MQ Arts Set To Be Decimated

Editor-in-Chief Beth Nicholls and Repeat Offenders Section Editor Niamh McGonnell-Hall review the proposed changes to Macquarie University’s course and major offerings within the Faculty of Arts. 

Please note that this article was written in August 2025. 

Macquarie University's Faculty of Arts (FoA) Executive Dean has made a suite of proposed changes, where at least twelve majors will be discontinued for 2027 and two bachelor degrees are slated to be cut, along with a proposed reduction of 42 FTE staff. 

How We Got Here

In June 2025, the Faculty of Arts Executive Dean, Prof. Chris Dixon, released a Workplace Change Proposal to staff, which proposed several changes to course offerings and teaching staff allocations. A five-week consultation period then began after this proposal was released. 

Following the consultation period and significant feedback from staff, the NTEU and the broader Macquarie community, the FoA executive released a new document and held a town hall meeting with staff in early August 2025, proposing a new set of changes. There were minimal changes to what was originally proposed, but some positive outcomes did emerge. 

The Good News

Originally, it was proposed that the FoA majors of English and Creative Writing would potentially be merged together, resulting in reduced course content and subject choice. 

However, due to feedback and responses following this proposal, a revised statement of workplace proposals on 11 August 2025 from FoA Executive Dean Chris Dixon confirmed that the majors would most likely be retained separately. The feedback cited “English supports secondary teaching requirements” whilst “Creative Writing focuses on industry-relevant writing skills.”  

Another positive outcome was that the Journalism major will be retained as a part of the Bachelor of Media and Communications (BMediaComm), after a strong case was made to keep the major, as journalism maintains high enrolments and brings many benefits to the faculty and wider university community.

Dr. Tai Neilson, senior lecturer in media and the coordinator for the Journalism major, says "I am really happy to see the journalism major retained and I'm grateful for all of the support we received from current and former students and colleagues. The major has solid enrolments and excellent graduate outcomes. Honestly, it's hard to imagine a media and communications degree at Macquarie without journalism, so the right choice has been made here."

Both of these decisions are massive wins for the Faculty, which were well fought for by academic staff and the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). 

The Bad News

Despite these positives emerging, the FoA executive has decided to continue with a proposed list of changes. This includes discontinuing various majors, along with redesigning several majors and moving them to different degrees, with them no longer finding a home under the BA. 

The FoA executive confirmed that Gender Studies will most likely be discontinued, as despite strong enrolment in individual units, it has been reported that there is not enough sustained enrolment across the major to suggest it is viable to keep the offering at Macquarie. 

The Bachelor of Music is also proposed to be discontinued, along with a Music Studies major, which was set to replace the BMusic as of statements made in June 2025. The Music Studies major was supposed to cater towards students wishing to become music high school teachers, however, it was noted that such a major could not be facilitated to meet NESA’s requirements, thus it is proposed to no longer be offered. 

Another proposed loss is the Performing Arts and Entertainment Industries major that is currently offered under both the BA and BMediaComm, and the Radio and Podcasting major that is offered under the BMediaComm, both due to low enrolment numbers according to the FoA executive. 

A newly designed major, Creative Industries, is set to be launched at Macquarie from 2027 under the BA, which is intended to cover the emerging gaps resulting from the proposed removal of the BMusic course, and Music Studies and Performing Arts and Entertainment Industries majors. This major will take a more multidisciplinary approach and have direct alignment with the Master of Creative Industries, designed for students interested in the creative and music industries. 

Where is the FoA headed from here?

As of 27 August 2025, the Macquarie University website only shows a Bachelor of Arts with an offering of twelve majors (Anthropology; Chinese Studies; Creative Writing; Critical Indigenous Studies; English; French and Francophone Studies; German Studies; Japanese Studies; Media, Culture and Communications; Philosophy; Sociology; Spanish and Latin American Studies) and the Bachelor of Media and Communications with an offering of four majors (Interactive Design; Journalism and Non-Fiction Writing; Public Relations and Social Media; Screen Practice and Production). The website also currently shows the Bachelor of Music, though once clicked on, it shows the message: “as part of our regular course reviews, this course is under review and may not be offered from 2026.” It is also important to note that the Course Handbook does not reflect these proposed changes, as they will take effect from 2026, and the details in the handbook are designed to assist current students who have started a degree from 2025 and prior. 

In August 2025, Labor MLC Dr Sarah Kaine announced a parliamentary inquiry into tertiary education governance across Australia, where she will consider “the role of governance structures in safeguarding the public mission of universities, academic freedom, research ethics, student welfare, and social outcomes.”^[1] 

Interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald, Kaine says that students and staff are concerned about the futures, mainly as they are left in the dark, and that she would be “distressed but not surprised” if more universities continued to cut courses.^[2] 

Moving forward, the Bachelor of Arts is proposed to have a dramatic decrease in majors offered, with them either completely cut from Macquarie’s curriculum or moved to different schools/degrees. 

