Why study business at UoN?

The Bachelor of Business is designed to give you skills and attributes that are recognised by employers. Graduates go on to exciting, stimulating and lucrative careers in the fields of marketing, industrial relations, mining, human resources and international business, to name a few.

Learn about the challenges facing business today and gain the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to contribute to the future of the Australian and global economies. Find out more

What you will study

The Bachelor of Business allows you to select a major in second year based on your interests and experiences in first year. Your major allows you to gain detailed skills and a strong understanding of the key principles in a specialist area. Find out more

Responsive teaching and real-world experiences

Business is orientated towards teamwork and collaboration in one form or another. The Newcastle Business School recognises this and has developed curricular which includes an emphasis on group work as a form of assessment. Find out more

Become a graduate in demand

Students who complete the business degree at the University of Newcastle are in demand. In 2010 more than 83% of graduates from the Bachelor of Business found full-time employment within four months of completing their degree.* Find out more

Meet our achievers

Hear from graduates and current students. Discover how their future is taking shape, and learn first-hand what it's like to study at uni. Find out more

Why study business at UoN?

A Bachelor of Business will give you a broad understanding of the global business environment. You will gain functional and practical skills and discover how contemporary business is impacted by the interplay between financial, legal, political and economic systems.

Learn about the challenges facing business today and gain the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to contribute to the future of the Australian and global economies.

This degree will equip you with the skills needed to make a smooth transition from the classroom to the boardroom. If you are currently working in business or an unrelated field, a Bachelor of Business can help fast-track your career.

A Bachelor of Business can be the platform for exciting careers in the private, government and not-for-profit sectors in Australia and around the world.

Our Bachelor of Business is designed to give you skills and attributes that are recognised by employers. Graduates go on to exciting, stimulating and lucrative careers in the fields of marketing, industrial relations, mining, human resources and international business, to name a few.

To establish a firm understanding of the contemporary business environment, you will undertake studies in the foundations of a range of disciplines including finance, accounting, economics, politics, marketing, the legal system, industrial relations and statistics.

This degree offers a high degree of flexibility to cater for a diverse range of interests and ambitions. Areas of specialisation include human resources management, information systems in business, international business, management, marketing, logistics and supply chain management and tourism.

The program also allows you to undertake a double major, meaning you are able to complete the requirements of two areas of study, simultaneously expanding your career opportunities and knowledge base.

Learn from leading academics

Academics for the Bachelor of Business teach from real-world professional experience, research findings and scholarly knowledge to bring the theory of your course to life.

The international expertise of the Newcastle Business School fosters and maintains strong connections with business and industry to ensure students are work-ready for an increasingly global environment.

Enjoy a supportive learning environment

As a Bachelor of Business student, you will benefit from a number of initiatives designed to provide a supportive learning environment and help you achieve your study goals.

In addition to weekly lectures and tutorials, the Business School offers Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) and a duty tutor service to help you reach your academic potential. PASS is facilitated by a student who has excelled in the course in a previous semester and provides an opportunity to work collaboratively to cover lecture material, develop a deeper understanding of course material and enhance learning skills. Duty tutors are assigned to each of the first year courses to provide drop-in assistance to students.

All Business and Law students also have exclusive access to the Student Learning Space (SLS), a fun new facility designed to help you fulfil your potential. SLS is about enhancing your learning experience – find a place to study, work on assignments and group tasks, and participate in PASS.

What you will study

As a first year student, you will complete subjects from a broad range of disciplines relevant to business including economics, marketing, accounting, human resources and business strategy. The first year of your study is designed to give you a strong grounding in the principles and practices of business, and equip you with a core set of business development skills. After sampling a range of disciplines, you can then make an informed decision about the focus area you would like to pursue.

Moving into the second and third years of your degree, you will undertake courses relevant to your chosen speciality. Each of the seven majors is focused on providing you with specialist skills to succeed within that field.

