Bachelor of Commerce

This section details the Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) offered by the University of Sydney Business School.

For details of the combined Bachelor of Commerce degrees, please refer to the individual combined Commerce degree sections.

* Part-time study is also available for these degrees.

The three-year Bachelor of Commerce program has been designed in consultation with industry leaders, graduate recruiters, current students and alumni to provide students with a highly relevant and professional program of study. This degree program places a strong emphasis on the key aspects of business and the practical knowledge you need to thrive in today's global market. The key features of the Bachelor of Commerce are as follows:

• Students receive a strong commercial grounding in the principle areas of business which will prepare them for a career in virtually any field.
• Students have the flexibility to combine specialist study in a wide range of disciplines, allowing them to tailor their degree to suit their career aspirations.
• Students are exposed to real-world business cases and experiences, exploiting the Business School's deep corporate connections, internationally renowned teaching, and global partnerships.

Degree structure

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

• seven core units of study (36 credit points), comprising six junior units of study - including a zero credit point unit (30 credit points) and one senior unit of study (six credit points)
• a major selected from the compulsory Commerce major subject areas
• either an optional second major and/or elective units of study selected from any of the Business School subject areas 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 60 credit points in junior (1000 level) units of study
• a minimum of 96 credit points in units of study from the University of Sydney Business School and the School of Economics (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences).

Requirements for the degree with honours

To be awarded the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), meritorious students complete an additional honours year of study after the completion of the requirements for the Bachelor of Commerce. Honours study is offered in most of the subject areas available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce. For details of the requirements for the entry into and completion of the Honours Year in this program, please refer to sydney.edu.au/business/honours.

Core units of study

The junior and senior core units of study are listed below. Students are required to complete their junior core units as follows:

• Full-time students: All junior core units must be completed within the first year of enrolment in the sequence set out in the 'Degree progression' table.
• Part-time students: All junior core units must be completed within the first two years of enrolment.

All students must complete BUSS1001 and BUSS1900# in their first semester of enrolment.

The senior capstone core unit, BUSS3500, should be completed during the final semester of enrolment. For further details, please refer to the degree progression example table.


(i) Junior units of study (30 credit points)

• BUSS1900 Managing Business Communication A (zero credit points)#
• BUSS1001 Understanding Business
• BUSS1002 The Business Environment
• BUSS1020 Quantitative Business Analysis
• BUSS1030 Accounting, Business and Society
• BUSS1040 Economics for Business Decision Making.

# The zero-credit point unit, BUSS1900, is designed to support students in developing their business communication skills at the very outset of their degree to ensure success in the semesters that follow. All commencing undergraduate students must enrol in BUSS1900 but have the option of withdrawing following a mandatory waiver test conducted during Orientation Week (O Week) preceding the start of each semester. For further details refer to the Business School website.


(ii) Senior (capstone) unit of study

• BUSS3500 Integrated Business Applications

Majors and electives

Compulsory Commerce major

In the Bachelor of Commerce students must select a least one major from the subject areas offered by the Business School and School of Economics 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 the requirements of one major.

The available Business School and School of Economics subject areas for the compulsory major are as follows:


(i) Subject areas from the University of Sydney Business School:

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

(ii) Subject areas from the School of Economics (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences):

• Econometrics
• Economics

For full details of the requirements for these majors, please refer to the Subject areas section.

Additional majors and electives

Students may select an additional major and/or elective units of study from any subject area offered by the Business School and School of Economics listed above or they can choose a major and/or elective units 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 a single subject area. For this degree, a maximum of 48 credit points in units of study (both junior and senior) from outside the Business School and School of Economics may be completed. Students should refer to the other faculty's handbook or website for further information regarding their major requirements.

Professional accreditation requirements

Within the Bachelor of Commerce (and related combined programs), students may choose to pursue a program of study that would allow them to seek accreditation with particular professional bodies.

Professional accounting accreditation (ICAA or CPA Australia)

Completion of an accredited degree is a recognised pathway to a career in professional accounting. The Bachelor of Commerce and related Bachelor of Commerce combined degree have been accredited by CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA).

Students must complete the following units of study to meet the core knowledge areas required by the two professional accounting bodies:

* Students in the Bachelor of Commerce are required to complete BUSS1020 and BUSS1040 as a core units to meet their degree requirements.

# Note: CPA Australia allows graduates the option of completing auditing and taxation units as part of their degree at university, or as electives in their professional level studies within the CPA program.

Students are advised to check the Business School website and the CPA Australia and the ICAA websites for the latest information regarding the 2014 requirements (sydney.edu.au/business/currentstudents/undergraduate/curriculum_information/majors/accounting_accreditation).

Australian Computer Society (ACS) accreditation

Students planning to satisfy the professional accreditation requirements for the ACS should include a prescribed set of units of study (48 credit points) in their degree, including a Business Information Systems major. The required units of study are listed below:

• INFS1000 Digital Business Innovation
• INFS2001 IS for Performance Improvement
• INFS2020 Business Process Modelling and Improvement
• INFS3040 Enterprise Systems and Integrated Business; and
• four additional senior 'INFS' coded elective units of study including at least two 'INFS' units at 3000-level. (See listings under the Business Information Systems subject area for available units of study).

This program will be reassessed for accreditation by ACS in February 2014. Students should refer to the Business School website for the latest information regarding accreditation.

Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) accreditation

All undergraduate degrees incorporating a major in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management are AHRI-accredited. Students wishing to satisfy the requirements for professional membership of AHRI should complete an Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management major as part of their degree. The required units of study for the major are listed under the Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management subject area.

Progression guide

The following table illustrates a degree progression example for a student enrolled full-time (24 credit points per semester) in the Bachelor of Commerce.

Note: In this example, core units of study are indicated in 'bold type'.

* This is a zero credit point unit.

Please note: The information listed in this example is based on the unit of study offerings for 2014 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 University of Sydney Business School website illustrates units of study progression sequences for specific majors in this degree. This information can be accessed at sydney.edu.au/business/course/BCom/.