Proposed changes/cuts within the FoA for 2026:

Bachelor of Arts
Ancient History	Discontinued, but a Bachelor of History is now offered
Criminology	Discontinued, but a Bachelor of Criminology is now offered
Education Studies	Discontinued
Gender Studies	Discontinued
Geography	Discontinued
International Relations	Discontinued, replaced by a new Politics/International Relations major from 2027
Modern History	Discontinued, but a Bachelor of History is now offered
Music Studies	Discontinued
Performing Arts and Entertainment Industries	Discontinued, replaced by a new Creative Industries major from 2027
Politics	Discontinued, replaced by a new Politics/International Relations major from 2027
Psychological Science	Discontinued, only offered through a Bachelor of Psychology or a Bachelor of Psychological Science
Bachelor of Media and Communications
Performing Arts and Entertainment Industries	As above
Radio, Podcasting, and Audio Media	Discontinued
Bachelor of Music	Discontinued
Bachelor of Archeology & Bachelor of Ancient History	Discontinued, but a major in both of these areas can be studied through the Bachelor of History

These changes will have significant impacts across the board, with staff and students lacking certainty and security within their chosen study area, while many fear that the altered degrees offered by the FoA will lead to lack of retention due to poor satisfaction rates.

These proposed changes also see a proposed reduction in the FTE teaching staff within the faculty. With a proposed reduction of at least 3.5 FTE in the Politics and International Relations discipline and 3 FTE in the Creative Arts discipline. 

It’s important to note that no final decision has been made by Macquarie University, though it seems inevitable that many of these proposed changes will proceed. This will see the FoA have a reduction in course offerings, along with several impacts on teaching staff within the faculty. 

Email Update: 24/09/2025

On the 24th of September, Faculty of Arts Executive Dean, Prof. Chris Dixon, emailed students with “An update on proposed curriculum changes,” stating that “several of these proposed changes, which will come into effect from 2026.” The email also confirmed that the Bachelor of Music, the Bachelor of Archaeology and the Bachelor of Ancient History will have no new admissions. The table included in the email is as follows:

Undergraduate Courses 

New courses	Bachelor of History – with majors in “Ancient History,” “Archaeology,” “Modern History,” and “Public History & Heritage” Bachelor of International Studies – with majors in “Global Leadership & Communication” and “Humans & Emerging Technologies”
Courses with no new admissions	Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Archaeology Bachelor of Ancient History Students currently enrolled in these courses will be supported to complete them.

Postgraduate courses 

New courses	Master of Intelligence Master of Criminology Master of Strategy and Security – with specialisations in “Defence & Strategy,” “Counter Terrorism,” and “Cyber Intelligence” Graduate Certificate of Strategic Policy Master of Education – with specialisations in “Early Chilhood,” “Education Leadership,” “Inclusive Education,” and “Indigenous Education”
Updated courses	Master of Laws – fully prescribed course (no specialisation) Units cover law; energy & natural resources law; human rights law; anti-money laundering & counter-terrorist financing law

As stated in the email, the Bachelor of Ancient History has now been discontinued, with Ancient History situated as a major under the Bachelor of History. The Bachelor of Media and Communications now has four majors, those that were proposed back in August, including the retention of the Journalism and Non-Fiction Writing major due to staff feedback on those proposals. It has also been confirmed via this email that the major of English and the major of Creative Writing, both under the Bachelor of Arts, will remain as separate majors. 

Unfortunately, the email confirmed several ‘paused majors,’ with no new admission into these majors in 2026. These include: 

• Criminology

• Education Studies

• Gender Studies

• Geography

• International Relations (new International Relations & Politics major planned for 2027)

• Music Studies

• Performing Arts and Entertainment Studies (new Creative Industries major planned for 2027)

• Politics (new International Relations & Politics major planned for 2027)

• Radio, Podcasting and Audio Media

• Climate, Environment and Society

• Work, Life and Technology

The email stated that these majors “will be reviewed as the University develops new offerings for 2027.”

ENDNOTES:

[1] Matchett, Stephen. “New NSW Probe Adds to Heat on Governance.” Future Campus, 19 Aug. 2025, www.futurecampus.com.au/2025/08/19/new‑nsw‑probe‑adds‑to‑heat‑on‑governance/. 

[2] Kowal, Emily. “’Uni Has Treated Me Like an ATM’: Sophia’s Dreams Crushed after Course Cuts.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 Aug. 2025, www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/uni-has-treated-me-like-an-atm-sophia-s-dreams-crushed-after-course-cuts-20250815-p5mncm.html.