You can study a Bachelor of Business at our Newcastle campus (Callaghan), Ourimbah campus (Central Coast) and the University of Newcastle in Singapore.

Each course within your degree is delivered in person at your chosen campus, with classes usually consisting of a two hour lecture and a one hour tutorial. Duty tutors are also assigned to each first year course, you can ‘drop in’ to get assistance without making an appointment. The Faculty also operates Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS).

Majors

The Bachelor of Business allows you to select a major in second year based on your interests and experiences in first year. Your major allows you to gain detailed skills and a strong understanding of the key principles in a specialist area.

At our Newcastle campus (Callaghan) you can choose to major in marketing, management, international business, human resource management, tourism, information systems in business or logistics, and supply chain management. Majors available at our Central Coast campus (Ourimbah) include marketing, management, human resource management and tourism. At the University of Newcastle in Singapore, the majors offered are marketing, management and tourism.

A Bachelor of Business allows you to complete a double major, where you specialise in two areas of study and complete the requirements of two majors. Completing a double major will broaden your employment prospects and widen your knowledge base. This holistic understanding of business will help set you apart from your peers when competing in the job market. Combining marketing with tourism or international business with logistics and supply chain management are just two examples of what is possible.

The Bachelor of Business can also be studied concurrently with Commerce or Laws, enabling you to graduate with two degrees rather than one.

Human Resource Management

Human resource management links people-related activities to business strategy. Studies in human resource management will provide you with the broad-ranging skills and knowledge needed to respond to an ever-changing and dynamic business environment. Whether you’re interested in management, employee relations, training, advocacy, diversity management or equal opportunity, this major will equip you with the skills needed to positively influence business, unions, government and non-profit organisations in Australia and overseas.

In your first year you will study key concepts and principals of economics, accounting, marketing, management, decision-making, information and communication in business, and law, as well as how they apply to business operations and within the context of the current financial environment.

Moving into second year you will study topics such as business strategy as well as industrial relations and human resource management in greater depth.

In third year your study will focus on areas within human resources management that most suit your interest and desired career path. Focus areas include managing diversity, negotiation and advocacy, applied human resource management and employment relations, human resource development, international human resource management, and employment law or project in business (industry placement, participation based on merit).

Information Systems in Business

Studying information systems in business provides you with the skills to effectively manage, integrate and understand the growing collaboration between IT and the modern business environment. This major will help you understand the potential of this vital strategic resource and have the skills to manage it well.

During the past decade, information and communication technology (ICT) has increasingly enabled the development of new communication and collaboration techniques that are re-shaping the contemporary organisation. The use of information systems in business is now universal and ICT has become a central component of all aspects of business as well as a major strategic resource.

In your first year you will study key concepts and principles of marketing, economics, accounting, management, and decision making, as well as use of information systems in business.

Second year includes study of general business topics including finance and business strategy and information and communication in business, as well as being able to choose from the following areas: digital communication; information technology basics; multimedia and the Internet; electronic commerce; systems and software development; database management and consumer behaviour.

In third year you will study business analysis and strategic use of business systems, and continue to opt for areas of interest including advanced information handling, project management, contemporary issues in information technology, human resource development, industrial marketing management, knowledge management, and organisational structures and design.

International Business

Studying international business provides you with the skills needed to operate in a rapidly changing worldwide marketplace. As more organisations go global, specialists in international business are increasingly sought after by employers. These organisations require staff that can understand and negotiate the intricacies of conducting business with stakeholders in other countries where political, social, cultural and religious factors influence business practices. The understanding of global markets developed in this major is also highly valued in sectors such as finance, manufacturing, IT, energy and resources.

As the international business environment in which firms compete changes constantly, the study of international business is a dynamic and evolving field. An ethos of research-led teaching in all courses within international business ensures that students become accustomed to searching for further insights to increase their understanding of the challenges presented by the global economy. International Business is characterised by an internationally diverse team of academic staff with active research projects examining management of multinational enterprises, the international aspects of business strategy and the impact of legal, political, economic and social institutions on firm performance. Instruction by active researchers ensures:

• Inquiry-led teaching
• Comprehensive and contemporary curriculum designs
• Development of graduates capable of operating in a dynamic global business environment

In first year you will study key concepts and principles of economics, accounting, management, decision-making and law, as well as how they apply to business operations and within the context of the global financial environment.

