Arts/Law or Commerce/Law at USYD? (1 Viewer)

[JaySea2014]

Hi everyone,

I've received an offer for Combined Law at the University of Sydney, but I'm having trouble deciding whether to choose Arts/Law or Commerce/Law.

I'm thinking about doing Arts/Law because I have a very strong interest in the social sciences and humanities that I want to explore further in uni. In particular, I'm very interested in international relations and philosophy, and I'm looking to major in 'Government and International Relations' within my Arts degree. I've also heard that USyd is better for Arts than for Commerce.

On the other hand, I know that Commerce/Law has better employment prospects and opens up opportunities for higher-paying careers in the corporate world. I wouldn't mind studying Commerce and I think I would grow to like it after a while. But Commerce/Law won't provide me with the opportunities to explore my passions like Arts/Law will.

The real problem is I'm not sure what I want to do after uni. I might work as a lawyer, but I've also been thinking about becoming a journalist, a diplomat/politician, or perhaps working in business. If I end up doing Arts/Law, I can do an MBA afterwards if I decide that I want to go into the corporate side of things, right?

So please help me out. Out of Arts/Law and Commerce/Law at USYD, which one should I choose and why?


Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

[Brian1800]

I don't like law or commerce, so go for arts but since you like law go for arts + law.

 

[Crobat]

Best bet would be to go for Arts, I'd say. Doing Business/Law now and every day I lament not having picked Arts/Law and studied my real interests. To counterbalance I've picked an economics major which is more expansive and social orientated that the usual but as I'm going into Law, I personally just wish I could take a break to study something I genuinely enjoy along the side, as opposed to my business degree.

 

[wannaspoon]

Arts/Law, because can be interesting at times and you get the flexibility to study what you want a bit more liberally if that makes sense... (there's a lot more choice and all, although, it is a faculty that seems to be suffering some serious cuts, meaning less flexibility on what you want to study...)

Business is just business so to speak, although it would probably be better later on down the track (for career prospects), if you can grit your teeth and bare it...

 

[JaySea2014]

Does anyone know if you can double major in a Commerce/Law degree at USYD? E.g. major in both international business and commercial law within the Commerce degree? I know it's possible for a single Commerce degree, but not sure for Commerce/Law.

 

[JaySea2014]

Thanks Crobat and wannaspoon. I am leaning more towards Arts/Law at the moment, but I want to be sure I'm making the right decision.

 

[Amundies]

Does anyone know if you can double major in a Commerce/Law degree at USYD? E.g. major in both international business and commercial law within the Commerce degree? I know it's possible for a single Commerce degree, but not sure for Commerce/Law.

Mathematically, I don't think so. You do 96 CP of subjects for the commerce side, 36 of which are core leaving you with 60 CP. 36 of that will go to 1 major (I believe you need to do at least 36 units for something to be called a major) and that leaves you with 24 CP. And since you need to do 36 CP worth of subjects to do a major, you won't be able to do a 2nd major.

 

[JaySea2014]

Mathematically, I don't think so. You do 96 CP of subjects for the commerce side, 36 of which are core leaving you with 60 CP. 36 of that will go to 1 major (I believe you need to do at least 36 units for something to be called a major) and that leaves you with 24 CP. And since you need to do 36 CP worth of subjects to do a major, you won't be able to do a 2nd major.

Hmm okay. Thanks Amundies. That makes sense.

 

[JasonG123]

There is no right answer to this question, I know people doing Arts/Law who say they wish they'd done Comm/Law and I know people doing Comm/Law who wish they'd done Arts/Law. It will depend on you. Ceteris paribus Comm/Law obviously has better employment prospects, however if Arts/Law means you will be able to achieve better marks (in both degrees) and have more time to boost your CV, then it could be that Arts/Law has better prospects.

OP, what level of maths did you do in the HSC?

Does anyone know if you can double major in a Commerce/Law degree at USYD? E.g. major in both international business and commercial law within the Commerce degree? I know it's possible for a single Commerce degree, but not sure for Commerce/Law.

You can't double major, and I wouldn't recommend either the International Business or Commercial Law majors. International business is useless (so you may as well have just done Arts and enjoyed yourself) and you'll be learning everything twice with a Commercial Law major, so again not very useful.

edit: Just on the MBA point - this could be a way to get into the business world, however note that MBA's in Australia are not highly regarded unless you have a few years of experience and they're from a top school (i.e. overseas).

