Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science

There is no commencing student intake into this course.

The Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science has the objective of preparing graduates who embody the University of Melbourne graduate attributes, as well as additional attributes more specific to the Bachelor of Commerce adn the Bachelor of Science.

Students enrolled in the BCom/BSc combined course must accumulate a minimum (and maximum) of 500 points. Within the 500 points students must satisfy the minimum requirements stated below for both the BSc component and the BCom component.

Commerce component

A minimum of 200 commerce points is required, which must include:

• 50-125 points at the 100-level;
• at least 50 points at the 300-level (these must be completed at the University of Melbourne);

the following compulsory subjects:

• ECON10003 Introductory Macroeconomics
• ECON10004 Introductory Microeconomics
• ECON10005 Quantitative Methods 1
• MGMT20001 Organisational Behaviour (students who commenced their Bachelor of Commerce double degree prior to 2005 are not required to complete this subject)

and one of:

• ECOM20001 Introductory Econometrics
• ECON20003 Quantitative Methods 2
• MGMT20005 Managerial Decision Analysis
• MKTG20004 Market Research

The 200 commerce points must be chosen from subjects taught by departments in the Faculty of Business and Economics, or subjects with a BLAW prefix taught by the Faculty of Law.

Science component

A minimum of 237.5 science points, comprising:

• between 75 and 125 science points at the first year subject level;
• completion of 50 points of a prescribed science major at the third year subject level.

A link to a list of subjects attracting science points is provided below.

Balance of points

The remaining 62.5 points may be taken from subjects offered by the Faculties of Business and Economics, Science, and Arts.

Science majors available in this course

All students in the Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science are required to complete a science major.

A science major is defined as 50 points at third year level in an approved science discipline.

It may be possible for a BCom/BSc student to complete two science majors. Completion of two science majors requires the completion of at least 87.5 points of Level 3 science. Up to the equivalent of 12.5 points can potentially be cross credited between the two majors (where that subject is a valid option within both majors). Additional requirements apply to the following majors:

• The biotechnology major can only be undertaken in conjunction with another life sciences major.

• The environmental science major can only be undertaken in conjunction with a second science major (which cannot be biotechnology or history and philosophy of science).

• The history and philosophy of science major can only be undertaken in conjunction with a second science major (which cannot be biotechnology or environmental science).

To complete a major, students complete one of the science majors listed below. Students may not complete alternative combinations of subjects to major unless approval is obtained from the Eastern Precinct Student Centre. The University is committed to ensuring that students are not disadvantaged by recent changes to the curriculum and students may complete a major as defined by the current structure or a structure detailed in a previous year's handbook applicable to any year the student was enrolled in the course. Pre-2008 Bachelor of Science students who require advice on an appropriate subject selection to complete a specific major should contact the EPSC.

The following science majors are available to Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science students:

Subjects available for science credit

A full list of subjects available for science credit for the Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science course.

There is no commencing student intake into this course.

This course requires all students to enrol in subjects where they must actively and safely participate in laboratory activities. Students who feel their disability may impact upon their participation are encouraged to discuss this with the subject coordinator and the Disability Liaison Unit.

Honours and Masters level studies are available as indicated at

http://www.bsc.unimelb.edu.au/pathways/study

http://gsbe.unimelb.edu.au/

In commerce/science at the University of Melbourne, we expect to educate our students in the fundamental skills of transforming information into knowledge and being able to integrate this knowledge into a business environment. These outcomes are fully consistent with the University's general ambition for our graduates, and emphasise the transferability of the skills practised in commerce and in science.

Throughout their course, students will find that many of the abilities that they develop are shared by, and so are valued by and are applicable to, activities in all walks of life. In particular, these are the skills that are essential to providing leadership to the science-technology base and business community of the Australian economy and culture. T

The Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science degrees aim to educate and train students in both science and commercial areas of study. The combined course enables students to access a major (specialisation) stream in both the commercial and science components of the course. In addition, the length of the course allows students to pursue minor studies in other discipline areas beyond their majors. Graduates are, therefore, aware of and educated in a broad variety of knowledge areas.

From their exposure to a range of quantitative and qualitative disciplines, Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science graduates have strong cognitive skills with an awareness of the business environment. In particular, they are able to:

• synthesise information from a range of sources, evaluate this, and add new ideas to their existing knowledge;
• observe, record and evaluate data or evidence appropriately;
• make effective use of information to identify and solve problems;
• synthesise and integrate disparate elements into a meaningful whole;
• work independently or in teams;
• understand and fit into a work organisation's culture;
• view and understand an organisation's wider business picture and position; and
• understand the commercial environment and recognise and define issues or problems within it.

Graduates in commerce/science are able to be creative in their approach to scientific or business issues. They are used to formulating hypotheses that can be tested for validity. They can extrapolate from the known to the unknown and are comfortable working with analogues rather than needing to deal with literal situations.

Their studies in commercial disciplines enable graduates to accept and deal with a level of uncertainty in problem solving and decision making, particularly when access to information is limited.

The science disciplines also value clear reporting. Consequently, the commerce/science graduate has developed skills of efficient and effective communication of ideas and results, whether in the accepted modes of scientific and business report writing or through more informal oral presentations. Graduates recognise the need to present information and ideas in an effective written form that is appropriate to the purpose and the reader.

Having undertaken laboratory and tutorial classes, commerce/science graduates are adept at activity planning as well as the application of theory to practice. Some students will have found collaborative learning an efficient tool, while others will find their practical work enhanced by effective teamwork.

The need to manage the multiplicity of tasks (lectures, laboratory and assignment work), means that commerce/science graduates are aware of the need to structure and manage time effectively and efficiently, to retain balance and to prioritise their activities. They are able to juggle several tasks simultaneously, take responsibility for their own work, independently or within a group, and to plan their schedule appropriately.

The breadth of the Science @ Melbourne program means that commerce/science graduates will have been exposed, directly or indirectly, to thoughts and ideas from a number of bodies of knowledge. These graduates are aware of the breadth and depth of knowledge in areas beyond their specific areas of specialisation.

A detailed description of the generic skills expected of a graduate of the Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science is contained within the graduate attributes summary (see 'Graduate Attributes').