Faculty of Economics and Commerce : Guide to courses
5. Bachelor of Commerce

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5. Bachelor of Commerce
    5.1. Attributes of a commerce graduate
    5.2. Duration of the course
    5.3. Course requirements
        5.3.1. Compulsory subjects
        5.3.2. Which quantitative subject?
            5.3.2.1. Actuarial studies and quantitative subjects
        5.3.3. Bachelor of Commerce (Management) requirements
        5.3.4. Commerce and non-commerce subjects
        5.3.5. Psychology
            5.3.5.1. Bachelor of Commerce
            5.3.5.2. Bachelor of Commerce (Management)

5. Bachelor of Commerce

5.1. Attributes of a commerce graduate

On successful completion of the commerce course, graduates should be able to:

explain the basic concepts and theories and institutional arrangements underlying the operations and performance of modern mixed economies using Australia as an example;
critically evaluate the economy, commerce and business in the broader social and political context;
explain and apply concepts from several economics and commerce disciplines in solving business and policy problems including specialised knowledge developed in one specific discipline;
contribute positively to the development of organisations and society particularly related to business, government and the commercial professions.

By participating in all scheduled classes and activities and achieving the timely completion of assignments and other forms of assessment, Commerce graduates should aquire skills in:

effective communication on matters related to economics and commerce through assignment preparation and writing and class discussions and presentations;
skills in the use of computer systems and software used in business through practical assignments, exercises and demonstrations;
critical thinking and analysis through recommended reading, report writing, assignments and discussion;
information discovery and retrieval through the competant use of structured and unstructured sources including the internet;
applying theory to practice through undertaking recommended reading, writing reports, completing assignments, analysing cases and discussing issues;
interpretation and analysis of data with basic quantitative methods through assignments and discussion;
attention to detail through assignment preparation, problem-solving exercises and examination revision;
teamwork through joint projects and group discussion;
understanding of social, ethical and cultural context through the analysis of case studies, the contextualisation of judgement, and being open to new ideas and possibilities;
time management through managing and organising workloads for recommended reading, assignment completion and examination revision.

5.2. Duration of the course

The Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Commerce (Management) pass degree is usually taken full time over three years and part time over six years. Full-time students are expected to take four subjects per semester for six semesters. No more than 10 years can be taken to complete the BCom.

5.3. Course requirements

Students undertaking both the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Commerce (Management) must accumulate a minimum (and maximum) of 300 points which must:

include between 87.5 and 125 level-1 points, 50 points of which must be commerce points; and
include at least 75 level-3 points, 50 points of which must be commerce points; and
include the four compulsory subjects, see Compulsory subjects; and
include a total of at least 200 commerce points, see Commerce and non-commerce subjects.

Students may not enrol in level-2 commerce subjects until they have completed or gained credit for at least 75 level-1 points. Students may not enrol in level-3 commerce points until they have completed or gained credit for at least 175 level-1 and level-2 points. All commerce subjects are worth 12.5 points.

Students must pass prerequisite subjects before they will be permitted to proceed.

All students must complete 50 level-3 commerce points at the University of Melbourne, including students who complete part of their degree at another institution prior to commencing the BCom or whilst on an approved study abroad or exchange program.

5.3.1. Compulsory subjects

The 300 points required for the BCom must include the following four compulsory subjects totalling 50 points:

316-102 Introductory Microeconomics
316-101 Introductory Macroeconomics

316-130 Quantitative Methods 1

One of:¹

316-205 Introductory Econometrics
316-206 Quantitative Methods 2
325-210 Managerial Decision Analysis
325-212 Market Research

5.3.2. Which quantitative subject?

All Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Commerce (Management) students must satisfactorily complete 316-130 Quantitative Methods 1 and one of the level-2 quantitative subjects listed in Compulsory subjects. The choice of level-2 quantitative subject will be dependent upon the area in which a student wishes to specialise and the subjects in which a student wishes to enrol later in their degree. Students are strongly advised to check the prerequisites of level-2 and level-3 subjects to ensure the most appropriate choice is made. It is possible to enrol in more than one level-2 quantitative subject.

