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Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws is administered by the University of Sydney Business School for the first three years and by the University of Sydney Law School for the remaining two years.

Overview of the combined degree

Course details
Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws
CRICOS code 017835F
Degree abbreviation BCom/LLB
Credit points required for completion 240
Duration (full-time) 5 years

The Combined Law degree program allows students to study the Bachelor of Laws in conjunction with another degree. It works by spreading out the first year of the Bachelor of Laws degree over three years of a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Here, in place of elective units of study, students substitute compulsory law units of study.

Degree structure and progression

Degree requirements

To be awarded the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws, students complete units of study with a total value of 240 credit points (96 credit points in units of study from the University of Sydney Business School and 144 credit points in units of study from the Sydney Law School), comprising:

For the Bachelor of Commerce component:

  • six commerce core units of study (36 credit points)
  • a major selected from the 'Commerce majors and electives' options
  • a maximum of 48 junior credit points in junior units of study from the University of Sydney Business School or the School of Economics (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences).

For the Bachelor of Laws component:

  • ten core law units of study (48 credit points) to be completed in the first three years of the combined program in a specific annual sequence.
  • eight additional core and eight elective law units of study (96 credit points in total) to be completed over the remaining two years of the degree at the Sydney Law School.

Please note: Students cannot complete any units of study from outside of the Business School or the Law School for this combined degree.

Requirements for the degree with honours

Both the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws can be awarded with honours.

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 honours in the Bachelor of Laws, students must complete a supervised dissertation as part of their 48 credit points of elective units of study in their fifth year of study. An additional honours year is not required. For further details, students should refer to the Sydney Law School Handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/law).

Commerce core units of study

Junior units of study (30 credit points):

  • BUSS1001 Understanding Business
  • BUSS1002 The Business Environment
  • BUSS1020 Quantitative Business Analysis
  • BUS1030 Accounting, Business and Society
  • BUSS1040 Economics for Business Decision Making

Senior capstone unit of study (six credit points):

  • BUSS3500 Integrated Business Applications.

Commerce majors and electives

In the Bachelor of Commerce component, students select a 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. Students also select their elective units of study from the Commerce subject areas. The available 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 .

Law units of study (core and elective)

For the Bachelor of Laws component, students complete their law units of study in the yearly sequence indicated in the following tables. All law units in the first four years of the degree are compulsory. In their fifth year, students choose elective law units to complete their degree. Students should note that the law units of study cannot be counted as a major in the Bachelor of Commerce component of this combined degree.

Core Law units of study (first three years of study)

Students complete their units of study for the Bachelor of Laws component of their combined degree in the yearly sequence set out in the following table.

Year Semester Unit of study Credit points
1
   

1

 LAWS1006 Foundations of Law  6

2

 LAWS1013 Legal Research I  0

2

 LAWS1012 Torts  6
2
   

1

 LAWS1014 Civil and Criminal Procedure  6

1

 LAWS1015 Contracts  6

2

 LAWS1016 Criminal Law  6
3
     

1

 LAWS1023 Public International Law 6

2

 LAWS1017 Torts and Contracts II 6

2

 LAWS1019 Legal Research II  0

2

 LAWS1021 Public Law  6
Core and elective Law units of study (fourth and fifth years of study)

Students usually complete the Bachelor of Commerce component of the combined degree at the end of their third year of full-time study, however the Bachelor of Laws component continues for another two years. From their fourth year of full-time study, students complete core and elective units of study from the Sydney Law School as set out in the following table to meet the requirements for their Law degree.

Year Semester Units of study Credit points
4

1

 LAWS2010 Administrative Law 6

1

 LAWS2011 Federal Constitution Law  6

1

 LAWS2012 Introduction to Property and Commercial Law 6

1

 LAWS2013 The Legal Profession  6

2

 LAWS2014 Corporations Law 6

2

 LAWS2015 Equity 6

2

 LAWS2016 Evidence 6

2

 LAWS2017 Real Property 6

5

1 and 2

 Students select elective units of study from Part 1 and Part 2 tables as set out in the Sydney Law School Handbook. 48 in total

For full details of the available core and elective Law units of study for years four and five, students must refer to the Sydney Law School's handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/law).

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 in this chapter 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 Laws on a full-time basis undertaking units of study with a total of (24 credit points) per semester for the first three years of the degree.

Note: In this table, core units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) are indicated in 'bold type' and compulsory Law units of study are in 'italics'.

Year
Semester
Units of study
1 1

BUSS1001

BUSS1030

BUSS1040

LAWS1006
2

BUSS1002

BUSS1020

 BCom
junior (major or elective)

LAWS1012

 LAWS1013
2 1

BCom senior (major)

BCom
junior or senior (major or elective)

LAWS1015

LAWS1014
2

BCom senior (major)

BCom senior (major)

BCom senior
(elective)

LAWS1016
3 1

BCom senior (major)

BCom senior (major)

BCom senior
(elective)

LAWS1023
2

BUSS3500

BCom senior
(major)

LAWS1017

LAWS1021

 LAWS1019

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 is 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/courses/FH048/.

