University of Sydney Handbooks - 2020 Archive

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Degree structures

Degree requirements

1. Bachelor of Commerce

To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce, a candidate must complete 144 credit points, comprising:

  • 24 credit points of degree core units of study;
  • a major (48 credit points) or program selected from the Table A subject areas;
  • a minor (36 credit points) or second major (48 credit points) selected from Table A or Table S;
  • 12 credit points of units of study in the Open Learning Environment (OLE) selected from Table O; and
  • any additional elective units of study from Tables A, S, or O required to make up the 144 credit point total.

2. Bachelor of Commerce (Dalyell Stream)

To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce (Dalyell Stream), a candidate must complete 144 credit points, comprising:

  • 24 credit points of degree core units of study;
  • a major (48 credit points) or program selected from the Table A subject areas;
  • a minor (36 credit points) or second major (48 credit points) selected from Table A or Table S;
  • at least 6 credit points of units of study in the Open Learning Environment (OLE) selected from Table O;
  • at least 12 credit points of Dalyell Stream units of study selected from Table D; and
  • any additional elective units of study from Tables A, S, O, or D required to make up the 144 credit point total.

3. Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies

To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies, a candidate must complete 192 credit points, comprising:

  • 24 credit points of degree core units of study;
  • a major (48 credit points) or program selected from the Table A subject areas;
  • a second major (48 credit points) selected from Table A or Table S;
  • 12 credit points of units of study in the Open Learning Environment (OLE) selected from Table O; and
  • at least 24 credit points of units of study at 4000-level from Table A or Table S, including a research, community, industry or entrepreneurship project (12 to 36 credit points)*; and
  • any additional elective units of study from Tables A, S, Advanced Studies Tables A and S, or O required to make up the 192 credit point total.

* Prior to progressing to Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Coursework in Business School units) students must have completed 144 credit points, including one major and 36 credit points towards the second major, all degree core units, all Open Learning Environment units, and any elective units as necessary to meet the 144 credit point requirement.

4. Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Dalyell Stream)

To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Dalyell Stream), a candidate must complete 192 credit points, comprising:

  • 24 credit points of degree core units of study;
  • a major (48 credit points) or program selected from the Table A subject areas;
  • a second major (48 credit points) selected from Table A or Table S;
  • at least 6 credit points of units of study in the Open Learning Environment (OLE) selected from Table O;
  • at least 12 credit points of Dalyell Stream units of study selected from Table D;
  • at least 24 credit points of units of study at 4000-level from Table A or Table S, including a research, community, industry or entrepreneurship project (12 to 36 credit points)*; and
  • any additional elective units of study from Tables A, S, Advanced Studies Tables A and S, O, or D required to make up the 192 credit point total.

* Prior to progressing to Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Coursework in Business School units) students must have completed 144 credit points, including one major and 36 credit points towards the second major, all degree core units, all Open Learning Environment units, and any elective units as necessary to meet the 144 credit point requirement.

5. Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies with Honours

To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies with Honours, a candidate must complete 192 credit points, comprising:

  • 24 credit points of degree core units of study;
  • a major (48 credit points) or program selected from the Table A subject areas;
  • a second major (48 credit points) selected from Table A or Table S;
  • 12 credit points of units of study in the Open Learning Environment (OLE) selected from Table O;
  • 48 credit points of units of study at 4000-level units of study from an Honours subject area listed in Table A of the faculty offering subject area*; and
  • any additional elective units of study from Tables A, S, or O required to make up the 192 credit point total.

* Prior to the commencement of Honours, students must have completed 144 credit points including both majors, all core units, all Open Learning Environment units, and any elective units as necessary to ensure they meet degree requirements. Intake for Honours in a subject area from The University of Sydney Business School is semester one only and must be completed full-time in one calendar year.

6. Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Dalyell Stream) with Honours

To qualify for the award of the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Dalyell Stream) with Honours, a candidate must complete 192 credit points, comprising:

  • 24 credit points of degree core units of study;
  • a major (48 credit points) or program selected from the Table A subject areas;
  • a second major (48 credit points) selected from Table A or Table S;
  • at least 6 credit points of units of study in the Open Learning Environment (OLE) selected from Table O;
  • at least 12 credit points of Dalyell Stream units of study selected from Table D;
  • 48 credit points of units of study at 4000-level units of study from an Honours subject area listed in Table A of the faculty offering subject area*; and
  • any additional elective units of study from Tables A, S, O, or D required to make up the 192 credit point total.

* Prior to the commencement of Honours, students must have completed 144 credit points including both majors, all core units, all Open Learning Environment units, and any elective units as necessary to ensure they meet degree requirements. Intake for Honours in a subject area from The University of Sydney Business School is semester one only and must be completed full-time in one calendar year.


