Program

Commerce (Co-op) - 3554

Program Summary

Faculty: UNSW Business School

Contact:  UNSW Business School Student Centre

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Typical Duration: 4 Years  

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 6

Max UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC For Award: 192

UAC Code: 424600

Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements

International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements

Award(s):

Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op)

Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) (Major)

View program information for previous years

Program Description

The Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) (BCom (Co-op)) is a highly valued and unique business qualification. It provides high-achieving students with a strong, 4-year academic program, integrated with fully assessable industry placement experiences that enable students to work with some of Australia's leading employers. The degree is also flexible enough to allow students to design a program which aligns their interests and career ambitions in accounting, finance, marketing or information systems with other areas of business.

The BCom (Co-op) combines the requirements of the degree with 18 months of coordinated industry placement at three different sponsoring organisations. Industry placement extends outside university semesters.

A scholarship is payable from funds donated by the sponsoring organisations, and entry to the program is limited to students awarded a scholarship through the BCom (Co-op) selection procedures administered by the Co-op Program Office. For baseline requirements to the UNSW Co-op program visit the future students page.

Program benefits:
  • Highly regarded by industry
  • Provides students with the fundamentals of business and the option to explore their interests
  • Prepares students academically, technically and professionally
  • Equips students with the skills and knowledge to pursue a variety of career options
  • Allows students to qualify for professional accreditation in a range of areas

Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

On completion of the BCom (Co-op) program students should be able to:
  • Select and apply disciplinary knowledge to business situations in a local and global environment.
  • Identify and research issues in business situations, analyse the issues, and propose appropriate and well-justified solutions.
  • Prepare written documents that are clear and concise, using appropriate style and presentation for the intended audience, purpose and context.
  • Prepare and deliver oral presentations that are clear, focused, well-structured, and delivered in a professional manner.
  • Participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams, and to reflect on their own teamwork, and on the team’s processes and ability to achieve outcomes.
  • Identify and assess ethical, environmental and/or sustainability considerations in business decision-making and practice.
  • Identify social and cultural implications of business situations.
  • Conduct themselves in a professional manner in the work environment, communicate effectively in diverse workplace situations and be able to apply discipline knowledge and understanding to real business problems with initiative and self-direction.

Program Structure

Studies leading to the award of the BCom (Co-op) normally consist of 192 UOC (or 32 courses) to be completed over 4 academic years.

UOC in this program will consist of:
  • Compulsory core course
  • Flexible core courses
  • Business School Major in the co-op area, which includes 36 UOC Industry Placement courses (Table A)
  • Optional second Business School Major/Minor (Table B) or Language Major/Minor (Table C)
  • UNSW Business School elective
  • Free electives
  • General Education courses
Compulsory core courses account for 24 UOC (4 courses)
Flexible core courses account for 24 UOC (4 courses). Students should choose four courses from the following list:
Co-op Major requirement: Students complete a major (84UOC) in the disciplinary area of their Co-op scholarship (see Table A). Note that the 84UOC includes the first disciplinary course(s) in the Core (Compulsory or Flexible). This means that, for the majority of majors, students will complete 42UOC in specified disciplinary courses outside the core, and 36 UOC Industry Placement. The major must contain at least 18 UOC at level 3, not including the industry placements.

Industry Placement courses: account for 36 UOC. Students complete 3 industry training courses within the area of their co-op scholarship, with each course worth 12 UOC.

UNSW Business School Elective: 0-12UOC in UNSW Business School courses to ensure a student completes a minimum of 132 UOC of Business courses within the BCom (Co-op). The exact number of courses to complete will depend on the Co-op major chosen.

Free Electives account for 48 UOC. Students are free to use these UOC to complete courses from any Faculty however they need to be mindful of the program limit on Level 1 courses (72 UOC) when making their selection.

Ways to use these Free Electives include:
  • Completing a selection of courses from one or multiple Faculties.
  • Completing a second major from within the UNSW Business School (Table B)
  • Combining these with part of the Gen Ed requirement to complete a major of 60 UOC in a modern language offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Science. See requirements for language major.
  • Completing a minor from within the UNSW Business School (30 UOC), with the remaining UOC to be taken from any Faculty.
  • Completing a minor in a modern language (24 UOC) offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, with the remaining UOC to be taken from any Faculty.
Table A
Approved Co-op Majors:
  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Information Systems
  • Marketing
NB: Finance co-op scholars must enrol in program 3565 B Commerce (Co-op) (Honours). Transfer into program 3554 is by application only.

