Apply for Digital and Social Media Major (BA)

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MJRU-NETCM

Digital and Social Media

Undergraduate major

Explore the human side of the internet and graduate ready for roles in digital and social media strategy.

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Course outline
  • Qualification
    Digital and Social Media Major (BA)
  • Credit

    Credit

    200
Course outline

Select your preferred degree

This course belongs to multiple degrees. Select the single degree or double degree below to see the application deadlines.

Course outline
Digital and Social Media

Outline

Outline

This course explores the social, cultural and political impacts of the internet, and digital and social media platforms.

You will learn the fundamentals of online communications: how people network, create, collaborate and share information through digital and social media platforms, for a range of different purposes and career paths.

Throughout the course, you’ll build practical and advanced skills in creating, maintaining and managing online communications across web media, publishing and presence; and develop expertise in online collaboration and community management.

You’ll learn how to mobilise digital and social media to promote products, causes and interests.

You’ll also explore how digital and social media are reshaping political systems, cultures, societies and economies, and how to use digital and social media to make the world a better place.

After completing your course you''ll have the career-ready skills for diverse roles in digital and social media; and strategy, content and policy.

Digital and Social Media is offered as part of the Bachelor of Arts. You can create a degree that suits your career goals by enhancing your studies with a second major.

You can also study Digital and Social Media as part of a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce, or Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts double degree.

This course can also studied within the Web Media specialisation of the Bachelor of Communications.

How this course will make you industry ready

Our units cover web-based media and content creation; writing for web-based platforms; everyday life in digital cultures; digital identity and self-branding; entertainment and games; digital economies; online activism and social movements; power and politics in the digital era; and theories of the role of technology in social change.

We design activities and assessments using various platforms and tools, including social media such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. You will create content that are placed online in selected platforms, learning hands-on how to deploy them in fruitful ways.

What jobs can the Digital and Social Media lead to?

Careers

  • Online content creator
  • Web designer / developer
  • Social media coordinator
  • Web communications manager
  • Digital producer / strategist
  • Data business analyst
  • Policymaker.

Industries

  • Media and communications
  • Advertising and marketing
  • Research and policy
  • Non-profit and community sector.

What you'll learn

  • understand and apply key concepts of Internet Studies and apply transdisciplinary thinking to the application and creation of ideas concerning networked technologies of information and communication
  • think critically, creatively and reflectively so as to imagine, design, use and critique networked technologies of information and communication
  • conduct appropriate scholarly and professional research to find, access, organise, evaluate and synthesise information through a variety of media and apply that information to the construction of knowledge
  • communicate and facilitate communication through a variety of media, for different purposes, and for different audiences
  • use the Internet and related networked technologies of information and communication with an understanding of the complex interaction of political, cultural, and economic forces that constitutes technology as social
  • further develop skills and knowledge through self-directed learning
  • understand the complex interplay of local, national and global factors that influence and are expressed through the Internet and networked technologies of information and communication
  • recognise and value cultural difference and understand its significance in relation to network technologies and their use in society for communication and information
  • act ethically and responsibly to use, sustain and expand the social, business and cultural networks that exist via the Internet, when working independently and in teams

Why study Digital and Social Media

Get the Curtin edge

In your final year, you’ll get the chance to develop a website and social media presence as part of a small team project, which you can add to your portfolio.

Cutting-edge

Curtin was one of the first Australian universities to offer an internet studies degree in 1999. Since then, we’ve stayed at the forefront by delving into AI and updating our understanding of the internet’s impact on societal change.

Broad career options

This course has an open structure, with choices between multiple elective units, so you can acquire the skills and knowledge you want.

While I was finishing the last assignments for my degree, I started working for Perenti, a mining services company with more than 8000 employees as a Communications Advisor. I used my Digital and Social Media studies to roll out Workplace by Meta (Facebook for grownups, as the staff call it) to all Australian frontline employees who don’t have access to emails or intranet. This is about 70% of our workforce based on mine sites who now have their own digital communities to share everything from rosters to pictures of their pets. 

MJ Rowan

Admission criteria

What you need in order to get into this course. There are different pathway options depending on your level of work and education experience.

Select an option that best suits you:

You’re considered a high school leaver if you:

  • Completed year 12 in Australia or overseas in the past two years, or
  • Completed TAFE or VET studies in the past two years.

ATAR pathway

  • Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    English ATAR, Literature ATAR or English as an Additional Language/Dialect ATAR.

  • Desirable WACE subjects

    Desirable WACE subjects

    There are no desirable WACE subjects for this course.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

StepUp Entry

StepUp Entry

Successful StepUp Entry and StepUp Equity Adjustment Admission Pathway (StepUp Bonus) applicants will be eligible to be considered for admission into this course.

Alternative pathways

  • Indigenous applicant

    If you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicant who hasn’t met Curtin’s minimum admissions criteria, the Centre for Aboriginal Studies offers bridging courses that are tailored to help you gain entry into this course.