Second year will see you continue to study general business topics including information and communication in business, marketing and business strategy as well as the following international business topics in greater depth: international business strategy and strategic alliances, cross-cultural management and negotiations, applied human resource management, and employment relations.

Third year allows you to focus on combinations that most suit your interests and career plans. Your options include: international and geopolitical risk, international business operations, economic development, global trade and finance, and international human resource management.

Management

A major in management provides you with the opportunity to understand the complex structure and operations of organisations, while also developing strong planning and leadership skills. You will learn to analyse the appropriateness of organisational structures, assess the adequacy of leadership for a particular situation, motivate employees and define changes needed to meet evolving environmental demands. Management provides opportunities for you to:

• Develop knowledge and skills that will let you become a professional capable of working in a global context
• Work closely with other students from a broad range of professional, industrial and national backgrounds
• Experience teaching that is delivered by internationally recognised and awarded academics and informed by top-tier research

Academic team members of the Management group actively participate in a wide range of research projects through the Centre for Institutional and Organisation Studies.

Management encompasses the study areas of Organisational Behaviour and Organisational Theory. Our management and organisational studies courses are designed in consultation with industry professionals and informed by leading researchers, ensuring graduates are well-equipped to meet emerging and global management challenges. This connection with industry professionals and informed researchers provides the opportunity for lecturers in organisational studies to sustain a problem-based teaching and learning environment.

In first year you will study key concepts and principles of economics, accounting, management, decision making and law, as well as how this learning applies to business operations within a global environment.

Second year will see you continue to study general business topics including information and communication in business, marketing and business strategy as well as the following business topics in greater depth: human resource management, consumer behaviour, business venturing, and organisational structures and design.

Third year allows you to focus on combinations that most suit your interests and career plans. Study areas you can select from include: managing diversity, knowledge management, leadership and entrepreneurship, and managing organisational change.

Marketing

A major in marketing can open the door to interesting, challenging and exciting careers in the business world. Marketing is about understanding and communicating with customers as well as delivering goods and services that provide value. It is critical to the success of both profit-based and non-profit organisations.

At Newcastle Business School, our marketing courses are constantly evolving to provide the most up-to-date marketing programs. We are recognised for our unique combination of breadth of knowledge, diverse industry experience and research-based teaching and learning.

You will emerge as a confident marketing graduate who is able to make an immediate contribution to any organisation, as well as being capable of operating in a changing global context. To achieve this outcome you will complete a focused set of courses for your marketing major. This major will highlight the role and importance of marketing in the competitive business environment and give you:

• A solid grounding in marketing theory and its applications
• Knowledge to help you understand consumer behaviour, develop and execute basic marketing research, and to contribute to marketing strategy
• Specialised knowledge in areas that include advertising, services, retail, industrial and international marketing
• Skills in critical thinking, argument development, report writing and case analysis
• Skills in marketing planning, and preparing and delivering marketing presentations
• The opportunity to work in teams and to gain insights into team processes

In first year, you will study key concepts and principles of economics, accounting, management, decision making and law within the context of the global financial environment. You may also commence your marketing major by studying principles of marketing.

Second year will see you continue to study general business topics including information and communication in business, finance and business strategy. You will also have the opportunity to focus on areas that most suit your interests and career plans. You may choose from courses relating to marketing, law, advertising and promotion strategy, and retail marketing.

In third year you will be required to study strategic marketing management and will also be able to select from areas of study including marketing research, services marketing, and international marketing.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management

This major examines the increasingly important and rapidly expanding fields of supply chain management and logistics. You will investigate the planning and management of activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management activities.

