Internet Studies
Undergraduate courses and units
Students can study with us in two main ways. First, if your main area of interest is Internet Studies you can take a major in Internet Communications in the new Bachelor of Arts degree in the Faculty of Humanities. Second, if you want to combine Internet Communications with other important areas of media creativity and business, you can do the BA (Mass Communication)
Students can also study either directly through Curtin University of Technology or through Open Universities Australia. If studying through Curtin, you can either be on-campus, or off-campus: through Open Universities, you are always studying off-campus. The BA (Mass Communication) option is only available to students studying at Curtin campus, or one of its off-shore partner institutions (currently only offered with Internet Communications at Charles Telfair Institute, Mauritius).
These options mean you can choose the right kind of study environment, and the right amount of Internet Communications for your needs. Read on for more information on courses and also the individual units we offer which are also available to all students as electives.
BA (Internet Communications)
This course of study is the most significant qualification for creative and critical learning about Internet Communication. If you study this course, you are majoring in Internet Communications. You will do 10 compulsory Internet units – 2 in your first year as preparatory electives, plus 4 in each of second and third years. You also do 4 compulsory humanities units in first year and 10 more electives. These 24 units make up a full undergraduate degree, specialising in understanding and using the Internet professionally for a range of media and communications outcomes. Your 10 electives can be used to take a double major - Digital Design, Professional Writing and Business Information Technology.
Or, they can be used to take electives in many other areas of study, to create the right degree package for you. See See the BA (Humanities) for a list of all the major options from which you can draw in doing electives.
If you are going to study through Open Universities Australia (for the same Curtin degree), visit the OUA website, for the BA (Internet Communications). While you complete the same Curtin degree, there are small differences in what you can study and different application procedures.
Since there are a wide range of options available to students, you should also contact the Course Coordinator, internetstudies@curtin.edu.au, to discuss your study choices ahead of time.
BA (Mass Communication)
This course has a particular emphasis on the Internet and media, particularly journalism, screen production and marketing / public relations. Students do a standard first year program across media, business and design and then choose two or three streams of units which can include web media and other internet communications options. The course is currently being redesigned and will likely provide a greater specific focus on media and communications in future, integrating the various aspects of media practice. It is best suited to students who want some, but not all, of the Internet Communications major, emphasising web media production.
Units from the Department of Internet Studies
Even if you don't take a full major or stream in Internet Communications, you can still study one or more units from us as part of another course, depending on the rules of that course. For example, students in the Curtin Librarianship course often take a four-unit minor in Internet Communications; students doing Bachelor of Technology (Information Systems) through Open Universities often take one or two electives in Internet communications and design. To help you with this selection, here is a list of the units we offer, linked to the appropriate handbook entry for each unit (These units all have OUA-coded equivalents that can be found by looking at the BA (Internet Communications)
Five units cover applied web media and communications, with conceptual foundations:
Five units cover concepts and issues, with some practical techniques included:
- Internet and everyday Life 102
- Internet Communities and Social Networks 204
- Internet Commerce and Consumers 205
- Internet Politics and Power 303
- Internet Collaboration and Organisation 308
Students can also do a major project in their final year in:
- Internet Studies Project 390 (50-credit unit, counts as two units)
