What It’s Like Studying a Bachelor of Business at QUT

So, you’re interested in studying a Bachelor of Business at QUT?

Well, you’ve come to the right place because we’re going to take you through everything there is to know about the degree including the different majors, assessments, uni culture, scholarships and more! 

Let’s get started! 

What is a Bachelor of Business at QUT?

Core Units and Majors

How to Get into a Bachelor of Business at QUT

What’s the Teaching Format?

What’s the Faculty and Culture Like?

What is a Bachelor of Business at QUT?

A Bachelor of Business at QUT combines theory with practical experience to get you ready for the business world! You’ll cover the basics of business in the first year and then get to go more in-depth in relation to your chosen major (there’s ten different ones to choose from!). 

Can it be studied as Honours or with another degree?

There’s the chance for you to complete Honours which adds on an additional year of study and once again, you get to specialise in your choice of major. To be eligible, you must maintain at least a 5.00 GPA (grade point average) plus have an idea for your honours topic and possible academic supervisors.

There’s also lots of different opportunities when it comes to combining your Business degree with another one! Some of the double degrees you can combine Business with include a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (4 years), Bachelor of Communication (4 years), Bachelor of Creative Industries (4 years), Bachelor of Design (4 years), Bachelor of Justice (4 years) and a ton of others!

Be sure to check all the interesting combinations here!  

Career Paths

A Bachelor of Business is a versatile degree with a variety of career options! Depending on which major you took and what you’re most interested in, you could find yourself working in any of the following positions: 

• Accountant
• HR manager 
• Business analyst
• Financial planner
• Economist
• Consultant
• Marketing specialist
• Publicist

…these are just a handful of possible jobs — there is a long, long list of careers you could explore! 

Core Units and Majors

What are the Core Units?

There are four core subjects which all business students (regardless of their majors) take in their first year of uni!

You’ll then complete four more core units from the core options unit list — this is cool because you get to choose which ones you want to do (depending on the structure of your major, these are then scattered throughout the degree).

All of these core subjects give you the foundations in economics, data analysis, marketing, management, global business and accounting. This means that you get a little taste of each major and can see what area of business you’re most interested in.

First Year Core Units:

• • Dynamic Markets
  • The Future Enterprise
  • Business Environment
  • Financial Performance and Responsibility

Core Options Unit List:

• • Social Enterprises
  • Applied Business Analytics
  • Undergraduate Business Internship
  • Accounting
  • Business Law and Ethics
  • Experiential Learning: Innovation, Ideas and Enterprise Skills

Course Structure 

When it comes to figuring out your course structure, there is a fair bit of flexibility so you can really tailor the degree to your interests! So, you’ll complete 8 Core Business units and 8 Core Major units — and then you have a few options:  

1. Second major (6 units) and 2 electives OR
2. 8 electives OR
3. 2 minors (4 units each) OR
4. 1 minor (4 units) and 4 electives

What are the Majors?

There are ten different Business majors you can choose from. Check out the majors below to help you decide which one you’re most interested in! 

• • Accountancy
  • Advertising
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Financial Planning
  • Human Resource Management
  • International Business
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Public Relations

What’s a Management Major like?

A Management major at QUT focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship! You’ll learn all the skills you need to manage people, projects and organisations.

It’s all about thinking strategically and getting the job done efficiently. Emphasis is placed on real world learning which is why you’ll complete an industry internship in your final semester — putting what you learnt into practice!

Internships 

QUT Business is big on real world experience! All Business students have the choice to choose Undergraduate Business Internship subject which is part of the core options unit list.

There’s also the Work integrated learning program which is an elective on offer that students can also take to get industry experience.  

How to Get into a Bachelor of Business at QUT

The ATAR cut off for a Bachelor of Business at QUT is 78.10 for full-time students. 

Pathway programs

Don’t stress if you don’t get the required ATAR because there still is another way to get into a Bachelor of Business at QUT.

You can study a Diploma of Business at QUT College and if you successfully graduate, then you can transfer straight into the second year of a Bachelor of Business at QUT.

The course takes 8 months (full-time) and there are three start dates throughout the year — February, June and October. If you prefer to take a year, starting in February allows you to do this! 

Assumed Knowledge

You should have assumed knowledge in English! If you decide to major in Accountancy, Finance, Economics or Marketing, you’ll need a 4 SA in Maths A, B or C.

Scholarships

There are all sorts of different scholarships you can apply for at QUT which can be found here! 

In terms of scholarships offered within the Business Faculty, you’ll definitely want to check out the Dean’s Honours Scholarship and Corporate Partners in Excellence Scholarship! 

