Benefits of an Arts Degree

[agro]

Not sure if this belongs here, but what are some benefits of a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Media and Communications at Melbourne as opposed to Sports Journalism at Latrobe. Everyone I talk to who doesn't do an Arts degree has the same "It's a waste of time" attitude.
Just wondering what advantages long term  an arts degree majoring in media and comms would have in general.

[Eriny]

Well, if you wanted to be a journalist, and arts degree would obviously be directly useful. What do you mean by benefits? The benefit is that you get to study a subject you like and maybe be eligible for a career related to it. If you ask most people who HAVE done an arts degree, they don't regret it. Lots of people are horrible to arts students, but that's just because they're jealous that they didn't study such cool subjects. Probably.

[John President]

There are many potential career opportunities that can materialise from the completion of an Arts degree.

For example, you can work on the drive-thru.

Or in the kitchen preparing burgers.

Or at the front serving customers.

Many exciting possibilities.

Do honours and you may be able to get into the cafe. 

Sorry, had to do it before someone else did 

[aabattery]

I'll state the obvious - melbourne arts is bettery than latrobe arts - keep that in mind

[au]

A Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) at the University of Melbourne would be probably the best degree in Victoria for getting into journalism/publishing etc. Alternatively you could do ie Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) then Master of Management (Human Resources) to get into HR, It depends on the major really - or if you really enjoyed a certain subject ie history, it might make it easier to gain entrance into ie Juris Doctor.

[abd123]

chicks? jks lol

I guess you can cover a broad range of subjects under an humanities discipline, you can also have your own subject choices to be putted in within your arts course to pursue things like e.g. science subjects, commerce can go under it. Just broad range you can chose from i guess. I assume it could be really seen as a benefit .

IDK if im right, im only 12 years old  .

[Aurelian]

Everyone I talk to who doesn't do an Arts degree has the same "It's a waste of time" attitude.

Personally I think this only applies if you don't really know what you're doing, which is clearly not the case for you. If you want to be a psychologist, you do an Arts degree and major in Psychology, and then do a PhD and become a psychologist - far from a waste of time and in fact entirely necessary.

In your case, you want to be a journalist, and as a result a BA (Media/Communications) at UniMelb would be extremely useful, and in my opinion more valuable than Sports Journalism at La Trobe for two main reasons. Firstly the prestige and quality of education associated with Melbourne University, but secondly (and perhaps more importantly) the room for diversity in your studies. I can't imagine you can indulge in History or Philosophy or something in that course at La Trobe! And trust me, diversity in your degree is very valuable in your career.

[liuetenant]

in regards to the UoM media and communications major, i've had a talk with the teachers about it.

Most of the subjects tailored towards that major gives you more of a broader understanding of journalism and its context to our society, rather than the fundamentals, such as writing.  Don't get me wrong, UoM defs offers students a chance to write...just not as much as other universities. i think in third year, the subjects are all about writing for media, such as online, print etc. However, while it does teach media, the major is mainly equipping students to understand how journalism works, and preparing them for an industry that will rapidly change in the future....or something like that--words from the head of that major Particularly, since journalism (in print, that is) is becoming a dying profession, given all the technology that's around these days

I've heard that RMIT (not so sure about la trobe), gives a much more practical approach to journalism. They get you in the workfield, make you write, write, write! Since most journalism industries require people with experience in this profession, the UoM major may not be all that it is cut out to be. UoM is more theory.
therefore, it depends on what you want to do at uni more.
While there is the prestige at UoM, i think, in the end, it's all down to the student and their capacity to achieve their aspirations. Whether at la trobe or UoM, just work hard..

[agro]

thanks for your help, much appreciated.

[simpak]

The prestige doesn't mean much now that they've taken away the internship.  I would keep that in mind.

[Thu Thu Train]

*looks at title*

[aes_999]

^Don't laugh at arts, you can
learn languages while ur in there.
Not too mention that Melbourne JD.

[EvangelionZeta]

Two things:

1. Journalism is a dog-eat-dog industry - it's ridiculously competitive to get into, and ridiculously competitive to stay in.  Be prepared to not make too much money, to the extent where you'll need to work another job to survive, potentially.  Find a journo and talk to them about it.

2. I've been told by professional journalists that the industry favours people with a particular field of knowledge that isn't just media and communications.  Knowledge of history, economics, music, English, philosophy, sociology, science, ANYTHING is going to give you an edge, because it means you have more stuff to play with in your reporting, and in your job applications.  Ergo, Arts is a good idea, because it gives you lots of breadth of knowledge (as opposed to say, Biomed).

3. Arts has a lot of real potential careers, you just need to be creative, and often you might need to study further. 

EDIT: Whoops, that's three things.  I must be an Arts student.

[simpak]

Arts at Melbourne (or general arts anywhere) may be helpful for what EZ says because you can do a double major.  So one in media comm and one in another area that he mentions to give you that certain edge.  But really, journalism is like...it's a dying industry.

If you really want to be a journalist then go for it, but I found out very quickly that that kind of job insecurity wasn't for me.  Be prepared to work freelance for a considerably long time.

[agro]

never really said anywhere that I want to be a journalist.