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

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Table of Contents

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
            5.3.4.1. Commerce subjects
            5.3.4.2. Non-commerce subjects
        5.3.5. Psychology

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 or 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 five 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 five compulsory subjects totalling 62.5 points:

• 316-102 Introductory Microeconomics

• 316-101 Introductory Macroeconomics

• 316-130 Quantitative Methods 1

• 325-201 Organisational Behaviour¹

One of:²

• 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 Science/Bachelor of Commerce students. Please note: 620-201 Probability and 620-202 Statistics in the Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Commerce 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.

Six core subjects

• 306-107 Accounting Reports and Analysis or 306-102 Accounting Concepts or 306-103 Accounting 1A (2004 handbook and earlier)

• 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

• 325-201 Organisational Behaviour³

plus

Six core management subjects

• 325-101 Managing People and Organisations

• 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

Four other level-2/3 management subjects (325-prefix) ⁴.comm

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

5.3.4.1. 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).

5.3.4.2. Non-commerce subjects

Students may include up to 100 approved non-commerce points within the single BCom. This includes those level-1 mathematics subjects required in the first year of the actuarial studies specialisation. Approved non-commerce subjects are most subjects offered by the Department of Psychology and the Faculties of Arts and Science. Examples of departments in which Commerce students cannot enrol in or gain credit for subjects include (but are not limited to):

Faculty of Arts

• Socio-legal Studies

• Social Work

• Theatre Studies

• Media and Communications

• Creative Arts

• Public Policy and Management

Faculty of Science

• Biomedical Science

• Computer Science

• Some subjects offered by the Department of Information Systems (see below)

• Optometry and vision sciences

In addition, 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.

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):

• 615-110 Foundations of Information Systems

• 615-120 Introduction to Information Systems (2003 Handbook and earlier)

• 615-140 Technologies for Information Systems

• 615-150 Organisational Processes

• 615-251 Organisational Analysis and Change

• 615-252 Electronic Commerce

Non-commerce subjects cannot be counted towards the Commerce component of the Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Commerce (Management) degree.

5.3.5. Psychology

The information below applies only to Bachelor of Commerce single degree students. Please note, the Psychology major is not available to students intending to complete the BCom (Management).

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce degree complete a major in psychology with 112.5 credit points. Bachelor of Commerce degree students may count 512-320 Research Methods 3 as part of the required Commerce points. They also have permission to count 325-201 Organisational Behaviour as their third year psychology elective. Bachelor of Commerce students, therefore, have no elective component in their psychology major. For further information, please see Psychology as a major.

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