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Students should always follow the program requirements according to the year they started their degree. For more information please visit Previous UNSW Online Handbooks.

The Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Fine Arts (B Com BFA) is a 4 year dual award program which combines is a highly valued business qualification with a qualification designed for those who may wish to involve themselves as practitioners in the visual arts or related fields.

The B Com component provides students with the fundamentals of business and the opportunity to explore their interests in one of a range of business disciplines. The BFA component offers students strong fundamentals combined with flexibility to explore various media through practice and experimentation.

On successful completion of the BCom component, students will have the ability to:

The BFA component aims to:

1. Provide an opportunity for students to undertake rigorous and demanding studies at tertiary level from a wide range of approaches and disciplines within the visual arts.

2. Provide the opportunity for students to explore the visual arts through a critical examination of the possibilities they offer and by use of available technological resources.

3. Encourage students to develop increased self-motivation as developing independent and professional practitioners.

4. Provide students with:

• an understanding of concepts relevant to aesthetics and the visual arts;
• an understanding of various media through practice and experimentation with such media;
• an understanding of research practice in fine arts, and a capacity to engage with research;
• a confidence and competence in decision making, together with an appreciative and informed awareness of viewpoints in the visual arts other than their own; and
• an understanding of the historical and theoretical underpinning of contemporary fine art practice.

5. Encourage students to realise their own intellectual and creative potential.

6. Increase students' awareness of, and sensitivity to, their environment.

The Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Fine Arts consists of 96 UOC of Commerce courses and 96 UOC of Fine Arts courses as detailed in the following table:

Flexible core courses account for 24 UOC (4 courses). Students should choose four courses from the following list:

Major requirements 48UOC in an approved disciplinary stream offered by the Australian School of Business (See Table A), containing at least 18 UOC at level 3. (Note that the 48UOC 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.

Please note: One or more additional courses (i.e. in addition to the core and major requirements) must be taken from within the Australian School of Business to ensure you complete 96UOC of Business courses within the B Com component of this program.

Table A

Approved Majors from within the ASB:

Level 2:

• 2 courses approved as BFA Contextual Studies (12UOC)

Fine Arts Streams (48 UOC)

Students must complete:
• 24UOC from approved Fine Arts streams
• 24UOC from approved Fine Arts, Design or Media Arts streams

Fine Art Streams:
Painting, Drawing, Sculpture Installation Performance,
Printmaking, Photography, Textiles, Cross-Media Art

Design Streams:
Graphics Media, Object Design, Spatial Design, Textiles, Jewellery, Ceramics

Media Art Streams:
Animation and Visual Effects, Video Sound Image, Cross-Media Arts

Honours in B Com Component

High achieving students may apply to undertake honours in the area of their business major. Honours is an additional year of full-time study (48 UOC) which provides students with advanced knowledge of their chosen field and develops research and communication skills. Students usually complete advanced courses/seminars and a thesis. Students interested in studying at Honours Level should refer to the relevant Honours plan record for entry requirements.

Honours in BFA Component

Students undertaking the BFA in Dual Award mode may apply to complete an additional year (48UOC) of study for the award of Honours. For details of Honours please see 4814 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Advanced).

Academic Rules relating to the BCom dual mode component

Please refer to the Program Structure for the academic requirements relating to this program. Rules relating to the award of the degree of B Com shall apply wherever relevant. Students are advised to consult the Academic Rules for further information.

Academic Rules relating to the BFA

Important Information

The Academic Rules for the BFA and the online enrolment facility provide students with a wide range of course choices. The online enrolment facility checks that students meet the enrolment requirements for individual courses but not that a course complies with Program Rules. Students are responsible for ensuring they are enrolling in accordance with the Academic Rules outlined above. Students should not assume that because they have enrolled in a course online that the course is automatically credited to their degree program.

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

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

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 Australian School of Business Student Centre for advice.
tel: + 61 2 9385 3189
location: Ground Floor, West Wing, Australian School of Business Building
Forms, policies and procedures
Frequently asked questions

College of Fine Arts (COFA) for advice on the BFA component

tel: + 61 2 9385 0684
location: Ground Floor, D Block, Paddington Campus