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Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts

The combined Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts is administered by the University of Sydney Business School for the duration of the combined degree.

Overview of the degree

Course details Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts
CRICOS code 055964D
Degree Abbreviation BCom/BA
Credit points required for completion 240
Duration (full-time) 5 years

The combined Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts program provides the opportunity for students to combine professional commerce-related studies with studies in the humanities. Both degrees are studied concurrently and will be awarded after five years of full-time study.

Degree structure and progression

Degree requirements

To be awarded the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts, students must successfully complete units of study with a total value of 240 credit points (with no more than 96 credit points in junior units of study), comprising:

For the Bachelor of Commerce component:

  • six commerce core units of study (36 credit points)
  • a major selected from the 'Bachelor of Commerce subject areas for majors and electives'
  • a minimum of 96 credit points in units of study from the University of Sydney Business School and School of Economics (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) (with a minimum of 48 credit points in senior units).

For the Bachelor of Arts component:

  • a major selected from the options listed under the 'Bachelor of Arts subject areas' (where a major is available)
  • a minimum of 72 credit points in senior units of study from selected from the options listed under the 'Arts majors and electives' heading.

Requirements for the degrees with honours

Both the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts can be awarded with honours. Joint honours degrees are also available.

For the award of the Bachelor of Commerce with Honours, meritorious students complete the Bachelor of Commerce and an additional honours year of study in their major area of study. For details of the requirements for entry into and for the completion of the Honours Year in this program in the Business School, please refer to the Business School website: sydney.edu.au/business/honours

For the award of the Bachelor of Arts with Honours, meritorious students must complete successfully the Bachelor of Arts with an additional honours year of study in their major area of study (where honours study is available). For further details of requirements for honours in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, students should refer to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences handbook sydney.edu.au/handbooks/arts

Commerce core units of study

Junior units of study (30 credit points):

  • BUSS1001 Understanding Business
  • BUSS1002 The Business Environment
  • BUSS1020 Quantitative Business Analysis
  • BUSS1030 Accounting, Business and Society
  • BUSS1040 Economics for Business Decision Making

Senior capstone unit of study (six credit points):

  • BUSS3500 Integrated Business Applications.

Majors and electives

Commerce majors and electives

In the Bachelor of Commerce component, students select at least one major from the 'Bachelor of Commerce subject areas for majors and electives' to fulfil the requirements of their degree. A major consists of a minimum of 36 credit points in senior units of study (usually six units) in a single subject area. Senior units of study may only be counted towards one major. Elective units can also be selected from these areas. The Business School subject areas are as follows:

  • Accounting
  • Business Information Systems
  • Commercial Law
  • Econometrics *
  • Economics *
  • Finance
  • Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management
  • International Business
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Quantitative Business Analysis.

* These majors are offered by the School of Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

For full details of the requirements for these majors, please refer to Bachelor of Commerce subject areas for majors and electives section under the Bachelor of Commerce entry in this handbook.

Arts majors and electives

For the Bachelor of Arts degree component, students select at least one major from the Arts subject areas (Table A subject areas in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Handbook). In the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, a major usually consists of a minimum of 36 credit points in senior units of study (six units). Students are normally required to complete at least 12 credit points in junior units of study (two units) as prerequisites in order to progress to senior units of study (in some majors specific junior units). Senior units may only be counted towards one major. Students cannot complete a major in all the Arts and Social Sciences subject areas.

Students are required to complete at least 72 credit points in senior Arts units of study comprising the units for their selected major and additional senior units (either a second major and/or as electives). The available Arts subject areas, including those areas in which majors cannot be completed (or those that may not be available in the future), are as follows:

  • American Studies
  • Ancient History
  • Anthropology
  • Arabic Language and Literature
  • Arab World, Islam and the Middle East
  • Archaeology
  • Art History
  • Asian Studies
  • Australian Literature
  • Australian Studies
  • Biblical Studies
  • Celtic Studies
  • Chinese Studies
  • Cultural Studies
  • Digital Cultures
  • Econometrics *
  • Economics *
  • English
  • European Studies
  • Film Studies
  • French Studies
  • Gender Studies
  • Germanic Studies
  • Government and International Relations
  • Greek (Ancient)
  • Hebrew (Classical)
  • Hebrew (Modern)
  • History
  • Indigenous Australian Studies
  • Indonesian Studies
  • International and Comparative Literary Studies
  • Italian Studies
  • Japanese Studies
  • Jewish Civilisation, Thought and Culture
  • Korean Studies
  • Latin
  • Linguistics
  • Medieval Studies
  • Modern Greek Studies
  • Music
  • Pali (no major is available)
  • Peace and Conflict Studies (no major is available)
  • Performance Studies
  • Philosophy
  • Political Economy
  • Sanskrit
  • Social Policy
  • Sociology
  • Spanish and Latin American Studies
  • Studies in Religion.

* Students can choose to count units/majors in the subject areas offered by the School of Economics towards either the Commerce or the Arts component of their degree – not both.

For details of the structural requirements and availability of the particular Bachelor of Arts majors, students should refer to the to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks).

Electives and additional majors

Students may choose an additional major and/or electives from any subject area offered by the University of Sydney Business School or the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Alternatively, subject to degree requirements, students may select electives from any other faculty of the University of Sydney (subject to approval of the faculty offering the unit and degree requirements). Other faculty majors may differ in size, however in most cases; a minimum of 36 credit points in senior (or intermediate and senior) units of study must be completed in that subject area. Students should refer to the other faculty's handbook or website for further information regarding their major requirements. Students can only complete a maximum of 60 credit points in units of study from outside of the Business School or the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

For details of majors and electives from other faculties, students should consult the handbook for the relevant faculty (sydney.edu.au/handbooks).

Professional accreditation requirements

Within the Bachelor of Commerce component of the combined degree, students may choose to pursue a program of study that would allow them to seek accreditation with particular professional bodies.

See the Bachelor of Commerce entry of this handbook for details of available professional accreditation requirements.

Degree progression

The following table illustrates a degree progression example for a student enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts on a full-time basis undertaking units of study with a total value of 24 credit points per semester and completing two majors ('A' and 'B'). Students can, depending on the major selected, complete a maximum four majors.

Note: In this example, core units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) are in 'bold italic' type, the compulsory Commerce components of the program are in 'italic' and the required Bachelor of Arts (BA) units are in 'bold'.

Year Semester Units of study
1 1 BUSS1001 BUSS1030 BUSS1040 BA junior (major)
2 BUSS1002 BUSS1020 BCom junior (major or elective) BA junior (major)
2 1 BCom senior (major) BCom junior or senior (major or elective) BA junior or senior (elective or major) BA senior (major)
2 BCom senior (major) BCom junior or senior (major or elective) BA junior or senior (elective or major) BA senior (major)
3 1 BCom senior (major) senior (elective) BA senior (elective or major) BA senior (major)
2 BCom senior (major) senior (elective) BA senior (elective or major) BA senior (major)
4 1 BCom senior (major) senior (elective) BA senior (elective or major) BA senior (major)
2 BCom senior (major) senior (elective) BA senior (elective or major) BA senior (major)
5 1 BCom senior (major or elective) senior (elective) BA senior (elective or major) senior (elective)
2 BUSS3500 senior (elective) BA senior (elective or major) senior (elective)

Please note: The information listed in this example is based on the unit of study offerings for 2012 and is intended as a guide only. Students are usually able to complete the units of study for their course in different sequences to that which are listed (including enrolling in units in Summer or Winter School sessions when available). Students are advised to plan their course based upon their individual needs and to contact the Student Information Office if they need any assistance in planning their progression in their degree.

