Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

The Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery are administered by the University of Sydney Business School for the first three years and the University of Sydney Medical School for the remaining four years.

Overview of the combined degree

Course details	Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
CRICOS code	071831F
Degree abbreviation	BCom/MBBS
Credit points required for completion	336
Duration (full-time)	7 years

This seven-year (full-time) program provides students with the opportunity to study in areas that are of particular relevance to the management and conduct of business in addition to studying Medicine. Students may choose from a range of subject fields for their major in Commerce and are required to complete six units of study in preparation for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. Areas of study available within the Commerce degree include accounting, business information systems, commercial law, econometrics, economics, finance, industrial relations and human resource management, international business, management, marketing and operations management and decision sciences.

Degree structure and progression

Degree requirements

To be awarded the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, students complete units of study with a total value of 336 credit points, comprising:

all requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce degree (units of study with a total value of 144 credit points), as set out under 'Degree requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce component', in the minimum amount of time allowed and maintaining at least a credit average (65 percent) grade
all requirements for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (units of study with a total value of 192 credit points) as set out in the Sydney Medical School handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/medicine).

This combined degree program is sequenced so that successful students proceed first through the Bachelor of Commerce degree and then onto the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

Degree requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce component

To be awarded the Bachelor of Commerce in this combined degree, students complete units of study with a total value of 144 credit points, comprising:

six commerce core units of study (36 credit points)
a major selected from the 'Bachelor of Commerce subject areas for majors and electives'
18 credit points in specified junior Faculty of Science units of study
one zero credit point medicine (SMTP) unit of study
a maximum of 60 credit points in junior units of study (1000-level)
a minimum of 96 credit points in units of study from the University of Sydney Business School and School of Economics (a maximum of 48 credit points from another faculty including compulsory junior science requirements).

Degree requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce with Honours

For the award of the Bachelor of Commerce with Honours, meritorious students complete the Bachelor of Commerce with an additional honours year in their major area of study. Those who qualify to undertake honours in the Bachelor of Commerce degree may elect to do so either by suspending their enrolment in the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree for one year, with the permission of the Sydney Medical School; or after completion of the combined course.

For details of the requirements for entry into and for the completion of the Honours Year in this program, please refer to Honours information on the Business School website (sydney.edu.au/business/honours).

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.

Faculty of Science junior units of study

Students complete three six-credit point junior units of study from each of the following Faculty of Science subject areas (18 credit points in total):

Biology or Molecular Biology
Chemistry
Physics

Students should refer to the Faculty of Science undergraduate unit tables for available units of study.

Medicine (SMTP) unit of study

As part of this program, students are required to complete the following zero-credit point unit of study within their third year of study:

SMTP3007 Elective 1*

* This unit is a field of interest unit of study approved by both the Sydney Medical School and the University of Sydney Business School.

For further details of these units (including third year elective options), please refer to the Sydney Medical School handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/medicine) or website (sydney.edu.au/medicine/).

Commerce majors and electives

In the Bachelor of Commerce component, students select one major from the following '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 may only be counted towards one major.

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 in this handbook.

Students may choose to select electives from any subject area offered by the Business School or from any other faculty of the University of Sydney (subject to approval of the faculty offering the unit and degree requirements). A maximum of 48 credit points from another faculty can be completed under this degree (including compulsory Science units).

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 of the first three years of study for a student enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery on a full-time basis undertaking units of study with a total of (24 credit points) per semester.

Note: In this table, core units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) are indicated in 'bold' type, compulsory faculty of Science units of study are in 'italics' and compulsory Sydney Medical School prerequisite units of study are in 'bold italics'.

Year	Semester	Units of study
1	1	BUSS1001	BUSS1030	BUSS1040	Science junior (compulsory)
1	2	BUSS1002	BUSS1020	junior (elective or major)	Science junior (compulsory)
2	1	BCom senior (major)	junior or senior (elective)	BCom senior (2nd major or elective)	Science junior (compulsory)
2	2	BCom senior (major)	BCom senior (major)	BCom senior (2nd major or elective)	senior (elective)
3	1	BCom senior (major)	BCom senior (major)	BCom senior (2nd major or elective)	BCom senior (2nd major or elective)	SMTP3007
3	2	BUSS3500	BCom senior (major)	BCom senior (2nd major or elective)	BCom senior (2nd major or 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 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/FH049/.

