses, particularly if they're similar.

 

[janice123456]

Thanks Triangulum, I really appreciate you taking time to help break some stuff down!

What I mean in the fourth paragraph is that I want to do Arts @ SYD, but I'm scared it won't get me anywhere. Because my plans are that I do Arts for three years and major in Asian Studies and then take a year off to go to Hong Kong to take part in a performing arts institute. But to go to that institute, my parents are fully against the idea, so I'm gonna have to work and pay for myself. So mainly my question was what job/career goes Arts [Asian Studies] lead me?

Actually, I'm beginning to wonder even if I understand how Arts work - like the program and subject structures for them. . .

 

[bustinjustin]

Thanks Triangulum, I really appreciate you taking time to help break some stuff down!

What I mean in the fourth paragraph is that I want to do Arts @ SYD, but I'm scared it won't get me anywhere. Because my plans are that I do Arts for three years and major in Asian Studies and then take a year off to go to Hong Kong to take part in a performing arts institute. But to go to that institute, my parents are fully against the idea, so I'm gonna have to work and pay for myself. So mainly my question was what job/career goes Arts [Asian Studies] lead me?

Actually, I'm beginning to wonder even if I understand how Arts work - like the program and subject structures for them. . .

Couple of things:

1. The thing with Asian Studies, and Arts/humanities in general, is that, unlike commerce, law, medicine, etc, they aren't specifically designed to give you skills to do a certain job, but rather develop your knowledge in a specific area, which may or not help you get a job.

In this sense, it sounds like Asian Studies doesn't lead you to anywhere, employment wise, that is. The value in Asian Studies is that, given our geographical location and population make up, people with knowledge of and expertise in Asian History and Cultures are high in demand, and still somewhat low in supply - it is still quite a niche course, relatively few people major in it, and even fewer walk away with a specialist B Arts (Asian Studies), so you'll stand out a little more from the crowd. To better convert this 'value' into a job, you'll want to acquire practical 'work skills' the degree may not directly directly give you, through some other way - either through work experience, or another vocational course, whether that be teaching, law, journalism, etc.

2. The B Arts (Asian Studies) course seems to be structured in the same way as Arts, except that you need to do TWO majors from the following list, one of which must be a language.

Arabic Language and Literature
Arab World, Islam and the Middle East
Asian Studies
Chinese Studies
Hindi-Urdu
Indonesian and Malay Studies
Japanese Studies
Korean Studies
Sanskrit
Thai (major may not be available)

The B Arts (Asian Studies) course isn't actually listed as a separate course though, you enrol in the B Arts, and if you do the two majors as above, then you'll be able to graduate with a B Arts (Asian Studies) instead of just a regular B Arts on your testamur.

3. If you're worried about employment prospects, you could
- enrol in a different course that may have more practical units (e.g At Sydney Uni - B. Global Studies, B. Social Sciences, B. International Studies, B. Economic & Social Sciences).
- do a postgrad course
- do a combined degree (Arts/Law, Arts/Commerce)

4. With regards to the Asian Studies Dept. at Sydney Uni, it is perfectly adequate, but you may find it has a limited focus on China, Korea, Japan and Indonesia, and most units are historically oriented, there's a reasonable, but not that extensive range on contemporary Asia compared to say, ANU. I cannot really speak for the Arab Studies dept. though, but you may want to note that Thai and Hindi-Urdu have been scaled back.

If you were really serious about Asian Studies, you'll definitely want to consider ANU, which has a far more superior Faculty (yes, a whole faculty, not just a department) in Asian Studies, and a much wider range of units and specialisations (e.g Politics, Languages, Security, Religions).

Visit their website here even if you're not considering ANU - they have a great range of graduate profiles, and it'll give you a better idea of where Asian Studies got them to career wise.

Personally, I'm not doing a specialist Asian Studies degree, though I did consider it for a while too, but after studying just the one Asian Studies junior unit, I've since decided against majoring in it. As such, I stand corrected on much of what I;ve said, but hope it all helps anyway!

 

[janice123456]

Hey thanks bustinjustin - that post really cleared things up for me big time! So from what you're saying, I'm gathering that Asian Studies probably won't take me places aye?
I still don't know what to do. Because I don't want to put Arts with things liek Global Studies or Media + Communications. I just want a three year degree, so that I can do my performing arts.

