Taking a double major : possible to complete in same time as a single major? (1 Viewer)

[Question2]

In my first year i made an appointment at the ASB student center, and a great staff member helped me draw up a academic plan for my degree (bachelor of commerce).

Im reviewing the plan this year, and i tried to make an appointment at the student center again, only to be told by a rude lady to submit a request online or i could just walk in (she also kept interrupting me over the phone). I went there today and tried to speak to someone, but she didnt seem very knowledgeable (she told me i had to do 7 flexible courses from my second major in addition to the 7 ASB free electives for a single major...) and generally, wasn't very helpful. I think the student center is staffed with student volunteers in the first week or so which would explain the huge difference in experience that i had.

Im looking at the UNSW student handbook now and theres this part i dont understand...

For a single major in commerce, i have to do :

1.4 compulsory core subjects (done)
2.4 flexible core subjects, chosen from a list of 6 (done)
3. 7 subjects for my major
4. 1 "ASB Free elective" and "6 free options"
5. 2 gen education subjects from outside the ASB

All in total, 24 subjects, divided into 6 semesters over 3 years with a normal workload of 4 subjects per semester. I understand that to do a double major, i have to complete 7 subjects from my second major.

I was under the assumption that it would be possible to do a double major in the same time as a single major just by using the 7 free electives to take the 7 subjects from my second major. However i am not sure whether this is the case (student center was not very helpful).

The handbook doesnt seem very clear on the subject of free electives :

Free electives account for up to 42 UOC (7 courses). At least one of these courses must be taken from within the Australian School of Business to ensure you complete 96UOC of Business courses within the BCom. The remaining free electives may be taken to complete a second major from within the Australian School of Business or count towards major of 54 UOC in a modern language offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Science. See requirements for language major.

I'm not sure what this means, but it seems like its saying that at least one subject must be taken from the ASB, and the others can be taken from any other faculties (although you can take all ASB courses if you want) I recall that the advisor i spoke to in my first year said something similar, but i honestly don't remember it well enough to be 100% sure. The person i spoke to at the student center claimed that all free electives MUST be taken from the ASB, which directly contradicts what the handbook says.

So my question is, does anyone know if its possible to do a double major in the same time as a single major, just by using your 7 free electives to take the 7 subjects for your second major?

Im going to send a online request to the student center just in case, but if i just get the same kind of response i got today in person, it probably wont help much...

P.S. Does anyone know what taking a minor means? Ive seen the term referenced here and there in the handbook but there seems to be no explanation in the commerce degree page what this option involves and what the implications are.

Edit : Is it necessary to declare your major by filing in the online form at the ASB student center website?

 

[Trans4M]

You can definitely do 2 majors under a B Commerce. Most people do.

What it means by the free electives is that, those UOC are free for you to take a major in the Arts Faculty. When they say they need you to do 1 course from the ASB, is that the 1 of the remaining 7 subjects must me from the ASB in order for you to meet the requirements of a B Commerce degree (96 UOC from ASB). Instead of doing a major from the Arts Faculty, you can do another major from ASB. The degree is designed this way for students who want to have a feel of another degree without having to give up studying Commerce.

I hope I make sense?

A minor is like a major except you haven't done enough units to qualify for a major. A major should be 48 UOC (42 UOC for major + 6 UOC from either the flexi core or core subjects). A minor on the other hand is 24 UOC. Some people do minor instead because they want a feel of the subject but don't want to go to deep into it.

Yes you should declare it. It takes at least one semester for it to update. Otherwise when you graduate, your degree will not specify your major.

 

[Question2]

Thanks for the clarification.

Issue i have is that i transferred into UNSW, and i got credit for...ECON 7106, which is apparently "any level 1 economic course". And that falls under one of my free electives.

So i wont be able to do a double major in marketing/business law (which is what i was aiming for) unless i spend extra time to do 1 business law subject in my final year.

Guess im gonna have to talk to the student center in more detail...

 

[Trans4M]

Thanks for the clarification.

Issue i have is that i transferred into UNSW, and i got credit for...ECON 7106, which is apparently "any level 1 economic course". And that falls under one of my free electives.

So i wont be able to do a double major in marketing/business law (which is what i was aiming for) unless i spend extra time to do 1 business law subject in my final year.

Guess im gonna have to talk to the student center in more detail...

Probs best to check with student center. Have you considered either summer school or overloading?

 

[Question2]

Student center wasnt too helpful today though. Maybe it would be best to try after the first week when the student volunteers are gone...

Cost is a huge hit unfortunately, as im paying full fees.

 

[Trans4M]

I am sure with a Commerce degree, there are some spare units left unless that has disappeared as a result from the 42 UOC to 48 UOC for a major change. So you might still be able to complete it in time.

I am assuming you are now in your penultimate year? Assuming so, penultimate + final year = 16 subjects. For a major, you need to do 8 subjects in that area but people usually do 1 or 2 of them in first year as a core and/or flexi core. Assuming you did, you will then only spend 14 subjects on your majors and the other 2 on general education. I think you should be fine, unless your cores and flexi cores don't get credited.

Maybe if you could let me know what subjects you did for first year and whether they are credited, I might be in a better position to say something.

 

[Question2]

Yea each major has 1 compulsory subject that can be done in the first year (which i did).

I've done Mark 1012, ECON 1101, MGMT 1001, ECON 1102, LEGT 1710, MARK 2051, MARK 2071.

I got credit for : ACCT 1501 ECON 1203 ECON 7106 GENZ 2000 INFS 1602

And i am doing 4 more subjects this semester (2 business law, 2 marketing). Currently in year 2 semester 2.

That leaves me with 8 subjects left next year, but i will need to take 5 business law and 4 marketing subjects next year if i want to do a double degree.

Trying to file a progression check report on the student center website but the system keeps telling me that "this service is currently unavailable"...anyone else having this problem?

 

[Trans4M]

So it is my understanding that you have 3 marketing subjects already, you are doing 2 now, so you only need to do 3 more marketing? This leaves you with 5 more subjects. You will need to do another 5 for business law so that's it. However, I believe you only did 1 general education course so far? You still need to do 1 more.

By the looks of it you will need to fit 1 subject in somewhere. Maybe consider doing a general ed course in summer? Other faculties' courses for summer school are cheaper than the ASB

 

[OMGITzJustin]

You're going to have to overload, but it may not be approved depending on how you went in first sem, I know a person whos completing comm/law in 4 years

 

[Question2]

Finally got a result from the progression check, unfortunately it was just a copy pasted template and did not answer my query at all...i called, and they claimed the comment box was left empty.

It was a bit hard to explain over the phone, but they basically said that my only option was to try and get a exemption from the program co-ordinator (very unlikely) or do one additional course somehow in the summer or via overloading....

 

[Question2]

bump.