FutureLearn and University of Newcastle Australia partner to deliver online arts degree

FutureLearn, the social learning platform, and The University of Newcastle, Australia, today announced a partnership that will deliver an online undergraduate degree via the FutureLearn platform early next year.

The Bachelor of Arts Undergraduate degree will be a full-time, three year degree with the first semester starting February 25th 2019 and the second semester starting July 29th 2019. Online students will learn at the same time as campus-based students, and as part of this move by Newcastle, they will offer flexible study options to their campus-based students by allowing them to choose online versions of their modules where available.

The online BA adopts FutureLearn’s ‘try-before-you-buy’ model, whereby learners are able to join the first courses in each ‘Program’ or course for free. This allows learners to try out the course material, see if the subject area is right for them, and get a sense of the work involved in the course before committing to the full degree.

Mark Lester, MD, Universities and Educational Partnerships, FutureLearn, commented, “There’s no doubt that higher education institutions are earnestly responding to the needs of a changing world, where people demand the ability to learn as they live. Education is being designed to suit people’s busy lives, and the fast pace of change in both industry and society.”

Mark continued, “We’re passionate about working with our university partners to meet these challenges, so together we help individuals anywhere gain access to the highest quality education and use our social learning platform to have meaningful dialogue with a diverse community of learners. We are delighted to welcome the University of Newcastle Australia as our first partner offering online undergraduate degrees on our platform. This is a great addition to our portfolio and we are excited about what the future holds for us, Newcastle, and our learners.”

Professor Darrell Evans, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), University of Newcastle Australia, commented,

“The University of Newcastle is excited to join FutureLearn in this important expansion of the University’s long history of flexible delivery. This partnership builds on our already established experience in delivering innovative learning for our students and is a core component in delivering on our NeW Education Framework. University of Newcastle is looking forward to engaging with the full suite of social learning tools and innovate pedagogy on FutureLearn.”

Professor Catharine Coleborne, Head of School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle Australia, the academic lead for the new BA online degree, commented,

“What is exciting about this degree is that we are opening up our BA degree to new learners who are curious about the world and who are keen to create ideas. The degree will be flexible: students can tailor their study to their interests and career goals, also accommodating life’s other commitments. We aim to showcase the exciting experience of being in an online classroom, with the added dimension of having students from varied perspectives and places participate.”

Online learners will be able to choose from a range of major and minor subjects. In addition to the core subjects, there will be courses in English and Writing, Film, Media and Culture, History, and Sociology and Anthropology to choose from. The first semester will start on the 25th of February with six Programs across four disciplines; Film, Media and Cultural Studies, English and Writing, History, and Sociology and Anthropology.

Each of the Programs will consist of 12 weeks, broken down into four, three-week courses. The first three week course of each Program is open for learners to try before they buy.

Learn more about this online BA from University of Newcastle Australia.