The Faculty of Commerce and Economics in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers the combined Bachelor of Commerce/ Bachelor of Social Science.

This is a five year program combining the strengths and flexibility of each single degree program. It is expected that these combined programs will appeal to students wanting, in particular, a strong, focused and highly regarded business course that is complemented by a program of study in social research and policy analysis.

With approval, students with an excellent academic record may also enrol in an additional Honours year in the Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Social Sciences.

Bachelor of Commerce

The objectives of the Bachelor of Commerce are:

Bachelor of Arts
An Arts degree is a pathway through a wealth of knowledge in the humanities and social sciences. Its objective is to stimulate students intellectually; to immerse them in worlds of learning; and to graduate them as citizens with strong written and oral communications skills, the capacity to research, criticise and reflect, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Years 2-5

In Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 students take a total of 4 Commerce and Economics courses (24 units of credit), 4 Arts and Social Sciences courses (24 units of credit) each year, including (in total) at least 36 units of credit from Social Science and Policy in the approved sequence as outlined in rules 11 and 12 for the Bachelor of Social Science degree.

Candidates for Honours must complete one year of study additional to the minimum of five years required for the BCom BSocSc at Pass level.

Honours in Commerce
Students wishing to take the Bachelor of Commerce at Honours level must consult the Head of School in which they wish to study for Honours. In addition to the Pass degree requirements the award with a degree of Honours requires:

1. The completion of at least 48 units of credit (single major) or 42 units of credit (double major) in a disciplinary stream specified as necessary preparation for Honours year studies, and

2. The completion of four specified courses in Honours year in one of these disciplines, and a thesis that is the equivalent of two courses.


Honours in Social Science
Students wishing to take the Bachelor of Social Science at Honours level must consult the Head of School of Social Science and Policy.

Rules Relating to the Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Social Science program

Rules relating to the award of the degree of Bachelor of Commerce, shall apply wherever relevant to candidates for the course of Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Social Science.

This is a five year degree program (240 units of credit). Both the Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Social Science degree consists of 22 Commerce and Economics courses (132 units of credit), which include the core Year 1 Commerce and Economics courses, 18 Arts and Social Science courses (108 units of credit) including 8 which must be in Social Science and Policy. Students will typically enrol in 48 units of credit of courses per year.

Students may be admitted direct to the program in Year 1 or can apply for admission in Years 2 or 3.

Rules Relating to the Bachelor of Commerce Component

1. Each student must include the following in their degree program:

1.1 either a major of at least 48 units of credit in an approved disciplinary stream (see below) and a minor of at least 24 units of credit from a different discipline; or

1.2 a double major of 84 units of credit consisting of at least 42 units of credit in each of the (two) approved disciplinary streams.

The remaining Commerce and Economics course or units of credit requirements not required for a major sequence and not Year 1 core courses, as prescribed, if any, may be chosen from any other courses offered by the Faculty of Commerce and Economics.

2. Approved Disciplinary Streams (Pass):

#Not available as a single major, but as a co-major only

3. Candidates for Honours must complete one year of study additional to the minimum of five years required for the BCom/BSocSc at Pass level. Students wishing to take the Bachelor of Commerce at Honours level must consult the Head of School in which they wish to study for Honours. In addition to the Pass degree requirements the award with a degree of Honours requires:

3.1 the completion of at least 48 units of credit (single major) or 42 units of credit (double major) in a disciplinary stream specified as necessary preparation for Honours year studies, and

3.2 the completion of four specified courses in Honours year in one of these disciplines, and a thesis that is the equivalent of two courses.

4. Approved Disciplinary Streams (Honours):

To the end of sixth year:

Rules Relating to the Bachelor of Social Science Component
1. Of the 108 units of credit in Arts and Social Sciences required for the combined degree:

(a) none may be from courses offered by the Faculty of Commerce and Economics;

(b) at least 24 and no more than 36 units of credit must be obtained in Level 1 courses, including no more than 12 Level 1 units of credit offered by any one School, Department, Unit or Interdisciplinary Program;

(c) level 1 courses must include SLSP1000 and SLSP1001 (12 units of credit) offered by the School of Social Science and Policy; and

(d) no more than 54 units of credit in total may be from any one School, Department, Unit or Interdisciplinary Program within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences;

(e) 48 units of credit must be taken as the approved stream as specified in List F for Bachelor of Social Science degree (refer to Arts and Social Sciences section of this Handbook), excluding those streams offered by the Faculty of Commerce and Economics

2. Candidates for Honours in Social Science must complete one year of study additional to the minimum of five years required for the BCom/BSocSc at Pass level. Students wishing to take the Bachelor of Social Science at Honours level must consult the Head of School of Social Science and Policy.

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following web-page:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html