Bachelor of Philosophy

A Bachelor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame Australia is a three-year degree built around reading primary texts and arguing about them. You start with the Greeks and work forward — Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant — and you read them in tutorials of a dozen or so students rather than in lecture halls of hundreds. Notre Dame runs its Sydney and Fremantle campuses on a liberal arts model, which means small classes, discussion-based learning and a lot of writing. Expect units in logic, ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy and the history of ideas, plus electives you can take from outside the discipline.

Australian bachelor degrees sit at level 7 of the Australian Qualifications Framework and normally take three years of full-time study. The academic year runs across two semesters, with a census date each semester — that's the deadline for adding or dropping units without financial penalty. You accumulate credit points as you pass units, and you need a set total to graduate. Most students take four units a semester, which is a full-time load. The degree is delivered in English.

Philosophy is not an accredited profession in Australia, so there is no registration body waiting at the end. What the degree does is train you to read closely, spot a bad argument, write clearly and hold a position under pressure. Some students add an honours year — a fourth year with a research thesis — if they want to go on to a master's or a doctorate. Notre Dame's philosophy staff have research interests in ethics, phenomenology and Catholic intellectual tradition, and the small cohort means you can actually get time with them.

This degree suits someone who likes books, disagreement and writing. It pairs well with law, politics, journalism, teaching or theology if you want a double degree. If you are an international student, you can work up to 48 hours a fortnight while your course is in session and unlimited hours during official course breaks. The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream is available to eligible graduates. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 061708C — check the official page for current fees and intake dates.

• Policy officer — Australian Public Service, state government departments, think tanks and NGOs.
• Journalist or editor — newsrooms, magazines, digital publishers and communications teams.
• Lawyer or paralegal — many philosophy graduates take a Juris Doctor or a legal practice course after this degree.
• Secondary teacher — teaching philosophy, English, history or religious studies, after a teaching qualification.
• University researcher or academic — via an honours year, then a master's or doctorate.
• Ethics or compliance officer — hospitals, research institutions, banks, tech companies and government agencies.
• Writer or content producer — publishing, media, advertising and corporate communications.
• Public sector analyst — policy shops, regulators and parliamentary libraries.