Studying this major will equip you with skills that are in high demand by employers, with many industries seeking graduates with both specific supply chain management expertise and the general transferable skills gained within the Bachelor of Business.

Many of our graduates have gone on to find great jobs, not just in Australia but all over the world. The Bachelor of Business prepares you for a career in management and business consulting, whether in developed Western economies or in the transitional economies of Asia, Eastern Europe, India and Africa.

The University has high calibre, internationally diverse academic staff with active research projects in different aspects of logistics and supply chain management. You can expect to learn from scholars who use different educational methods to best impart the current knowledge in this field.

In first year you will study key concepts and principles of economics, accounting, management, information and communication, decision making and law as well as how they apply to business operations and within the context of the global financial environment.

Second year will see you continue to study general business topics including business strategy and consumer behaviour and begin your specialised studies which include strategic supply chain management, supply chain modelling, knowledge management and strategic business systems.

Tourism

Tourism is one of Australia's largest and fastest growing industries, and is an exciting area of business, research and innovation. Studying tourism at Newcastle Business School will enable you to gain a critical understanding of the complexity of both the traditional and sustainable tourism industries, as well as economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of tourism.

Our academic team in the tourism discipline are actively engaged in research. A strong focus of current research projects includes ecotourism and outdoor recreation in protected areas, regional tourism, indigenous cultural tourism, volunteer and education tourism, backpacking and independent travel, and film and literary tourism. Our Tourism academics have received awards recognising their contributions to teaching and learning in leisure and tourism studies.

The University of Newcastle has close connections with the tourism industry and local, regional and government organisations.

In first year you will study key concepts and principles of management, decision making, information and communication in business, marketing, economics, accounting and law, as well as an introduction to sustainable tourism management.

Second year will see you continue to study business and management topics including business strategy, as well as being able to select from areas of specialisation in tourism including ecotourism, culture and heritage management, and visitor behaviour.

Third year allows you to focus on combinations that most suit your interests and career plans. Study areas on offer include services marketing, leisure tourism and environmental issues, sustainable tourism planning and festival and event planning.

Combined degrees

There are a range of combined degree options if you're interested in a Bachelor of Business. The following combinations can be completed in four or five years, when you study full-time:

• Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Laws 
• Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) / Bachelor of Business 
• Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) / Bachelor of Business 
• Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) / Bachelor of Business 
• Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) / Bachelor of Business 

Responsive teaching and real-world experiences

With the strong focus on teamwork and collaboration in the business sector, the Bachelor of Business includes an emphasis on group work as a form of assessment. Working in groups is key to developing the necessary teamwork skills required to make a successful transition from the classroom to the boardroom.

The Newcastle Business School also offers the opportunity for Work Integrated Learning (WIL).

If you show yourself to be a high achieving student, you will have the opportunity to participate in an industry placement in your final year. You will work within a major Hunter organisation and complete a project alongside professionals. This opportunity is a way to gain valuable industry experience and insight and to establish links within the business community that you may be able to take advantage of when seeking future employment. Industry placement is undertaken as a course within your degree – ‘Project in Business’.

The Business School also operates the Lucy Mentoring Program, which provides female students within the Faculty of Business or Law the opportunity to participate in a unique leadership program aiming to inspire, motivate and educate women about the opportunities for employment in the corporate and public sectors. If you participate in the program, you will be allocated a mentor working professionally in the public or private sector who will help you to understand the working environment and to establish professional business networks – both of which are beneficial to gaining employment and progressing through the ranks in any organisation.

Become a graduate in demand

Students who complete the business degree at the University of Newcastle are in demand. In 2010 more than 83% of graduates from the Bachelor of Business found full-time employment within four months of completing their degree.*

Business is a cutting edge degree that gives you a broad range of skills and delivers strong outcomes that can lead to jobs anywhere in the world and in any industry, including the private sector, not-for-profit organisations and government.

