From September 2022, SETU's Arts degree has been restructured as a Joint Honours Arts degree. Students starting on the 3-year honours degree programme 200 will study three equally weighted subjects in the first yearand then continue to study two of these chosen subjects into years 2 and 3, graduating with a BA (Hons) or what is commonly known as a Joint Honours Degree.
What is the Bachelor of Arts (Hons)?
The Bachelor of Arts (Honours) makes available to you a wide range of Humanities and Social Science subjects in a course that is comparable to any Arts degree nationally and worldwide.
The BA (Hons) in SETU is a 3 year programme which has been developed to ensure students undertaking the programme have been introduced to the key areas of each discipline with specific areas explored that are derived by the interests of the Programme’s research active lecturing staff. This 3 year Honours degree, allows students to move into a vast range of postgraduate study and work options in either of their chosen discipline areas or in an interdisciplinary area that combines both subjects.
What is an Arts Degree?
An Arts degree is a general degree that allows students to pick their own subjects for study from a broad range of diverse Humanities based subject areas. In SETU's Joint Honours degree, students choose 3 subjects in first year and move into second year specialising in two of these.
Given that students can pick their own subjects, there is a wide range of possible combinations and Arts graduates can move into very different areas of work or research on graduation. Commonly, Arts graduates share key skills that are recognised and valued by employers, these include critical and independent thinking, effective communication, problem-solving, ability to work in a team; all critical skills for a modern workplace.
The range of subject combinations on offer makes an Arts degree popular because it allows students to either continue to study areas they have already grown to love in school or through their participation in various activities in society, or to move into new areas of study.
An Arts degree is about asking the bigger questions in life and working out, through critical reading and informed dialogue, and by considering other viewpoints, how to tackle these questions.
Arts degrees open up a space to consider complex questions and to work through possible scenarios and issues using the unique lens of your chosen subject area.
BA (Hons) International
An exciting opportunity to study abroad is available on our Arts degree. Students can opt in after second year and choose to spend an extra year at a partner university or third level college overseas before returning to complete their final year at SETU. Students who take this option graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) International. Students are supported by an SETU Academic Advisor who facilitates the process and assists students in choosing a host university and subject areas that will meet the necessary criteria to ensure the choice is both successful and enriching.
The School of Humanities at SETU is delighted to announce an exciting change to the structure of our BA (Hons) from September 2022.
Responding to student feedback, September 2022 will see the first intake on our newly structured BA (Hons) SE200. This new structure will see students take up three equally weighted subjects in the first year of our three year honours degree. Students will then continue to study two of these chosen subjects into years two and three.
On admission to SETU, students on the Joint Honours Degree will be introduced to each of the subjects and will elect three subjects for their first year of study (only one subject can be chosen from each group). At the end of Year 1, students will continue their studies to graduation in two of their chosen subjects, graduating with what is commonly referred to as a Joint Honours Arts Degree.
*Students who choose a Language at Post-Leaving Certificate level (PLC) need to meet particular entry requirements. Please see subject pages for details.
Year 1 Choose 3 subjects- only one from any group
Years 2 & 3 Elect 2 of your chosen 1st year subjects to continue with
Opt in to Study Abroad: students can choose to add an additional year to their BA (Hons) and graduate with a BA (Hons) International. This optional pathway allows students who successfully complete Years 1 and 2 in SETU Waterford, to spend Year 3 in one of our approved partner institutions abroad, before returning to SETU Waterford to complete their final year.
Key terms
Arts Degree: BA (Hons) SE200 more commonly called an Arts Degree; the BA (Hons) programme follows a Joint Honours structure
Joint Honours Degree: this is how we refer to an Honours Arts degree (like SE200) when a student undertakes the study of two equally weighted areas of study and graduates with these two subject areas of equal importance with Honours or at Level 8.
Subject OR Discipline: these are the terms we use to describe the overall area of study. The subject choice table shows the options currently available to students who choose to study BA (Hons) SE200. Students choose 3 subjects to study in Year 1 and then continue to graduation with two of these in Years 2 and 3.
Major and Minor: Students undertaking the BA (Hons) Psychology SE205 study Psychology as their Major Subject under the structure outlined on the information page. In Year 1 students registered on SE205 choose two of the subjects listed on the Arts Degree in Groups 1, 2 and 3 (only one subject can be chosen from each group). Students on the Psychology Degree SE205 study their Major (Psychology) and 2 Minors from the Arts degree, but they have more credits in their Major than in their Minor.
Credits/ECTS: We follow a modularised structure in SETU; modules are like building blocks and most modules are worth 5 credits/ECTS. In every semester of the Arts degree, students complete 30 credits/ECTS and every academic year equates to 60 credits/ECTS. Overall, SETU'S 3 year Honours Arts degree is equivalent to 180 ECTS.
Leaving Cert: Minimum entry requirements
2 subjects: H5 4 subjects: O6/H7 English or Irish: O6/H7
Language recommendations
Applicants intending to choose French PLC: a grade of H5 or equivalent, in Leaving Certificate French is recommended.
Applicants intending to choose Irish PLC: a grade of H5 or equivalent, in Leaving Certificate Irish is recommended.
Applicants intending to choose Spanish PLC: a grade of H5 or equivalent, in Leaving Certificate Spanish is recommended.
For those starting Spanish Beginner (ab initio), there are no special requirements.
Applying for the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) on the CAO:
You can apply for SE200 only ONCE. On acceptance of a place at Registration, you will be asked to identify your 3 equally weighted subjects to study in first year. Additional information will be advised at that point.
Students will have an opportunity within the first weeks of semester to change that selection, subject to availability.
An Arts degree prepares graduates for many work situations and graduates in the past have become teachers, worked in journalism, consultancy, many different forms of professional practice, translation, politics: it is the nature of a Liberal Arts education that it prepares people for a myriad of careers. The adaptability, flexibility and mental agility of Arts graduates, as well as their strong skills in communication and problem-solving, make them very desirable employees in many professions and industries.
Subject Specific Opportunities are considered in each Subject Area.
The BA (Hons) with Religious Studies has been accepted by the Healthcare Chaplaincy Board as an approved degree course for those wishing to apply for certification as a Catholic Healthcare Chaplain.
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) International
You can choose to spend an extra year (Year 3) in an international partner university. Students who take this option will graduate after four years with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) International.
Follow on Study
Graduates can proceed to a Masters degree by Research in their chosen Major discipline at SETU or elsewhere, as well as various other taught Higher Diploma, Post-graduate Diploma and Masters programmes.
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) career opportunities
A Liberal Arts education prepares graduates for many work situations and graduates in the past have become teachers, have worked in journalism, consultancy, many different forms of professional practice, translation, politics: it is the nature of a Liberal Arts education that it prepares people for a myriad of careers. The adaptability, flexibility and mental agility of Arts graduates, as well as their strong skills in communication and problem-solving, make them very desirable employees in many professions and industries.
Religious Studies
The BA (Hons) with Religious Studies has been accepted by the Healthcare Chaplaincy Board as an approved degree course for those wishing to apply for certification as a Catholic Healthcare Chaplain.
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) International
You can choose to spend an extra year (Year 3) in an international partner university. Students who take this option will graduate after four years with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) International. Partners include universities in the US, Canada and across Europe.
Graduates can proceed to a Masters degree by Research in their chosen Major discipline at SETU or elsewhere, as well as various other taught Higher Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma and Masters programmes.
