Course description
Fees and charges
Equivalent Full Time Student Load (EFTSL)
EFTSL is the standard annual full time load. Eight credit points is the standard full time load for one year of study.
Commonwealth supported place (CSP)
A Commonwealth supported place is one for which the university receives some government funding. As such, students enrolled in these places are required to contribute only part of the cost of their course. To be eligible for a Commonwealth supported place you must be an Australian citizen, or a New Zealand citizen or holder of a permanent visa who will be residing in Australia for the duration of your unit/s of study. All Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and holders of a permanent visa will receive a Student Learning Entitlement (SLE). The SLE entitles a student to the equivalent of 7 years of full time study in a Commonwealth supported place.
* The "indicative annual course fee" cited has been provided as a guide only. It has been calculated on the basis of a typical enrolment of a student undertaking the course in 2009, and reflects the cost involved in undertaking a full-time quota of units within the specified discipline.
The actual fees charged by Deakin University will depend upon the discipline from which each individual unit is chosen, and may vary from the indicative course fee cited, particularly if units are chosen from a number of disciplines.
Please note that the fees per unit/credit point may increase annually due to rises in the cost of course delivery and service.
Deakin assumes no responsibility for persons relying on "indicative course fees" to calculate the total future cost of their course.
Career opportunities
Media and communication studies at Deakin will provide you with the experience required as a professional in roles such as journalists, non-government organisation professionals, photographers, public relations consultants, animation and digital culture employees, culture industries employees such as heritage officers, development professionals and those seeking research and analysis positions in the global media industries.
Course rules
To qualify for the award of Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communication) a student must complete 24 credit points of study including:
* at least 12 credit points from the areas listed under areas of study, including the core units ALC101 and ALC102 and a minimum of 2 credit points at level 3
* no more than 8 credit points taken outside the course-grouped units for the BA
* no more than 10 credit points at level 1
* at least 14 credit points at level 2 or above
* at least 4 credit points at level 3
* the successful completion of at least one wholly online unit such as ALC320 Approaches to Media: Audiences and Effects (Online) or ALC314 Advertising: Designing Desires
Prerequisites
Because a number of disciplinary studies are cumulative in knowledge, technical competencies and/or study and research skills, there are prerequisites which direct students to take some units before others. Students must seek advice from Arts Student Support before enrolling in units for which they do not have the prerequisite or recommended units.
Areas of Study
Animation (B)
Film Studies (B)
Film and Video (B)*
Graphic Design (B)
Journalism (B, G,W#, X)
Media and Communication (B, G, W, X)
Photography (B)
Public Relations (B, G,W#, X)
Visual Arts (B, G#, W)
* For continuing students only
# Full major is not available at nominated campus
Major sequences
Animation
Film Studies
Graphic Design
Journalism
Media and Communication
Photography
Public Relations
Visual Arts
Course structure
Core units
Trimester 1
ALC101 Contemporary Communication: Making Sense of Text, Image and Meaning
Trimester 2
ALC102 Contemporary Communication: Making Sense of New Media
Details of Areas of Study
Animation
The Animation area of study offers the opportunity to develop a moving image, graphic and animation practice within the expanding digital domain. Students will explore digital animation production and publication options that include web, CD and DVD publication possibilities, and develop the skills to work with and manage such technologies effectively. Students are encouraged to develop skills in all aspects and types of animation production and learn to write and think analytically about such creative work.
On completion of the Animation sequence of units students should have the following skills:
* an ability to implement and manage all stages of production of a professional digital animation project.
* an ability to develop a unique production path for a digital project for a variety of publication platforms.
* an ability to think and write effectively about innovative moving image animation work and digital culture.
* an ability to use advanced digital image production technologies.
* an ability to work in collaborative and team settings on graphic moving image tasks.
* an ability to work efficiently to deadlines in an industrial setting.
Year 1 and year 2
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACM132 Introduction to Animation
ACM133 Animation Basics
ACM138 3D Animation 1: Screen Space, Layout, Landscape
Trimester 1
ACM239 Digital Animation
Trimester 2
ACM126 Internet Arts
ACM225 Special Effects and Motion Graphics
Year 3
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACM321 Media Arts Internship *
Trimester 1
ACM327 Advanced Animation
Trimester 2
ACM308 Interactive Images
* Internship units are normally undertaken in third year (or equivalent) and are subject to completion of specified prerequisite units and special application requirements. Interested students should contact Arts and Education Student Support and Enquiries on their campus for further information.
Film Studies
The Film Studies area aims to develop students' creative and critical thinking while providing a practical and theoretical grounding in the production and application of film, video and television. The sequence puts these media in the historical and social context of the institutions, technologies and artistic and personal forces from which they have emerged.
In level 1, students learn formal and theoretical concepts through analysis of case studies and a series of projects which demand individual input, team collaboration, as well as recording, filming, direction, and post-production techniques. Collaborative skills are extended in level 2 through investigation of team management, narrative, representation, editing, and audiences, as well as the relationship between the actor, director, producer and exhibitor.
