The University of Wollongong (UOW) is set to become the first institution to deliver the controversial Bachelor of Arts in Western Civilisation degree.

The Ramsay Centre will provide about 150 scholarships for the new course, to be funded by a bequest by the late health pioneer, Paul Ramsay.

The partnership is worth more than $50 million over eight years.

The centre was knocked back earlier this year by the Australian National University, which said the conditions attached affected its academic autonomy.

But UOW Vice Chancellor Paul Wellings said he was not concerned.

"We've looked into a whole range of issues to do with the autonomy of the university and our governance processes to make sure that we don't fall into the same traps that ANU and possible others thought they were falling into," Mr Wellings said.

The state secretary of the NSW National Tertiary Education Union, Michael Thompson, said while he would be speaking with some UOW staff today, some University of Sydney staff had already expressed their concerns about academic independence.

"There are current talks with Sydney University and the University of Queensland about more centres," he said.

"Many of the staff at Sydney University have ongoing concerns about the academic integrity of the proposal.

"They are concerned the Ramsay Centre would have control over the course, including the hiring and firing of staff," Mr Thompson said.

The Australian National University turned down the degree because The Ramsay Centre wanted to conduct "health checks" on the material being taught, where representatives would sit in on classes.

Existing staff not required to teach new subjects

In an internal statement to staff seen by the ABC, executive dean of the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts Theo Farrell acknowledged concerns around the "partnership negotiations" between the Ramsay Centre and other universities.

"It was suggested in some quarters that the Ramsay Centre would make demands that would require the partner university to compromise on academic values or judgement," the email said.

"This has not been our experience."

Professor Farrell said the centre had only stipulated two requirements regarding the degree, that it be a "great books" course at its core, and the teaching include small classes to "facilitate discussion in depth".

Academics were also informed they would not be required to teach new subjects being created for the new degree, which would be staffed by new hires.

The UOW plans to create a new School of Liberal Arts for the degree with academics specifically recruited to teach it from 2020.

In a statement, the university said the curriculum would "focus on a detailed examination of the classic intellectual and artistic masterpieces of the Western tradition that demand and repay careful philosophical attention".

It would encourage "critical reflection" and include overseas trips for students to experience, "exemplars of Western culture, art and architecture".

Ramsay Centre CEO Simon Haines said students would be left room to take an outside major or double degree.

"We have always said that the success of the degree would depend on the quality of the teaching and UOW attaches great importance to teaching standards and quality," he said.