Table B:
Approved Majors and Minors within the Business School:
  • Accounting
  • Business Economics
  • Business Strategy and Economic Management
  • Business Law
  • Finance
  • Financial Economics *
  • Human Resource Management
  • Information Systems
  • International Business
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Real Estate Studies
  • Taxation
* only available as a Major

Table C:
Approved Language Majors and Minors from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences*
  • Chinese Studies
  • French Studies
  • German Studies
  • Hispanic Studies
  • Japanese Studies
  • Korean Studies
* Please note language majors are 60 UOC, and language minors are 24 UOC.

General Education Requirements

General Education requirements account for 12 UOC (2 courses) and are to be taken outside the Business School. This allows you to select either courses that were developed especially for the General Education Program (beginning with GEN) or to choose 'mainstream' courses that are offered in the degree programs of other Faculties. For further information about General Education Requirements please refer to the UNSW Online Handbook.

Please note that students enrolled in programs within the Business School cannot take General Education courses offered by the Business School (i.e. courses with a GENC code). These restrictions also apply to the following courses:
  • GENL2015 The World of Work
  • GENL2021 An Introduction to the Australian Legal System
  • GENL2032 Cyberspace Law 2.0
  • GENL5021 Business Law Basics
Please note GEN courses cannot be counted as Free Electives.

If students are unsure of their General Education requirements they should contact the UNSW Business School Student Centre (Level 1, room 1028, Quadrangle Building).

Sample Program

 
REQUIREMENTS:
32 courses (192 UOC)
Compulsory and flexible Core courses (48 UOC)
Co-op major (84 UOC) including 8
disciplinary courses* plus 36 UOC
Industry Placement
8 courses*
for major 2
(48 UOC)
Up to 2 free electives (12 UOC)
General Education requirements (12 UOC)
* Includes disciplinary course(s) in the Core


Honours

Finance Co-op scholars may complete honours in Finance as part of their 4 year Co-op program by completing program 3565 B Commerce (Co-op)(Honours). Please refer to this program for details.

In addition, any co-op scholar may complete Honours by undertaking 4501 B Commerce (Honours), a separate one-year Honours program, after satisfying the requirements of the 3554 Pass degree. Co-op scholars completing Honours under this path will not receive the Co-op scholarship for this 5th (Honours) year. Students interested in studying Honours through this path should refer to the relevant Honours stream record within program 4501 for entry requirements and contact the Honours Co-ordinator in the relevant School.

Academic Rules

Academic Rules for 3554 Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) (BCom (Co-op))

Content of Program

To be awarded the 3554 BCom (Co-op)) degree, a student must have completed:

1. A minimum of 192 units of credit (UOC).
2. A minimum of 132 UOC of courses offered by the UNSW Business School.
3. 48 UOC of Level 1 Core courses.
4. One major from within the UNSW Business School in the disciplinary area of the co-op scholarship, including 36 UOC of Industry Placement courses. (Refer to Table A)
5. 12 UOC of courses from outside the UNSW Business School to fulfil the University’s General Education requirement.
6. Maximum of 72 UOC of Level 1 courses, excluding Level 1 courses completed as part of the General Education requirement.


Majors and Minors

7. A Business School Major is normally a sequence of 48 UOC courses in a single discipline or area of study.
8. 18 UOC of a Major must be at Level 3.
9. A Co-op Major includes an additional 36 UOC from Industry Placements.
10. If a student chooses to complete a second major, and the Majors have courses in common, a student may be permitted to have up to 6 UOC counted towards each Major stream.
11. If a student chooses to complete a Business School minor, it will consist of 30 UOC with a minimum of 18 UOC at Level 2 or Level 3.


Progression rules

12. A minimum of 24 UOC of courses must be completed before enrolling in Level 2 courses.
13. A minimum of 72 UOC of courses must be completed before enrolling in Level 3 courses.
14. Students must declare their major before commencing Year 2.

Fees

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

Professional Recognition

For further information, please refer to the Professional Recognition of Programs in the UNSW Online Handbook.

Further Information

Please note that these requirements may be subject to change. Students should always follow the program requirements according to the year they started their degree. For more information please visit Previous UNSW Online Handbooks

Contact the UNSW Business School Student Centre for advice.
tel: + 61 2 9385 3189
location: Level 1, room 1028, Quadrangle Building
Forms, policies and procedures
Frequently asked questions

Related Program(s)


3462 Commerce/Education (Secondary)
3502 Commerce
3521 Commerce/Economics
3573 Commerce / Arts
3523 Commerce/Science(AdvMath)
3529 Commerce/Science
3558 Commerce (International)
3559 Commerce/Media (PR & Advert)
3565 Commerce (Co-op) (Hons)
3584 Commerce / Information Systems

Area(s) of Specialisation