The Business School website illustrates units of study progression sequences for specific majors in this combined degree. This information can be accessed at sydney.edu.au/business/course/FH047/

Units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts

For information on units of study that are available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts in 2012, please refer to the Business School and Arts and Social Sciences tables under the Undergraduate units of study section, for details of the unit prerequisites, corequisites and other requirements. For descriptions of the University of Sydney Business School units, refer to Undergraduate units of study descriptions. For all other Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences unit descriptions, please refer to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences handbook sydney.edu.au/handbooks/arts or the Online unit of study handbook ssa.usyd.edu.au/ssa/handbook/uossearch.jsp

Course rules and resolutions

 

Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts


These resolutions must be read in conjunction with applicable University By-laws, Rules and policies including (but not limited to) the University of Sydney (Coursework) Rule 2000 (the 'Coursework Rule'), the Resolutions of the Faculty, the University of Sydney (Student Appeals against Academic Decisions) Rule 2006 (as amended) and the Academic Board policies on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism.

Course resolutions

1 Course codes

Code

Course title

FH033

Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts

2 Attendance pattern

The attendance pattern for this course is full time only.

3 Cross faculty management

(1)
The University of Sydney Business School is the primary faculty for management of the combined award course.
(2)
The Deans of the University of Sydney Business School and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences shall jointly exercise authority in any matter concerned with the combined course not otherwise dealt with in these resolutions.

4 Admission to candidature

Admission to this course is on the basis of a secondary school leaving qualification such as the NSW Higher School Certificate (including national and international equivalents), tertiary study or an approved preparation program. English language requirements must be met where these are not demonstrated by sufficient qualifications taught in English. Special admission pathways are open for mature aged applicants who do not possess a school leaving qualification, educationally disadvantaged applicants and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Applicants are ranked by merit and offers for available places are issued according to the ranking. Details of admission policies are found in the Coursework Rule.

5 Requirements for award

(1)
The units of study that may be taken for the courses are set out in the Table of undergraduate units of study: University of Sydney Business School and Table A from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
(2)
To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts, a candidate must successfully complete 240 credit points, comprising:
(a)
a minimum of 96 credit points from the Economics and Business table of units, comprising:
(i)  36 credit points of Bachelor of Commerce core units of study; and
(ii)  a major from the list of majors available for the Bachelor of Commerce; and
(iii)  a minimum of 48 senior credit points;
(b)
a minimum of 72 credit points of Arts and Social Sciences senior units of study from Table A, including a major from Arts and Social Sciences subject areas listed in Table A;
(c)
and ensuring the completion of no more than 96 credit points in junior units of study.

6 Majors

(1)
Completion of a major in each degree is a requirement of the course. Units of study counted towards one major may not count toward any other major completed.
(2)
The list of majors available for the Bachelor of Commerce and the requirements for the completion of a major, are specified in the course resolutions for the Bachelor of Commerce.
(3)
The list of majors available for the Bachelor of Arts and the requirements for the completion of a major, are specified in the resolutions of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

7 Progression rules

Full time students must enrol in all junior core units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce within the first two years of enrolment. Part time students must enrol in all junior core units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce within the first four years of enrolment.

8 Requirements for the Honours degree

(1)
Honours is available to meritorious students who complete an additional year of full time study, after the completion of the combined pass degree. Part time study is permitted if approved by the administering Discipline.
(2)
Admission and award requirements for honours in the Bachelor of Commerce are listed in the resolutions of the University of Sydney Business School. Admission and award requirements for honours in the Bachelor of Arts are listed in the resolutions of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

9 Award of the degrees

(1)
Candidates will be awarded a separate testamur for each degree completed.
(2)
The Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Arts are awarded as either Pass or Honours. The honours degree is awarded in classes according to the rules specified in the Resolutions of the University of Sydney Business School and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
(3)
Candidates for the award of the Honours degree who do not meet the requirements, and who have not already graduated, will be awarded the pass degree.

10 Course transfer

A candidate may abandon the combined program and elect to complete either the Bachelor of Commerce or the Bachelor of Arts in accordance with the resolutions governing that degree. Completion of the abandoned degree in the future will require a new application for admission to that course and completion in accordance with the resolutions governing that degree.

11 Transitional provisions

(1)
These resolutions apply to students who commenced their candidature after 1 January, 2011.
(2)
Candidates who commenced prior to 1 January, 2011 will complete the requirements in accordance with the resolutions in force at the time of their commencement, provided that requirements are completed by 1 January, 2016. The School may specify a later date for completion or specify alternative requirements for completion of candidatures that extend beyond this time.