 

[JaySea2014]

There is no right answer to this question, I know people doing Arts/Law who say they wish they'd done Comm/Law and I know people doing Comm/Law who wish they'd done Arts/Law. It will depend on you. Ceteris paribus Comm/Law obviously has better employment prospects, however if Arts/Law means you will be able to achieve better marks (in both degrees) and have more time to boost your CV, then it could be that Arts/Law has better prospects.

OP, what level of maths did you do in the HSC?



You can't double major, and I wouldn't recommend either the International Business or Commercial Law majors. International business is useless (so you may as well have just done Arts and enjoyed yourself) and you'll be learning everything twice with a Commercial Law major, so again not very useful.

edit: Just on the MBA point - this could be a way to get into the business world, however note that MBA's in Australia are not highly regarded unless you have a few years of experience and they're from a top school (i.e. overseas).

Thanks for the advice JasonG123. I did 2-unit (see my signature), and got an HSC mark of 96.

Just wondering, why is the international business major useless?

 

[RishBonjour99]

Thanks for the advice JasonG123. I did 2-unit (see my signature), and got an HSC mark of 96.

Just wondering, why is the international business major useless?

It is useless because it is extremely fluffy and you learn nothing. It is basically some presentations, learning buzz words etc etc. Even lecturers who teach it recognize that.

You can't go wrong with either and you can change from arts/law to comm/law etc almost anytime.

Arts/law is generally for people who are very sure they want to go into Law - those with arts/law also tend to have higher Law marks because they put in more time into law as JasonG mentioned. You did well in mathematics and that should be good enough to do commerce.

Either way, you really can't go wrong. If you really do have an interest towards arts, I think enroll in it first.

 

[JasonG123]

Thanks for the advice JasonG123. I did 2-unit (see my signature), and got an HSC mark of 96.

Just wondering, why is the international business major useless?

It's useless because it doesn't directly lead to any professions. In order for Commerce to be useful you'd really want to major in accounting, finance or economics, and for the finance and economics you need to be really good to get the best jobs. Some people have made marketing work, however you really need to stand out. Do any of these majors interest you? If not, then may as well go Arts which can allow you to enjoy your other degree and devote most of your time to Law.

Good luck with your decision and remember you can transfer after a semester or year if you want! The degree may take another year, but that's nothing in the scheme of things.

 

[JaySea2014]

You can't go wrong with either and you can change from arts/law to comm/law etc almost anytime.

Can you really? :O I thought we were committed to a particular combination once we chose it.

Btw thanks RishBonjour99

 

[isildurrrr1]

Can you really? :O I thought we were committed to a particular combination once we chose it.

You can always transfer if your grades are good enough.

 

[JaySea2014]

Apart from working as a legal practitioner, what other fields or careers can Arts/Law graduates go into? I'm not sure if I want to be a lawyer. :L

 

[JasonG123]

Apart from working as a legal practitioner, what other fields or careers can Arts/Law graduates go into? I'm not sure if I want to be a lawyer. :L

There are many places that take people from all degrees where written and verbal communication skills would be valued. For example generalist Government grad programs, editor/journalist, public policy, media/communications etc, it's also a common degree for alot of politicians/diplomats (although obviously it's not required for any of these professions). The most competitive would be DFAT and management consulting, however these are extremely hard to get into. Do a search on linkedin of Arts/Law grads and see where they end up. You're ability to use your law degree for other professions will depend on your ability to spin the skills you've learnt as being transferable to that profession in a cover letter/interview.

Hope that helps.

 

[JaySea2014]

There are many places that take people from all degrees where written and verbal communication skills would be valued. For example generalist Government grad programs, editor/journalist, public policy, media/communications etc, it's also a common degree for alot of politicians/diplomats (although obviously it's not required for any of these professions). The most competitive would be DFAT and management consulting, however these are extremely hard to get into. Do a search on linkedin of Arts/Law grads and see where they end up. You're ability to use your law degree for other professions will depend on your ability to spin the skills you've learnt as being transferable to that profession in a cover letter/interview.

Hope that helps.

Thanks JasonG

 

[Amundies]

Why is DFAT competitive (or as competitive as MC)?

 

[JasonG123]

Why is DFAT competitive (or as competitive as MC)?

I think it's not nearly as competitive as MC but still very competitive.

 

[JaySea2014]

If anyone's still interested, I've enrolled and I ended up choosing Arts/Law.