The Bachelor of Arts is a three year program at pass level and a four year program at Honours level. A Bachelor of Arts program enriches your understanding of how human beings make, recognise, and debate about life's meaning and the values that support civilisation. All Arts disciplines teach students to develop their capacity for critical analysis and argument as well as an awareness of the value of language as a political, intellectual, creative and communicative tool. Students can combine courses from Business, English, Indonesian Studies, Information Systems, Geography, History, and International and Political Studies, building expertise in one or more of these disciplines. Honours students who are RAN midshipmen or RAAF officer cadets continue with their programs at UNSW Canberra and complete their degrees at the end of the fourth year. Army officer cadets transfer to the Royal Military College, Duntroon at the end of their third year. After completing a year of military training they are commissioned as lieutenants, and those who are continuing with Honours programs return to the Academy to complete their Honours degree.

The objective of a Bachelor of Arts program is to stimulate students intellectually and to immerse them in the discipline of learning. The program will develop graduate attributes, such as strong written and oral communications skills, the capacity to research, criticise and reflect, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively. The Bachelor of Arts program rules allow students to include a mix of Arts courses with courses from Business, Engineering, Information Technology and Science. The following Arts discipline areas are available as majors in the Bachelor of Arts: