Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws is administered by the University of Sydney Business School for the first three years and by the University of Sydney Law School for the remaining two years.
| Course details |
Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws |
|---|---|
| CRICOS code | 017835F |
| Degree abbreviation | BCom/LLB |
| Credit points required for completion | 240 |
| Duration (full-time) | 5 years |
The Combined Law degree program allows students to study the Bachelor of Laws in conjunction with another degree. It works by spreading out the first year of the Bachelor of Laws degree over three years of a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Degree structure
To be awarded the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws, students complete units of study with a total value of 240 credit points (96 credit points in units of study from the University of Sydney Business School and 144 credit points in units of study from the Sydney Law School), comprising:
For the Bachelor of Commerce component:
- seven core units of study (36 credit points), as set out in the Bachelor of Commerce section
- a major selected from the compulsory Commerce major subject areas, as set out in the Bachelor of Commerce section
- a maximum of 48 credit points in junior units of study from the University of Sydney Business School and School of Economics (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences).
For the Bachelor of Laws component:
- ten core law units of study (48 credit points) to be completed in the first three years of the combined program in a specific annual sequence.
- eight additional core and eight elective law units of study (96 credit points in total) to be completed over the remaining two years of the degree at the Sydney Law School, as set out in the Sydney Law School handbook.
Please note: Students cannot complete any units of study from outside of the University of Sydney Business School, School of Economics or the Sydney Law School in this combined degree.
Requirements for the degree with honours
Both the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws can be awarded with honours.
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)
For the award of the Bachelor of Commerce with Honours, meritorious students complete the Bachelor of Commerce and an additional honours year of study in their major area of study. For details of the requirements for entry into and for the completion of the Honours Year in this program in the Business School, please refer to the Business School website: sydney.edu.au/business/honours.
Bachelor of Laws (Honours)
For the award of honours in the Bachelor of Laws, students must complete a supervised dissertation as part of their 48 credit points of elective units of study in their fifth year of study. An additional honours year is not required. For further details, students should refer to the Sydney Law School Handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/law).
Commerce majors and electives
In the Bachelor of Commerce component, students must select a compulsory 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 of study may only be counted towards one major.
For full details of the available majors, please refer to the 'Compulsory major' heading under 'majors and electives' in the Bachelor of Commerce section in this handbook.
Elective units can also be selected from these areas. Students must complete 96 credit points from the Business School and School of Economics subject areas with a minimum of 48 credit points in senior units of study (including units completed for a major).
Law units of study
For the Bachelor of Laws component, students complete their law units of study in the yearly sequence indicated in the following tables. All law units in the first four years of the degree are compulsory. In their fifth year, students choose elective law units to complete their degree. Students should note that the law units of study cannot be counted as a major in the Bachelor of Commerce component of this combined degree.
Core units of study (first three years of study)
In the first three years of study, students complete ten core units of study - including a zero credit point unit (48 credit points) for the Bachelor of Laws component of their combined degree in the yearly sequence set out in the degree progression table.
| YEAR | SESSION | UNIT OF STUDY |
CREDIT POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| First year of study |
Semester 1 |
LAWS1006 Foundations of Law | 6 |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS1013 Legal Research I | 0 | |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS1012 Torts | 6 | |
| Second year of study |
Semester 1 |
LAWS1014 Civil and Criminal Procedure | 6 |
|
Semester 1 |
LAWS1015 Contracts | 6 | |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS1016 Criminal Law | 6 | |
| Third year of study |
Semester 1 |
LAWS1023 Public International Law | 6 |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS1017 Torts and Contracts II | 6 | |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS1019 Legal Research II | 0 | |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS1021 Public Law | 6 |
Core and elective units of study (fourth and fifth years of study)
Students usually complete the Bachelor of Commerce component of the combined degree by the end of their third year of full-time study, and the Bachelor of Laws component continues for another two years. From their fourth year of full-time study, students complete core and elective units of study (96 credit points) from the Sydney Law School as set out in the following table to meet the requirements for their Law degree.
| YEAR | SESSION | UNITS OF STUDY |
CREDIT POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth year of study |
Semester 1 |
LAWS2010 Administrative Law | 6 |
|
Semester 1 |
LAWS2011 Federal Constitution Law | 6 | |
|
Semester 1 |
LAWS2012 Introduction to Property and Commercial Law | 6 | |
|
Semester 1 |
LAWS2013 The Legal Profession | 6 | |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS2014 Corporations Law | 6 | |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS2015 Equity | 6 | |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS2016 Evidence | 6 | |
|
Semester 2 |
LAWS2017 Real Property | 6 | |
|
Fifth year of study |
Semester 1 |
Students select elective units of study from Part 1 and Part 2 tables as set out in the Sydney Law School Handbook. | 48 |
|
Semester 2 |
For full details of the available core and elective Law units of study for years four and five, students must refer to the Sydney Law School's handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/law).
Professional accreditation requirements
Within the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws, 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 Bachelor of Laws has 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:
| Professional accounting core knowledge area |
Required unit/s of study |
|---|---|
| Accounting information systems | INFS2001 IS for Performance Improvement (students must also complete the prerequisite unit INFS1000 Digital Business Innovation) |
| Accounting systems and processes | BUSS1030 Accounting, Business and Society AND ACCT1006 Accounting and Financial Management |
| Accounting theory | ACCT2011 Financial Accounting A |
| Audit and assurance | ACCT3014 Auditing and Assurance # |
| Commercial law | LAWS1006 Foundations of Law AND LAWS1015 Contracts |
| Corporations law | LAWS2014 Corporations Law |
| Economics | BUSS1040 Economics for Business Decision Making* OR ECON1001 Introductory Microeconomics OR ECON1002 Introductory Macroeconomics |
| Finance | FINC2011 Corporate Finance I |
| Financial accounting | ACCT3011 Financial Accounting B |
| Management accounting | ACCT2012 Management Accounting A AND ACCT3012 Management Accounting B |
| Quantitative methods | BUSS1020 Quantitative Business Analysis |
| Taxation | LAWS3412 Australian Income Tax AND LAWS3409 Advanced Taxation Law # |
# 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 in their degree a prescribed set of units of study (48 credit points), 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.
Degree progression
The following table illustrates a degree progression example for a student enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws on a full-time basis undertaking a total of 24 credit points per semester.
Note: In this table, core units of study for the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) are indicated in 'bold type' and compulsory Law units of study are in 'italics'.
|
YEAR
|
SESSION
|
UNITS OF STUDY
|
|
|
|
|
|
CREDIT POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Semester 1 |
BUSS1900 Managing Business Communication A# |
BUSS1001 Understanding Business |
BUSS1030 Accounting, Business and Society |
BUSS1040 Economics for Business Decision Making |
LAWS1006 Foundations of Law |
24 | |
| Semester 2 |
BUSS1002 The Business Environment |
BUSS1020 Quantitative Business Analysis |
BCom |
LAWS1012 Torts |
LAWS1013 Legal Research I# |
24 | ||
| Year 2 | Semester 1 |
BCom senior unit (for the major) |
BCom |
LAWS1015 Contracts |
LAWS1014 Civil and Criminal Procedure |
24 | ||
| Semester 2 |
BCom senior unit (for the major) |
BCom senior unit (for the major) |
BCom senior unit |
LAWS1016 Criminal Law |
24 | |||
| Year 3 | Semester 1 |
BCom senior unit (for the major) |
BCom senior unit (for the major) |
BCom senior unit |
LAWS1023 Public International Law |
24 | ||
| Semester 2 |
BUSS3500 Integrated Business Applications |
BCom senior unit |
LAWS1017 Torts and Contracts II |
LAWS1021 Public Law |
LAWS1019 Legal Research II# |
24 (144*) | ||
| Year 4* | Semester 1 | LAWS2010 Administrative Law |
LAWS2011 Federal Constitution Law |
LAWS2012 Introduction to Property and Commercial Law |
LAWS2013 The Legal Profession |
24 | ||
| Semester 2 | LAWS2014 Corporations Law |
LAWS2015 Equity |
LAWS2016 Evidence |
LAWS2017 Real Property |
24 | |||
| Year 5* | Semester 1 | Bachelor of Laws - Part 1 and Part 2 electives * | 24 | |||||
| Semester 2 | 24 | |||||||
| 240 | ||||||||
# These are zero credit point units.
* To complete years four and five, students graduate from the Bachelor of Commerce and transfer into the single Bachelor of Laws degree, administered by the Sydney Law School.
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 Business School website illustrates units of study progression sequences for specific majors in this combined degree. This information can be accessed at sydney.edu.au/business/courses/FH048/.
Degree progression for the Bachelor of Laws
By the end of the third year in the combined degree program, full-time students should have completed the requirements for their Bachelor of Commerce degree (144 credit points) and will be eligible to graduate with this degree. These students are then transferred to the single Bachelor of Laws degree in their fourth year and complete the remaining requirements for this degree under the supervision of the Sydney Law School. An additional two years of study are required at the Law School ('Year 4' and 'Year 5' as indicated under 'Bachelor of Laws units of study (compulsory and elective)' in the preceding information), where the remaining units of study for the Bachelor of Laws are completed. For details on the final years of this program, please refer to the Sydney Law School handbook (sydney.edu.au/handbooks/law).