I've still got the option of doing arts/law @ UNSW on DFEE - but my parents expect that by the 2nd year I'll be on HECS. But isn't it really hard to maintain a distinction average to do that?

Then there's the thought of Performing Arts School that I won't be able to attend if I don't find the money to fund that and living in a different country.

I just wanted to know, bustinjustin, how come you decided not to major in ASian Studies? What happened in your first year? Can you give me a rundown of what Asian Studies is like? Teachers, lectures, work loads, assingments and all?

If all goes well, I'm planning on taking Asian Studies + Chinese Studies from the list you provided.

Thanks again!

 

[bustinjustin]

So from what you're saying, I'm gathering that Asian Studies probably won't take me places aye?

Actually, I probably confused you a bit with that after all - in some ways it's a lucrative qualification, because despite Australia being so close to Asia, we still have very few experts in Asian culture, languages etc. Also, given Australia's closer ties to Asia, the burgeoning importance of Asia, and the perennial "complexities" (read: hang ups and tantrums) with Indonesia and our Asian neighbours, there is a huge, still-growing demand for people who know about Asian culture, languages, etc. You may not necessarily see jobs for these in the paper on the internet, but remember that only about 10% of vacancies (i think, don't quote me on that) are advertised, there's just so much work out there that only insiders know about, and they only really come to knowledge when you pursue a certain path.

I suppose a couple of examples of 'jobs' with Asian Studies would be the Public Service (Foreign Affairs, Immigration), cross-cultural centres, academia, consultancy. Also, going back your previous post, the UAC guide also lists journalism and business because Asian Studies combined with other qualifications in these fields would make you a very lucrative employee (a generalisation, but the obvious example would be business and chinese studies. Law and Asian/Chinese studies would also be really good since many opportunities are also opening up in Hong Kong/China, and to capitalise on them law grads would obviously need to be well versed in Chinese as well...)

I've still got the option of doing arts/law @ UNSW on DFEE - but my parents expect that by the 2nd year I'll be on HECS. But isn't it really hard to maintain a distinction average to do that?

Yes, it is really hard to maintain a distinction average for the whole year (unless you're super smart and decide to go somewhere like UWS for your first year where they don't mark as harshly, or you're just super smart in general). It's particularly harder in first year since you still need to adjust to the assessment criteria/demands of university, and you're still trying to gauge which subjects are your strengths and weaknesses. So taking up a full-fee place in the hope of getting a HECS place the next year is quite a gamble.

I still don't know what to do. Because I don't want to put Arts with things liek Global Studies or Media + Communications. I just want a three year degree, so that I can do my performing arts.

Thanks again!

Global Studies and Media.Comm are alternatives to an Arts degree - they're essentially Arts degrees in themselves, but with compulsory core units in their respective fields. I imagine that Global Studies would have some sort of practicum unit, or allow you to do an internship, while Media.Comm requires you to do an internship, meaning you can get work experience within your degree.

As for law, if you're not to sure about it now keep in mind that
A: you can do law next year, and if you hate it, you can always drop the law & transfer to the single course which will most probably have a lower UAI/NRSL cut-off, provided you keep a high credit/Distinction average
or
B: you can put law on the backburner for now, and always return to it after you've graduated from your first degree, are much maturer and better know exactly which field you want to work in. It's only a matter of an extra year, not much in the context of our long lives.

H

how come you decided not to major in ASian Studies? What happened in your first year? Can you give me a rundown of what Asian Studies is like? Teachers, lectures, work loads, assingments and all?

Thanks again!

I'm currently doing a B. Economic Social Sciences degree and am looking to major in Political Economy. This year I did ASNS1002 Modern Asian History and Cultures 2 - a deeply fascinating course, but with a terribly uninspiring tutor, and not-so-flash marks (I managed a credit). Check out my review in the Subject Reviews thread.

I've decided against an Asian Studies major purely because there just wasn't enough Asian Studies units I was interested in (there were a few I liked, Modern Japan Social History, units on Mass Media, and a unit on SE Asia dictators - which isnt on in 2007 and is run by the tutor i had this year). I was more interested in units on Asian politics/economics/geography, which were offered in other departments and not by Asian Studies.

But otherwise, don;t let my rather lacklustre experience in the one unit put you off - on the bright side, tutes were small, lectures were rather cosy, and Asian studies is inherently interesting, it just depends on how a unit is organised and taught.

PM if you have anymore questions!!