  • STAT entry

    Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)

    Written English and either verbal or quantitative

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool

How others gained admission

View the ATAR breakdown to see the low, median and high ATAR scores of students who started studying this course recently.

To see the other pathways students have taken, see the pathway breakdown.

Other requirements and notes for this course

Applicants are required to choose one of the Bachelor of Arts majors when applying. If you with to study a double major, you elect the second major once you have been accepted into the course.

In addition to the course-specific admission criteria listed above, please read our general admission criteria. Our general admission criteria apply to all courses at Curtin University.

You’re considered someone with work and life experience if:

You have left secondary education more than two years ago (i.e. who are not classified as recent secondary education applicants) and have not undertaken vocational education training (VET) or higher education study since then.

How we define ‘experience’
‘Experience’ includes a combination of factors sufficient to demonstrate readiness for higher education such as mature-age entry, professional experience whether completion of the Special Tertiary Admission Test (STAT) is required or not, community involvement or work experience. Applicants may have undertaken non-formal programs that have helped prepare them for tertiary education or are relevant to the proposed higher education field of study.

Pathways

  • STAT entry

    Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)

    Written English and either verbal or quantitative

ATAR pathway

  • Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    English ATAR, Literature ATAR or English as an Additional Language/Dialect ATAR.

  • Desirable WACE subjects

    Desirable WACE subjects

    There are no desirable WACE subjects for this course.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool

Other requirements and notes for this course

Applicants are required to choose one of the Bachelor of Arts majors when applying. If you with to study a double major, you elect the second major once you have been accepted into the course.

In addition to the course-specific admission criteria listed above, please read our general admission criteria. Our general admission criteria apply to all courses at Curtin University.

You’re considered someone who studied at TAFE or have done an apprenticeship if:

Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study are those whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a VET course. This includes study at a public TAFE or other VET provider, whether a qualification was completed or not. Applicants with VET study may have other qualifications such as a Year 10 or Year 12 secondary school certificate.

Pathways

  • TAFE entry

    AQF Certificate IV - Separate evidence of English language proficiency is required; or AQF Diploma; or AQF Advanced Diploma.

  • STAT entry

    Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)

    Written English and either verbal or quantitative

ATAR pathway

  • Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    English ATAR, Literature ATAR or English as an Additional Language/Dialect ATAR.

  • Desirable WACE subjects

    Desirable WACE subjects

    There are no desirable WACE subjects for this course.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool

Other requirements and notes for this course

Applicants are required to choose one of the Bachelor of Arts majors when applying. If you with to study a double major, you elect the second major once you have been accepted into the course.

In addition to the course-specific admission criteria listed above, please read our general admission criteria. Our general admission criteria apply to all courses at Curtin University.

You’re considered someone who has recently left university if:

Applicants with higher education are those whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a higher education course, such as a university degree. This may include applicants who are currently studying a higher education course at another education provider and want to transfer to Curtin University, or applicants who are currently studying at Curtin but want to switch to a different course. It may also include applicants who have completed past study with university and non-university higher education providers.

Curtin course switcher criteria

Our admission criteria for minimum entry apply to Curtin course switchers. For information on how to meet Curtin's minimum entry requirements, please see our admission criteria web page.

Higher education course switcher criteria

Our admission criteria for minimum entry apply to other higher education course switchers. For information on how to meet Curtin's minimum entry requirements, please see our admission criteria web page.

ATAR pathway

  • Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    English ATAR, Literature ATAR or English as an Additional Language/Dialect ATAR.

  • Desirable WACE subjects

    Desirable WACE subjects

    There are no desirable WACE subjects for this course.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool

Other requirements and notes for this course

Applicants are required to choose one of the Bachelor of Arts majors when applying. If you with to study a double major, you elect the second major once you have been accepted into the course.

In addition to the course-specific admission criteria listed above, please read our general admission criteria. Our general admission criteria apply to all courses at Curtin University.

Unsure what option suits you?

We’re here to help you navigate the complexities of university admission. Choose the support you need from the options below.

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool
Credit for recognised learning (CRL)

Use your experience to get credit towards your degree

Finish your course sooner with credit for your previous study or work experience.

Fees and charges

Please view the Bachelor of Arts degree for indicative fees.

Looking for more detail on the course structure?

View course structure

How to apply

Please review information on how to apply for the campus of your choice

Frequently asked questions

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  • The offering information on this website applies only to future students. Current students should refer to faculty handbooks for current or past course information.

    The information on this page may be subject to change. In particular, Curtin University may change the content, method or location of delivery or tuition fees of courses.

    While Curtin uses reasonable efforts to ensure that the information provided on this page is accurate and up to date, errors and omissions sometimes occur. Curtin makes no warranty, representation or undertaking (expressed or implied) nor does it assume any legal liability (direct or indirect) for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information.

    View courses information disclaimer.

  • Curtin course code: MJRU-NETCM
  • Last updated on: 27 March 2024

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