Commerce / Engineering Questions (1 Viewer)

[p0llex]

Hi all, I'm looking at studying combined commerce/engineering at UNSW next year and still have a range of questions remaining. My main problem is that I'm not set on which field I want to work in so I'm trying to keep my options as open as possible:

1. Course Structure
Looking at the handbook, you don't seem to do any commerce subjects until year 2 semester 2, when you do 2 semesters of entirely commerce subjects. Is it possible to arrange to do more of a mix of the two from the start? What would be the disadvantages of doing this compared to following their suggestions?

2. Degree Length
I don't have any problem being at uni for a while, but a 5.5 year degree seems pretty awkward given that all the grad programs would start in Jan/Feb. What do people do for half a year? Or do most just reduce their load and extend it out to 6?

3. Choosing Major
Is it still possible to do a flexible first year if you are doing a double degree? Are there any disadvantages to this compared to choosing right away?

4. Changing Degree
Let's say I got part way through my degree and decided i wanted to drop the engineering component and take up advanced maths instead. Would this be an easy change to make? How might I choose my subjects to keep this open as a practical option?

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[I97]

I'm considering this degree also and share some similar questions.
1) From what i've seen, it's possible to not go by their structure strictly and choose to form a mix between engg/comm as long as you make sure you complete certain prerequisites or co-requisites to not make any further difficulties in the future. Tbh i think i'd prefer having this mix as it decreases contact hours for the semester + you don't take a year out of no engineering study.
2) Also the degree can be completed in 5 years, but that means you need to either do some units in summer school which is much more expensive, or overload a few semesters later on, personally i would like to do the latter if i choose this degree but from what i've heard this may be difficult to get approval+clashes etc.
3) I think the actual degree when you enrol into this dual degree is flexible engineering, you aren't actually in a stream from the start but correct me if im wrong. But that in mind just choose the units related to what field you want to be in. From what i've heard you can choose units from several fields but that may prolong your degree so just check the handbooks for the different streams.
4) Don't know much about this, depends on which stream of engg you choose units from but i dont think there is too much overlap between engg and math courses, especially after the first few semesters so this may also prolong your degree if you choose to switch later on.

 

[mreditor16]

Bump for well thought out questions

 

[futureengineer]

Hi all, I'm looking at studying combined commerce/engineering at UNSW next year and still have a range of questions remaining. My main problem is that I'm not set on which field I want to work in so I'm trying to keep my options as open as possible:

1. Course Structure
Looking at the handbook, you don't seem to do any commerce subjects until year 2 semester 2, when you do 2 semesters of entirely commerce subjects. Is it possible to arrange to do more of a mix of the two from the start? What would be the disadvantages of doing this compared to following their suggestions?

2. Degree Length
I don't have any problem being at uni for a while, but a 5.5 year degree seems pretty awkward given that all the grad programs would start in Jan/Feb. What do people do for half a year? Or do most just reduce their load and extend it out to 6?

3. Choosing Major
Is it still possible to do a flexible first year if you are doing a double degree? Are there any disadvantages to this compared to choosing right away?

4. Changing Degree
Let's say I got part way through my degree and decided i wanted to drop the engineering component and take up advanced maths instead. Would this be an easy change to make? How might I choose my subjects to keep this open as a practical option?