Degree progression for the Bachelor of Laws

By the end of the third year in the combined degree program, full-time students should have completed the requirements for their Bachelor of Commerce degree and will be eligible to graduate with this degree. These students are then transferred to the single Bachelor of Laws degree and complete the remaining requirements for this degree under the supervision of the Sydney Law School. An additional two years of study is required at the Law School ('Year 4' and 'Year 5' as indicated under 'Bachelor of Laws units of study (compulsory and elective)' in the preceding information), where the remaining units of study for the Bachelor of Laws are completed. For details on the final years of this program, please refer to the Sydney Law School handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/law).

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

For information on units of study that are available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws in 2012, please refer to the Undergraduate units of study, for details of the unit prerequisites, corequisites and other requirements. For descriptions of the Business School and Sydney Law School units (first three years), refer to Undergraduate units of study descriptions. For Sydney law School unit descriptions for the entire degree, please refer to the Sydney Law School handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/) 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 Laws


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

FH028

Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws

2 Attendance pattern

The attendance pattern for this course is full time only.

3 Cross-faculty management

(1)
Candidates in this combined degree program will be under the general supervision of the University of Sydney Business School until the end of the semester in which they complete the requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce. They will then be under the supervision of the Faculty of Law.
(2)
The Deans of the University of Sydney Business School and the Faculty of Law 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 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 the degrees in the combined course

(1)
The units of study that may be taken for the degrees in the combined program are set out in the Table of undergraduate units of study of the University of Sydney Business School and the Faculty of Law Undergraduate Table.
(2)
To qualify for the award of the pass degrees, a candidate must successfully complete 240 credit points, comprising:
(a)
96 credit points of Economics and Business units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce; and
(b)
144 credit points of Law units of study, of which 48 credit points are Combined Law compulsory units of study for Years 1, 2 and 3 and are credited towards the requirements for both the Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Laws degrees.
(3)
Requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce
To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce, candidates must complete 144 credit points, including:
(a)
48 credit points of the Combined Law compulsory units of study for Years 1, 2 and 3;
(b)
36 credit points of core units of study (30 junior and six senior credit points);
(c)
a major in a Commerce subject area; and
(d)
a maximum 48 credit points in junior Economics and Business units of study.
(4)
Requirements for the Bachelor of Laws
To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Laws candidates must complete 144 credit points taken from the Faculty of Law Undergraduate Table, comprising:
(a)
102 credit points of compulsory units of study; and
(b)
42 credit points of elective units of study, of which a maximum of 36 credit points are taken from Part 1 and a minimum of 6 credit points are taken from Part 2.

6 Majors

Completion of a major is a requirement of the Bachelor of Commerce degree. A major requires the completion of 36 senior credit points. The list of majors available in the Bachelor of Commerce is specified in the course resolutions for the Bachelor of Commerce. Units of study counted towards one major may not count toward any other major completed.

7 Progression rules

(1)
Candidates in a Combined Law program must successfully complete LAWS1006 Foundations of Law before enrolling in any other Bachelor of Laws units of study.
(2)
Candidates are required to complete the Bachelor of Laws units of study in the order listed in the Faculty of Law Undergraduate Table.
(3)
Except with the permission of the Dean of the Faculty of Law, candidates must complete the requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce before proceeding to Year Four of the Bachelor of Laws.
(4)
Students must enrol in all compulsory junior Commerce credit points within the first year of enrolment.

8 Requirements for the Honours degree

(1)
Both the Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Laws may be awarded with honours.
(2)
Honours in the Bachelor of Commerce is available to meritorious students who complete an additional year of full time study after the completion of the pass degree.
(3)
Honours in the Bachelor of Laws is available to meritorious students who complete an alternative set of units of study in the final year of the program.
(4)
Candidates who qualify to undertake Honours in the Bachelor of Commerce may elect to enrol in the honours program:
(a)
by suspending candidature from the Bachelor of Laws degree for one year, with the permission of the Faculty of Law; or
(b)
by undertaking the honours course after completion of both degrees in the combined program.
(5)
Admission and award requirements for honours in either Commerce or Laws are listed in the resolutions of the University of Sydney Business School and the Bachelor of Laws respectively.

9 Award of the degrees

(1)
Both the Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Laws are awarded in the grades of either Pass or Honours.
(2)
Honours in the Bachelor of Commerce is awarded in classes ranging from First Class to Third Class in accordance with the resolutions of the University of Sydney Business School.
(3)
Honours in the Bachelor of Laws is awarded in First Class or Second Class in accordance with the Resolutions of the Bachelor of Laws.

10 Course transfer

Candidates may withdraw from the combined degree program and elect to transfer to the Bachelor of Commerce degree, by written application to the University of Sydney Business School, and complete the requirements in accordance with the Resolutions governing that degree at the time of transfer. Candidature in the Bachelor of Laws will cease in these circumstances.

11 Transitional provisions

(1)
These resolutions apply to persons who commenced their candidature on or 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 relevant Faculty may specify a later date for completion or specify alternative requirements for completion of candidatures that extend beyond this time.