5.3.2.1. Actuarial studies and quantitative subjects

Students intending to specialise in actuarial studies are required to enrol in 620-201 Probability and 620-202 Statistics taught by the Faculty of Science, instead of the two quantitative subjects taught by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. These students should note the level-1 prerequisites for 620-201 Probability. Any student may satisfy the quantitative requirements of the BCom in this way and this option may be particularly attractive to Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science students. Please note: 620-201 Probability and 620-202 Statistics in this degree are considered as science points. Students enrolled in combined commerce courses intending to undertake a specialisation in actuarial studies are advised to consult a course advisor to discuss their course plan.

5.3.3. Bachelor of Commerce (Management) requirements

To be eligible to graduate with the Bachelor of Commerce (Management) students must complete the following as part of their 300 points of study. The Bachelor of Commerce (Management) is only available to students who commenced their Bachelor of Commerce after 1998.

Five core subjects

306-102 Accounting Concepts or 306-103 Accounting 1A
316-101 Introductory Macroeconomics
316-102 Introductory Microeconomics
316-130 Quantitative Methods 1
316-205 Introductory Econometrics or 316-206 Quantitative Methods 2 or 325-210 Managerial Decision Analysis or 325-212 Market Research

plus

Six core management subjects

325-101 Management
325-102 Business in the Global Economy
325-203 Operations Management
325-209 Human Resource Management
325-211 Principles of Marketing
325-228 Strategy

plus

Five other level-2 and level-3 management subjects (325-prefix).

Students may also choose to specialise within one of the four areas of management (see BCom specialisations).

Bachelor of Commerce (Management) students should note that the general Course requirements of the BCom apply to the BCom(Mgmt) also.

5.3.4. Commerce and non-commerce subjects

The following subjects are considered to be commerce subjects and may be included in the 200 points of commerce subjects required as part of the Bachelor of Commerce:

subjects taught by the Departments of Accounting and Business Information Systems (prefix 306-), Economics (prefix 316-), Management (prefix 325-), Finance (prefix 333-) and the Centre for Actuarial Studies (prefix 300-);
business law subjects (prefix 732-) taught by the Faculty of Law;
620-201 Probability, and 620-202 Statistics taught by the Faculty of Science (except for students in the BCom/BSc).

All other subjects taught by other faculties are considered non-commerce. This includes those level-1 mathematics subject required in the first year of the actuarial studies specialisation. Students may include up to 100 approved non-commerce points within the single BCom. Normally only subjects taught by the Faculties of Arts and Science will be approved. Approval will not normally be granted to enrol in subjects which, in the opinion of the Faculty, are equivalent to those taught within the Faculty. Nor will approval normally be granted to enrol in professional subjects such as those taught within the Faculties of Engineering, Education, Architecture, Building and Planning, and Music. Specifically Bachelor of Commerce students may not enrol in or gain credit for the following subjects taught by the Department of Information Systems (note that combined commerce and information systems students may enrol in these subjects as part of their Bachelor of Information Systems degree):

5.3.5. Psychology

5.3.5.1. Bachelor of Commerce

Students wishing to undertake a psychology major as part of the BCom single degree are exempt from 512-220 Quantitative Methods for Psychology 2 on the basis of having completed 316-206 Quantitative Methods 2 or 316-205 Introductory Econometrics and are permitted to count 512-320 Research Methods 3 as commerce points. This arrangement is not available to combined degree students.

5.3.5.2. Bachelor of Commerce (Management)

Students wishing to undertake a psychology major as part of the BCom(Mgmt) single degree are exempt from 512-220 Quantitative Methods for Psychology 2 on the basis of having completed 316-206 Quantitative Methods 2 or 316-205 Introductory Econometrics and are permitted to count 512-320 Research Methods 3 or 512-322 Industrial/Organisational Psychology 3 as management points. This arrangement is not available to combined degree students.

1.	Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Engineering students must enrol in 316-205 Introductory Econometrics. Bachelor of Agriculture/Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Forestry/Bachelor of Commerce students must enrol in either 316-205 Introductory Econometrics or 316-206 Quantitative Methods 2.