Thanks in advance for any help

1. You can definitely mix and match courses between engineering and commerce. Just make sure you take into account the prerequisites of each course. Their specified guide for doing the courses ensures that you don't miss a pre-requisite. Not much of a disadvantage.
2. Do 1 course for 4 summers and you can reduce your degree by half a year. Only UNSW Business School subjects are at the full rate. If you were to do some other non-business summer courses, you pay at the normal hecs rate.
3. When you enrol, it will prompt you to select your engineering plan (including flexible first year). Theres no real disadvantage to choosing a plan as first year engineering is fairly flexible and you can do a bunch of mix and matches. If you decide to take the flexible first year route, understand that there may not be any spots remaining for you to transfer into later.
4. When taking engineering in the first year you do MATH 1A/ Higher MATH 1A and MATH1B / Higher MATH1B. In the second year, depending on which type of engineering you have chosen you would be taking MATH2A/2B (for elec) or MATH2019 (civil, mech, ptrl, renew, photo) and some also do MATH2018 discrete maths. Since MATH2019 is only offered to engineering students, the school of mathematics has their own substitutes for those who want to do advanced maths with engineering. These substitutes are outlined here http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/undergraduate/programs/2016/3761.html Most MATH subjects end for engineers in second year, so if you were to change you would have about 4 courses that you would be able to credit to an advanced maths program.

hope that helps

 

[Shadowdude]

Hi all, I'm looking at studying combined commerce/engineering at UNSW next year and still have a range of questions remaining. My main problem is that I'm not set on which field I want to work in so I'm trying to keep my options as open as possible:

1. Course Structure
Looking at the handbook, you don't seem to do any commerce subjects until year 2 semester 2, when you do 2 semesters of entirely commerce subjects. Is it possible to arrange to do more of a mix of the two from the start? What would be the disadvantages of doing this compared to following their suggestions?

2. Degree Length
I don't have any problem being at uni for a while, but a 5.5 year degree seems pretty awkward given that all the grad programs would start in Jan/Feb. What do people do for half a year? Or do most just reduce their load and extend it out to 6?

3. Choosing Major
Is it still possible to do a flexible first year if you are doing a double degree? Are there any disadvantages to this compared to choosing right away?

4. Changing Degree
Let's say I got part way through my degree and decided i wanted to drop the engineering component and take up advanced maths instead. Would this be an easy change to make? How might I choose my subjects to keep this open as a practical option?

Thanks in advance for any help

1. Yeah you can mix and match, but remember that a lot of people will be following the plan for ease of mind - and if you make buddies in one class, you may wish to try and get the same classes with them for the rest of your degree. If you go off plan, then you may not match up with any friends you make, and you have additional work to make sure that you conform to degree requirements. Personally, I made my degree from scratch because they didn't have a plan for me - and you just arrange classes with people where possible, and if you're chucked into a new class with no one you know, you can make new friends anyway...

2. You can take more courses if you love uni so much (like me), or you can go part-time and extend the degree to 6 years straight. Of course again, you'll have to make sure the classes you want are actually offered in the semesters you want them to, etc.

3. not sure

4. First off, taking Adv Maffs is a gr8 idea. You'll have to internal program transfer and that has certain requirements - to get into Advanced Maths, you need a minimum average mark of 80 in your maths courses plus 70 average overall, as a minimum requirement iirc. Moreover, you'd just take the first year maths courses as your normal Advanced Mathematics student. You will have to take an extra subject SCIF though (look for that in the handbook) and yeah... but that's open only to Adv. Maths/Science people, so if you are successful in the transfer, you'll have to do SCIF second year. This of course assumes you're a smart kid and you actually get the transfer after the end of first year, which is the earliest it can happen.

If you get a transfer in the middle of second year, you may have to do actual maths courses instead of 'engineering maths' courses and that may muddle the waters in terms of credits and stuff

 

[D94]

1. Course Structure
Looking at the handbook, you don't seem to do any commerce subjects until year 2 semester 2, when you do 2 semesters of entirely commerce subjects. Is it possible to arrange to do more of a mix of the two from the start? What would be the disadvantages of doing this compared to following their suggestions?

You can indeed mix it up.

Engineering is a rigidly structured course. There isn't much flexibility, that is, it follows a prerequisite course structure. That means you need to have done x before you can do y. This does apply to commerce as well, but because most engineering courses (when we say course, we mean the subjects) are core to the program (i.e. the degree), you don't want to be in a situation where you have 5 courses remaining but all of them are only offered in semester 1. So ensuring you do the fundamental courses early on allows more flexibility later on.