Degree progression requirements for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

By the end of their third year of study in the combined degree, full-time students who have completed the requirements for their Bachelor of Commerce degree will be eligible to graduate with this degree. Those students who have completed the Bachelor of Commerce, including the required medicine 'SMTP' and science units in the minimum time required and maintaining, as a minimum, a credit average (65 percent) in this degree, will then be eligible to apply for admission to candidature for the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. After admission, they will then complete an additional four years of study with the Sydney Medical School. (For details, please refer to the Sydney Medical School handbook: sydney.edu.au/handbooks/medicine).

If a student fails to satisfy the minimum requirements for admission to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree, they will be transferred to candidature for the single degree and graduate with the Bachelor of Commerce only.

Units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

For information on units of study that are available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 2012, please refer to the Undergraduate units of study. For descriptions of the University of Sydney Business School units, refer to Undergraduate unit of study descriptions. For Faculty of Science unit descriptions please refer to the Faculty of Science handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/science) or the online unit of study handbook (ssa.usyd.edu.au/ssa/handbook/uossearch.jsp).

Course rules and resolutions

Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

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
FH036	Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

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 Medicine (Sydney Medical School).

(2)

The University of Sydney Business School and the Faculty of Medicine shall jointly exercise authority in any matter concerned with the combined course not otherwise dealt with in these resolutions.

4 Admission to candidature

(1)

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) leading to the award of an Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking (ATAR) or equivalent. English language requirements must be met where these are not demonstrated by sufficient qualifications taught in English. 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.

(2)

In addition, admission to this course requires the applicant to participate in a semi structured interview. The results of this interview will form part of the ranking of applicants.

5 Requirements for award

(1)

The units of study that may be taken for the course are set out in the:

(a)

Table of undergraduate units of study: University of Sydney Business School; and

(b)

table of units for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the Faculty of Medicine.

(2)

To qualify for the award of both degrees a candidate must successfully complete 336 credit points, comprising:

(a)

144 credit points to qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce as specified in resolutions for the Bachelor of Commerce, including 6 credit points of Junior units of study from each of the Science subject areas of Chemistry, Physics, and either Biology or Molecular Biology and Genetics (18 credit points in total);

(b)

192 credit points specified by the resolutions for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the Faculty of Medicine; and

(c)

one zero credit point Medicine unit of study in the first three years of the program.

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 must complete all requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Commerce, including the designated Science units of study, in minimum time and must maintain a minimum credit average across all units of study in the Bachelor of Commerce, this being the minimum achievement required for admission to candidature for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

(2)

Failure to maintain the required progression and minimum result requirements will result in candidates being transferred from the combined degree program to a Bachelor of Commerce degree with full credit for all units of study successfully completed.

(3)

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

8 Requirements for the Honours degree

(1)

Honours is available to meritorious candidates, in either or both the Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

(2)

Honours in the Bachelor of Commerce requires an additional year of full time study after the completion of the pass degree. Admission, requirements and award of honours are according to the Resolutions of the University of Sydney Business School. Candidates who qualify to undertake honours in the Bachelor of Commerce degree may elect to do so either:

(a)

by suspending candidature from the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree for one year, with the permission of the Faculty of Medicine; or

(b)

after completion of the combined course.

(3)

Honours in the Bachelor Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery requires successful completion of an alternative set of units completed within the normal time frame of the pass degree. Admission and award requirements for honours in the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery are described in the course resolution relating to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

9 Award of the degrees

(1)

The Bachelor of Commerce is awarded in the grades of either Pass or Honours. The Honours degree is awarded in classes ranging from First Class to Third Class according to the conditions specified in the Resolutions of the University of Sydney Business School.

(2)

The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery is awarded in the grades of either Pass or Honours. The honours degree is awarded in classes ranging from First Class to Second Class (Division 2) according to the conditions specified in the course resolution relating to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

(3)

Candidates for the award of either Honours degree who do not meet the requirements, and who have not already graduated, will be awarded the relevant pass degree.

10 Cross-institutional study

Cross institutional study is not available in this combined course.

11 Course transfer

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

12 Credit for previous study

It is not possible for candidates enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery to obtain credit for previous studies.

13 Transitional provisions

(1)

These resolutions apply to students who commenced their candidature after 1 January, 2011 and students who commenced their candidature prior to 1 January 2011 who formally elect to proceed under these resolutions.

(2)

Candidates who commenced prior to 1 January, 2011 may elect to complete the requirements in accordance with the resolutions in force at the time of their commencement.

University of Sydney Handbooks - 2012 Archive

The University of Sydney - Business School Handbook

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