Whether you want to travel the globe and make your fortune with a large multinational company, run a small business, or contribute to the growth of a charitable organisation, our business degree provides you with the opportunity and real-life skills to do it.

The broad-based scholarship and interdisciplinary approach undertaken at the University of Newcastle ensures you can aspire to careers in a wide variety of graduate positions including:

• Business Analyst/Consultant
• Graduate Trainee
• Trainee Manager
• Training Officer

Then, as you became more experienced within this field you can advance to positions including:

• Business Development Manager
• Business Relationship Manager
• Change Management Consultant
• General Manager
• International Manager
• Management Consultant
• Tourism Manager
• Project Manager

* Australian Graduate Survey 2010

Professional recognition

Depending on the courses you choose, a Bachelor of Business degree enables you to be accredited with the following professional organisations:

• Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI)
• Australian Marketing and Social Research Society (AMSRS)

Human resources careers

As a graduate of human resource management, you could begin your career in a range of areas including:

• Human Resources
• Industrial Relations
• Equal Opportunity Management
• Advocacy
• Negotiation
• Mediation

You may opt to undertake an additional Honours year, which will provide you with more advanced knowledge, skills and research training. Also, the Faculty has a number of postgraduate students studying human resources and employment relations with areas of study including high performance work systems, EEO and managing diversity, labour use strategies in low pay sectors and employment relations practices of multinational corporations.

You’ll be learning from academics who co-author leading textbooks in Australian employment relations. The link between teaching and research is important and the content you will be studying is kept up to date. Our academic staff maintain active connections with local human resource and industrial relations managers, unions and legal practitioners.

Information Systems in Business careers

This major produces ICT aware managers and business analysts who understand the potential of technology and are able to communicate effectively with technology specialists. The ICT skills and concepts acquired in this major are applicable worldwide, and to any industry or organisation.

Career opportunities include:

• Business Analysis
• Systems Analysis
• Project Management
• Business Systems Administration
• Business Systems Strategy
• Ecommerce Consultant
• Business Intelligence Developer
• Knowledge Manager
• Technical Sales Representative

Management careers

If you choose to specialise in management and organisational studies, you will gain skills highly valued in sectors such as finance and business. You will be well-placed to gain employment in generalist roles in government agencies and departments in positions including:

• Business Analyst
• Consultant
• Graduate Trainee
• Human Resources Officer
• Trainee Manager

Then, as you become more experienced within your respective field, you may move to positions such as:

• Business Development Manager
• Business Relationship Manager
• General Manager
• International Manager
• Management Consultant
• Personnel Manager
• Project Manager
• Public Sector Manager
• Specialist Manager
• Supply Chain Manager
• Tourism manager

Marketing careers

Career opportunities in marketing are numerous and diverse. The marketing major is designed to prepare you for entry-level and subsequent leadership positions and related career areas including:

• Advertising and Promotion
• Business and Industrial Marketing
• Consumer Marketing
• Brand Management
• Direct Marketing
• International Marketing
• Marketing Research
• Retailing, Professional Selling
• Sales Management
• Transportation and Logistics
• E-Commerce

Logistics and Supply Chain Management careers

There are exciting logistics and supply chain management career opportunities in private sector, public sector, not-for-profit and government organisations in Australia and overseas. As a growing area of interest, career opportunities include:

• Business Analyst/Consultant
• Logistics Officer
• Supply Chain Management Officer
• Humanitarian Logistician
• Transport Planner
• Warehouse Manager
• Working within Defence, United Nations and Voluntary organisations

Tourism careers

A major in tourism will provide you with excellent transferable skills that can be applied within a range of public and private organisations, with outstanding domestic and global employment opportunities. Careers in tourism contribute to the economy, increase understanding of human behaviour, and build international relationships. If you choose to specialise in tourism, you will have the opportunity to pursue a variety of professional careers including:

• Conference and Events Management
• Tourism and Travel Marketing
• Tour Operations and Guiding
• Environmental Management
• Hospitality
• Government Policy

Meet our achievers