Students also undertake case studies in genre and the creative practices and aesthetic approaches of significant practitioners or movements. The final year provides opportunities for students to develop unique and individual creative practices through units including Research in Production: Documentary which explores the use of actuality in narrative, as well as the Individual Production Practice, which explores non-representational, contemplative and oppositional structures, together with strategies that rework or synthesise conventional forms.
Year 1
Trimester 1
ACM120 Moving Pictures: Screening Film History
Trimester 2
ACM112 Writing with the Camera
Year 2 and 3
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACM217 Documentary Production Practice
ACM237 TV Studio Production
ACM318 Independent Production Practice
Trimester 1
AAM319 Contemporary Australian Cinema
ACM236 Screen Practitioners
Trimester 2
AAM220 Cinemas and Cultures
Film and Video
For continuing students only
Year 1
Trimester 2
ACM111 Sound, Light, Motion
Year 2
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACM213 Genre Form and Structure
ACM237 TV Studio Production
Trimester 1
ACM236 Screen Practitioners
Year 3
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACM317 Documentary Production Practice
ACM318 Independent Production Practice
Trimester 1, trimester 2 or trimester 3
ACM321 Media Arts Internship *
* Internship units are normally undertaken in third year (or equivalent) and are subject to completion of specified prerequisite units and special application requirements. Interested students should contact Arts and Education Student Support and Enrolment Enquiries on their campus for further information.
Graphic Design
Year 1
Trimester 1
ACG101 Graphic Design Studio
Trimester 2
ACG102 Image and Text Applications
Year 2
Trimester 1
ACG203 Graphic and Digital Imaging
Trimester 2
ACG204 Visual Communication and Design
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACN203 Digital Studio
Year 3
Trimester 1
ACG305 Media Design Practice *
ACG307 Global Design Strategies *
* Available at Burwood from 2010
Journalism
This area of study provides students with the skills and knowledge to become qualified journalists in the broadcast and print media. Initially, studies focus on the mass media and the extent to which journalists live up to the ethical standards set both by their profession and the expectations of the public. Comparative studies focus on the role of journalists and the news media in different political systems and cultures. Students will gain an understanding of the theoretical and practical elements of radio and television journalism, and the role radio plays as a communication medium. The laws of defamation and other legal constraints to which the profession of journalism is subject are examined in the final level. Students will also develop research techniques, practical skills and an understanding of the methods and techniques required for specialist writing. The writing component within the course is intensive, to bring students' work to a standard that can be published in a daily newspaper or mainstream magazine.
On successful completion of the Journalism sequence of units students should have the following skills:
* an ability to write in academic style with adequate referencing
* an ability to identify, research, write and construct stories suitable for print, broadcast and online media
* an ability to interview for print, broadcast and online media and select material for inclusion in stories
* an ability to analyse the social role of journalism both nationally and internationally and identify the theoretical issues raised by news, current affairs and feature publications and programs
* an ability to appreciate the role of the production process in any media product
* an ability to work in teams and to develop presentation skills in a group setting.
Year 1
Trimester 1
ALJ111 Contemporary Journalism (B)
Trimester 2
ALJ112 Comparative Journalism Studies (B)
Year 2
Trimester 1
ALJ216 Research for Writers (B)
Trimester 2
ALJ217 Editing and Design (B)
Year 3
Trimester 1
ALJ313 Media Law and Ethics (B)
ALJ318 Broadcast Journalism (Radio) (B)
Trimester 2
ALJ301 Multi-Media Journalism (B)
ALJ319 Broadcast Journalism (Television) (B)
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ALJ321 Journalism Internship (B) *
* Internship units are normally undertaken in third year (or equivalent) and are subject to completion of specified prerequisite units and special application requirements. Interested students should contact Arts and Education Student Support and Enrolment Enquiries on their campus for further information.
Media and Communication
Media and communication is the world's fastest growing industry and is an area of rapid and continuous technological, political, economic, and social change. Much of the recent explosion in the stock of human knowledge is linked with developments in media and communication. Students will address issues and events in the industry at national and international levels through a combination of research, theory, analysis and practice.
Years 2 and 3
Trimester 1
AAM219 Contemporary Australian Cinema
ACT203/ACT303 Art and the Politics of Censorship
ALC208 Researching Media: Texts, Audiences and Industries
ALC209 Representing Men and Masculinities
ALR276 Ethical Communication and Citizenship
ASC246/ASC346 Sociology of the Media and Popular Culture
Trimester 2
AAM220 Cinemas and Cultures
ALC314 Advertising: Designing Desires *
ALC215 Globalisation and the Media
ALC320 Approaches to Media: Audiences and Effects *
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ALC313 Media and Communication Internship **
* This unit is offered in the wholly online teaching mode only. There will be no face to face teaching.