For the units of study that are available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce or the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies refer to the Subject areas section in this handbook.

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Bachelor of Advanced Studies study options

(1) Advanced Studies by coursework

Students can choose to complete their Bachelor of Advanced Studies component of their combined degree by coursework. Students need to complete at least 24 credit points of 4000-level advanced coursework units of study (including at least 12 credit points of research, community, industry or entrepreneurship project unit/s) to meet degree requirements.

Students who wish to complete advanced coursework in Business School units need to have completed all the requirements for their Table A Business School major/program and at least 36 credit points towards the second major, all degree core units, all Open Learning Environment units, and any elective units as necessary to meet the 144 credit point requirement within the first three years of the combined degree in order to enrol. Other faculty's advanced coursework units may have different requisite requirements.

The available Table A and Table S advanced studies coursework units (including 4000-level project unit/s) are listed under the Bachelor of Advanced Studies information in the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook.

(2) Advanced Studies with Honours

Students can apply to complete Honours study as the Bachelor of Advanced Studies component in their combined degree. For Honours study, in most cases, students must complete 48 credit points of 4000-level honours units of study in the particular subject areas in which they wish to complete honours. In the Business School, honours subject areas this comprises of 24 credit points of 4000-level coursework units and a 24 credit point 4000-level research unit of study (thesis). Refer to Table A subject areas for the available Business School Subject Areas available for Honours study. Honours study is also offered in many of the Table S subject areas available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies. Refer to the Bachelor of Advanced Studies in the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook for details of available Honours subject areas outside of the Business School.

Students completing a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Advanced Studies are required to have completed the Bachelor of Commerce component of their combined degree prior to commencing honours (i.e. They must have completed 144cps including both majors, all core unit, all Open Learning Environment (OLE) units, all Dalyell Stream units (if in the Dalyell stream), and any elective units of study).

Requirements for admission, completion and the award of Honours is set out in the resolutions for this degree and the Faculty resolutions.

For other details, including specific details of the admissions application process, students should refer to the Current Students Honours page.

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Dalyell stream

The Dalyell stream is a targeted stream that offers outstanding students the opportunity to engage in challenging experiences to gain greater breadth and/or depth of learning in their degree.

Students enrolled in the Dalyell Stream must complete a minimum of 12 credit points of Dalyell Stream units of study (Table D). Dalyell Stream students also have the opportunity of completing optional Enrichment units of study as degree electives.

For further details regarding the Dalyell stream, please refer to the About the Dalyell Stream and Dalyell Stream unit of study tables including Table D and the Enrichment units of study in the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook and the University's website.

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Majors, minors, and programs (Table A and Table S)

A Table A major consists of 48 credit points in 1000, 2000 and 3000-level units of study in a single subject area, including a 3000-level captone unit of study. A Table A minor consists of 36 credit points in 1000, 2000 and 3000 level units of study in a single subject area. A Table A program consists of 72 credit points in 1000, 2000 and 3000-level units of study in a single subject area. In some cases, 1000 and 2000-level core units for the degree or for a major may be cross-credited across programs, majors or minors where the unit is also core (e.g. BUSS1020, BUSS1030 and FINC2011).

In the Bachelor of Commerce, and the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies students must select one major or program from the Table A subject areas offered by the Business School to fulfil the requirements of their degree.

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce must also complete a minor or major from Table A or Table S (Interdisciplinary Studies) to meet degree requirements. Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies must complete a second major from Table A or Table S.

1. Table A - Business School

(i) Programs

(ii) Majors

(iii) Minors

Note. Students cannot complete a major and a minor in the same subject area. Students who wish to complete the Professional Accounting program cannot complete a second major or minor in Accounting.

2. Table S - Shared pool (Interdisciplinary Studies)

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies can complete a second major or minor in a wide range of subject areas offered by the University of Sydney through the shared pool of majors and minors. The following areas offer majors and minors in this shared pool: Architecture and Interaction Design; Arts and Social Sciences; Education and Social Work; Engineering and Information Technologies; Health, Medicine and Dentistry; Music; and Science, Agriculture, Environment and Veterinary Science.

The available subject areas for majors and minors and their requirements can be found in the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook.

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Electives (Tables A, S, O and D)

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce, and the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies can complete elective units of study from the subject areas listed in Table A (Business School) and Table S (shared pool). The available units of study are listed in Table A of this handbook and Table S, Table O and for students in the Dalyell stream, Table D in the Interdisciplinary Studies Handbook.

Students enrolled in these degrees also have the opportunity to complete a variety of standalone degree (Table A) elective units (those not counting towards majors etc.) working with industry and other community projects, study tours or exchange study at an overseas university. For details refer to the Commerce degree electives section of this handbook.

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