2. Degree Length
I don't have any problem being at uni for a while, but a 5.5 year degree seems pretty awkward given that all the grad programs would start in Jan/Feb. What do people do for half a year? Or do most just reduce their load and extend it out to 6?

You can do a lot in 6 months. You can travel or do nothing. If you have secured a grad spot, you could suggest to start early. You can extend it if you want. 6 months is bloody great.

Also note that you graduate 6 months after you finish your degree, your actual graduation ceremony will be in Nov/Dec, whereas students finishing in Nov/Dec will have to graduate in Jun/Jul.

3. Choosing Major
Is it still possible to do a flexible first year if you are doing a double degree? Are there any disadvantages to this compared to choosing right away?

You can. No real disadvantages, but you must achieve a 65 WAM otherwise you will be stuck in flexible first year. You actually need to transfer out of flexible first year - you can't just say "I want to do Civil engineering" and then be moved into it.

4. Changing Degree
Let's say I got part way through my degree and decided i wanted to drop the engineering component and take up advanced maths instead. Would this be an easy change to make? How might I choose my subjects to keep this open as a practical option?

The change is easy if you have the WAM. Choosing subjects is difficult as I can guarantee that should you decide to change, and you have already done 1 year of engineering, you will have wasted some courses. Find the adv maths program, find the engineering program, and choose courses that align. But after 1 full year, you will definitely have done courses that do not align, and after 2 fully years, most courses will not align. It's always a practical option, you are never simply locked into a degree. You will just spend longer at uni, and pay for courses that you don't need to do. That doesn't mean it's not practical.

 

[p0llex]

Thanks for the help everyone, it's much appreciated. I've been trying to plan out my subjects and have a few follow-on questions:

If I were doing one in each semester of first year, which of ACCT1501 and ECON1101 should I do first? Both have no pre-reqs and run both semesters (and I didn't do any economics at school if that's relevant). Likewise for FINS1612 and FINS1613, should I do a specific one first or does it make no difference?

For adv maths I see you have to do either SCIF1121 or SCIF1131 depending on the semester - any opinions on which is better/easier/more interestring?

Also for adv maths I see there is the mysterious 'Quantitative Risk' major. There hasn't been a thread of it on a while, so what are people's opinions on it? Is the content interesting? Is it worth doing for the exclusivity? Guesses as to what HSC marks are required to get into it?
It looks like the only difference in first year is that you do MATH1151 instead of MATH1141 - is this a much harder course? I had a look at the course outline and only thing I noticed was more probability in 1151 but it's hard for me to tell looking at things I don't know

 

[Shadowdude]

Thanks for the help everyone, it's much appreciated. I've been trying to plan out my subjects and have a few follow-on questions:

If I were doing one in each semester of first year, which of ACCT1501 and ECON1101 should I do first? Both have no pre-reqs and run both semesters (and I didn't do any economics at school if that's relevant). Likewise for FINS1612 and FINS1613, should I do a specific one first or does it make no difference?

For adv maths I see you have to do either SCIF1121 or SCIF1131 depending on the semester - any opinions on which is better/easier/more interestring?

Also for adv maths I see there is the mysterious 'Quantitative Risk' major. There hasn't been a thread of it on a while, so what are people's opinions on it? Is the content interesting? Is it worth doing for the exclusivity? Guesses as to what HSC marks are required to get into it?
It looks like the only difference in first year is that you do MATH1151 instead of MATH1141 - is this a much harder course? I had a look at the course outline and only thing I noticed was more probability in 1151 but it's hard for me to tell looking at things I don't know

Doesn't matter - they're both basic first year courses

SCIF they split into two courses, who knows what they're like - just take whichever you fancy more based on handbook entries


And Quant. Risk is invite only - you need like 95+ MX1 and MX2. 1151 is actuarial maths.