** Internship units are normally undertaken in third year (or equivalent) and are subject to completion of specified prerequisite units and special application requirements. Interested students should contact Arts and Education Student Support and Enrolment Enquiries on their campus for further information.
Photography
The Photography area of study is based around creative, critical and professional practice. Students can choose to develop their artistic, academic or professional aspirations.
Year 1
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACM101 Still Images
ACM102 Comparative Imaging
Year 2
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACM203 Photographic Practice
ACM204 Contemporary Photography
ACM207 Advanced Imaging
Trimester 1
ACM234 The Suburbs as Site
Year 3
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACM328 Shifting Focus: Experimental Photography and Creative Practice
Trimester 2
ACM335 Studio and Professional Photography
Trimester 1 or trimester 3
ACM321 Media Arts Internship *
* Internship units are normally undertaken in third year (or equivalent) and are subject to completion of specified prerequisite units and special application requirements. Interested students should contact Arts and Education Student Support and Enrolment Enquiries on their campus for further information.
Public Relations
The Public Relations area of study is concerned with the management of communication between people, agencies and various publics. Students will study such areas as crisis and issues management, organisational public relations and public relations campaigns; and will develop the necessary skills for effective public relations.
On successful completion of the Public Relations sequence of units, students should have the following discipline-specific skills:
* an ability to explain the role of public relations in society;
* an ability to differentiate between the various areas of public relations;
* an ability to explain the legal and regulatory context of public relations;
* an ability to plan and execute a public relations campaign;
* an ability to prepare a public relations campaign kit;
* an ability to negotiate an internship placement and implement the theories and concepts studied throughout the course;
* an ability to prepare public relations strategies using internet and electronic tactics.
Year 1
Trimester 1
ALR103 Principles and Practice of Public Relations (B)
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ALW117 Writing for Professional Practice (B)
Year 2
Trimester 1
ALR207 Media Relations (B)
ALR276 Ethical Communication and Citizenship (B)
Trimester 2
ALR206 Electronic and Internet Public Relations (B)
ALR279 Public Relations Management and Practice (B) (2 credit points)
Year 3
Trimester 1
ALR383 Government Relations and Issues Management *
Trimester 2
ALR300 Public Relations Campaigns and Practice (B)(2 credit points)
ALR310 Marketing Communication
* This unit is offered in the wholly online teaching mode only. There will be no face to face teaching.
Visual Arts
Year 1
Trimester 1
ACV101 Studio Art: Introductory Painting and Drawing A
Trimester 2
ACV102 Studio Art: Introductory Painting and Drawing B
Year 2
Trimester 1
ACV203 Studio Art: Visual Narrative
ACV205 Studio Art: Pluralism A
Trimester 2
ACV204 Studio Art: Graphic Novels and Artists' Books
ACV206 Studio Art: Pluralism B
Year 3
Trimester 1
ACV307 Studio Art: Diversity in Practice A
Trimester 2
ACV308 Studio Art: Diversity in Practice B
Transition to University study
The faculty offers two units ASC160 Introduction to University Study and ALW117 Writing for Professional Practice which are specifically designed to ease the transition into university study. New students are encouraged to enrol in one or both of these units in their first year.
Wholly online units
To ensure that all Deakin students have the skills to meet the demands of the modern workforce, undergraduate students are required to complete at least one unit of their study wholly online.
The wholly online units offered by the Faculty of Arts and Education in 2009 are:
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
ACN108 History of Interactive Entertainment
Trimester 1
AIH265/AIH365 Great Debates: Unfinished Business of the Past
AIR236/AIR336 Global Capitalism and its Discontent
AIX391 Work Transition in the 21st Century
ALL379 Representing Australia
ALR383 Government Relations and Issues Management
Trimester 2
AIP238/AIP338 The Politics of Fear
ALC314 Advertising: Designing Desires
ALC320 Approaches to Media: Audiences and Effects
ASC320 Sex, Crime and Justice in An Electronic Age
Admission requirements - general
Deakin University offers admission to undergraduate courses through a number of Admission categories.
In all categories of admission, selection is based primarily on academic merit as indicated by an applicant's previous academic record.
For more information on the Deakin Admissions Policy visit The Guide.
Admission requirements - specific
Applicants should have successfully completed VCE, or equivalent, including a study score of at least 30 in Units 3 and 4 English (ESL) or 25 in Units 3 and 4 of any other English.
Those aged 21 or over on 1 January and who do not hold VCE or equivalent should apply under Alternative Admission. This category is open to those who do not satisfy normal entrance requirements, but can demonstrate relevant work or life experience.
Advanced standing - general
The University aims to provide students with as much credit as possible for approved prior study or informal learning which exceeds the normal entrance requirements for the course and is within the constraints of the course regulations. Students are required to complete a minimum of one-third of the course at Deakin University, or four credit points, whichever is the greater. In the case of certificates, including graduate certificates, a minimum of two credit points within the course must be completed at Deakin.
You can also refer to the Advanced Standing System which outlines the credit that may be granted towards a Deakin University degree.
