Internet Studies
Undergraduate courses and units
Students can take a major in Internet Studies, to graduate with the BA (Internet Studies), a stream in either Internet Studies and/or Internet Design within the BA (Mass Communication), or individual units of study in another course so as to complement their learning in other areas.
Students can also study either directly through Curtin University of Technology or through Open Universities Australia. If studying through Curtin, you can either be on-campus, or off-campus: through Open Universities, you are always studying off-campus. The BA (Mass Communication) option is only available to students studying at Curtin campus, or one of its off-shore partner institutions (currently only offered with Internet Studies at Charles Telfair Institute, Mauritius).
These options mean you can choose the right kind of study environment, and the right amount of Internet Studies for your needs. Read on for the courses you can take, and also the 16 Internet Studies and Internet Design units which we offer.
BA (Internet Studies)
This course of study is the most significant qualification for creative and critical learning about Internet Communication. If you study this course, you are majoring in Internet Studies. You will do 10 compulsory Internet units, plus 6 optional units in a closely related field. Most students opt to do their optional study in Internet Design, but other choices are available. You will also complete 8 elective units of your choice, guided by advice from Internet Studies staff. These 24 units make up a full undergraduate degree, specialising in understanding and using the Internet professionally.
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If you are going to study directly through Curtin, look for more information at the Curtin Handbook:
BA (Media and Information); and select the Internet Studies major.
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If you are going to study through Open Universities Australia (for the same Curtin degree), visit the OUA website, for the BA (Internet Studies)
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Since there are a wide range of options available to students, you should also contact the Course Coordinator, internetstudies@curtin.edu.au, to discuss your study choices ahead of time.
BA (Mass Communication) - taking Internet Policy and Culture, Internet Design
This course is a more general media and communication degree with many options for combining your study of the Internet with broader study of the media, as well as special streams in journalism, corporate video production, multimedia, public relations, marketing, advertising design and photography. You will study between 6 and 12 units relating specifically to the Internet, but gain additional skills and knowledge in other mass communication fields. This course is only available at a Curtin campus, either in Perth or off-shore in Mauritius.
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Look for more information at the Curtin Handbook:
BA (Mass Communication); and select the Internet Policy and Culture and Internet Design streams.
Internet Studies units
Even if you don't take a full major or stream in Internet Studies, you can still study one or more units from us as part of another course, depending on the rules of that course. For example, students in the Curtin Librarianship course often take a four-unit minor in Internet Studies; students doing Bachelor of Technology (Information Systems) through Open Universities often take one or two electives in Internet communications and design. To help you with this selection, here is a list of the units we offer, linked to the appropriate handbook entry for each unit (These units all have OUA-coded equivalents that can be found by looking at the BA (Internet Studies) page on the OUA website).
NET103 - A Socio-Technological Introduction to the Internet
NET202 - Internet Communications
NET213 - Policy, Regulation and Governance of the Internet
NET215 - Internet Media Business
NET305 - Current Issues and Developments in ICTs
NET390 - Individual Internet Program (50-credit unit, counts as two units)
NET393 - Individual Internet Study Program
NET395 - Network Culture and the Virtual Society
ID291 - Internet Design Introduction
ID292 - Internet Design Advanced
ID391 - Internet Design Dynamic Environments
ID391 - Internet Design Usability
IDI392 - Internet Design Interactivity
IDP392 - Internet Design Project
Four other key units can be taken as electives along with the compulsory units to support these units. They are only offered through Curtin University of Technology (not OUA).
INF302 - Information Theory and Research
INF303 - Knowledge Management Principles
INF388 - Internet Content Management
See also Fact Files on Internet Studies courses