Madison was a recipient of the Corporate Partners in Excellence Scholarship which assisted her both financially and professionally throughout the degree. The scholarship also allowed her to undertake two full-time internships, gaining real world experience.  

 

“This scholarship provided countless opportunities to connect with industry professionals, to develop time management skills and to undertake internships that are directly aligned with my studies and career goals.” — Madison Birtchnell

What’s the Teaching Format?

The QUT Bachelor of Business is taught through lectures, tutorials and the occasional workshop (depending on the subject). Lucky for you, QUT has semesters, however there is the chance to do a summer session as well! 

Class Structure

Lectures 

The lectures are fairly large in the first year because that’s when you have most of the core business units. So, you could have anywhere up to 400 people in a lecture!

Once you start your major and progress throughout the degree, the lectures become smaller. These go for around 2 hours and are where you’ll learn the content and write down a fair few notes! 

Tutorials

You’ll have no more than 30 people in a tutorial and these classes are very interactive! You’ll discuss case studies and real world experiences which relate to what you’re learning.

Tutes are also the perfect place to ask any questions you may have!

Workshops

For some of the more specialised subjects, you might have a workshop here and there. They are a similar size to the tutes.

During the workshops, you can ask any assignment questions and you usually work in groups or with the tutor to prepare for any upcoming assessments.  

How much time do you spend on campus?

If you study a Bachelor of Business at QUT full-time, you’ll usually take four subjects a semester. So, you’re looking at around 12 contact hours a week!

You’re expected to do an extra four hours of study/work in your own time to revise what you’ve learnt, prepare for the following week and do any set tasks. 

What are the assessments like?

“Assessments are really focused on developing tangible transferable skills that you can refer to when entering your professional career.” — Madison Birtchnell

When it comes to assessments, you can expect a mix exams, quizzes, oral presentations, group work and formal assignments.

Lucky for you, QUT Business combines a lot of the assessments with industry experience which means you’re given real case studies and get to work with different businesses in the community — so basically, they’re really preparing you for a job after leaving uni!   

“One of my highlights was when I completed BSB009, a work integrated learning unit, with industry partner QSuper. In BSB009, over a ten-week period, we worked to develop and pitch innovative solutions that addressed QSuper’s challenge of creating a national go to market strategy, with a particular focus on implementation and creating a viable ten-year business plan.” — Madison Birtchnell

Skills That You Refine and Learn

Throughout the degree, you’ll touch on the main areas of business and once you start specialising in your major, you’ll get a thorough understanding of all the concepts and principles!

With various opportunities to gain experience in the business world while you’re still at uni, you’ll be able to put what you’ve learnt into practice!

You’ll develop your communication skills with oral presentations and various reports/essays.

Learning how to effectively work as part of a team is an important asset to have in the business world — and that’s what group assignments are for!  

What’s the Faculty and Culture Like?

Well, the Business Faculty and Culture is definitely lively! A lot of the lecturers and tutors are working in the industry and are really invested in developing your skills and knowledge. It’s a supportive learning environment where you feel comfortable to ask all those questions!

There are also a range of exciting programs offered within the Business Faculty that you can be a part of. There are Business Case Competitions which involve students working in teams competing with other universities from around the world to solve various business problems.  

There’s also Business Advantage Workshops throughout the semesters which cover topics from design thinking to leadership to interview skills and so on. These are interactive workshops and are made to help your personal/academic development

QUT Business Societies

There are 12 different Business related societies at QUT! They’re definitely worth checking out because societies are a great way to make new friends and also connect with people in the industry. The Business and Management Student Association (BAMSA) has a range of exciting events for both your social and professional life including trivia nights, semester parties, industry panels, networking evenings and more!

Check out what the other societies offer here! 

QUT Entrepreneurship

It’s also worth checking out QUT Entrepreneurship who have a whole heap of exciting programs and opportunities to help students reach their entrepreneurial potential and develop their ideas!

There’s lunch and learn seminars, mentoring programs, hackathons, design sprints, innovation challenges and more. There’s also the intensive six day T minus 6 Bootcamp which is all about learning how to get an idea into the market — plus it’s free for QUT students! 

Wondering what the pros and cons are for this degree? Check out our article here!

Tanna Nankivell is a Senior Content Writer at Art of Smart Education and is currently in Germany completing a year of study for her double degree in Communications (Journalism) and Bachelor of Arts (International Studies). She has had articles published on Central News – the UTS Journalism Lab and wrote a feature piece for Time Out Sydney during her internship. Tanna has a love for travel and the great outdoors, you’ll either find her on the snowfields or in the ocean, teaching aqua aerobics or creating short films.