Bachelor of Arts (Second Major: Business Studies)

3 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

University of Notre Dame Fremantle

Program Overview

This program blends the flexibility and breadth of a traditional Arts degree with a practical foundation in business studies — perfect for students who love to explore humanities, social sciences or arts, but also want a solid grounding in business skills. Through the second major in Business Studies, you’ll learn how organisations operate, how to think like a business professional, and build knowledge in areas like accounting, management, and HR — giving you versatility when you graduate.

Curriculum Structure

Year One
In your first year you’ll meet the essentials: you take either Economics (BUSN1000) or Accounting for Business (BUSN1110), plus Principles of Management (BUSN1600). These courses give you a strong grounding in how organisations work and how businesses are structured. Alongside your main Arts major work and core courses in writing, philosophy and theology, you begin to build a business mindset.
Year Two
This is where things get more interesting: you’ll likely continue with foundational business thinking but also start to explore courses like Principles of Human Resource Management (BUSN2730). As you continue with your first major’s subject depth, you’ll see how business intersects with broader cultural, social or creative studies — a real mix of theory and real-world relevance.
Year Three
In the final year you dive into electives tailored to your interests: you might choose Business Law (BUSN2400), Taxation (BUSN2450), Employment Relations (BUSN2660), or even more dynamic areas like Innovation and Entrepreneurship (BUSN3690), Change Management (BUSN3680) or Strategic Management (BUSN3600). These let you shape the business part of your degree to suit your career ambitions or passions — whether you see yourself in HR, management, a startup, or a non-profit.

Focus Areas
Accounting & Economics; Management; Human Resource Management; Business Law; Entrepreneurship & Change Management

Learning Outcomes
You’ll graduate with a mix of business-savvy and broader academic strength — able to analyse business situations, solve real-world problems, communicate clearly, work independently or in teams, and adapt your skills across different sectors.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)
Although this isn’t a full commerce degree, the business courses you take are practical and skills‑based. They’re designed to give you real-world business literacy, and you'll leave equipped with knowledge that employers recognise — especially useful in diverse workplaces where business and arts intersect.

Reputation (Employability & Strengths)
Notre Dame is known for strong student engagement, skills development, and good graduate employment outcomes — and this combined Arts + Business Studies pathway reflects that. Because you’ll emerge with both broad thinking (from Arts) and practical commercial skills (from Business Studies), many employers value such graduates — whether in marketing, public relations, operations, human resources or even creative organisations.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

If you choose to study the Bachelor of Arts with a second major in Business Studies at University of Notre Dame Australia, you’ll be working toward more than just theory — you’ll build practical, workplace‑ready skills through courses that mirror real business functions, giving you a strong toolkit from day one. The program blends your main Arts major with business fundamentals so that you graduate not only as a well‑rounded thinker but also someone who understands accounting, management, human relations, and how organisations operate. It’s a degree designed for flexibility: you get to pick which business areas interest you most, allowing you to tailor your learning toward your strengths and career ambitions.

Here are some of the real, hands‑on, experiential opportunities built into this program:

You study key foundational courses like Accounting for Business or Economics, Principles of Management, and Principles of Human Resource Management — giving you understanding of how businesses operate financially, administratively, and in terms of people management.
You have the option to choose electives such as Business Law, Taxation, Employment Relations, Change Management, or Innovation & Entrepreneurship, allowing you to build targeted expertise depending on your interests and the kind of career you envision.
The program offers internship courses and work‑integrated learning opportunities, giving you a chance to work with professionals and gain on‑the-ground experience in real business settings.
On top of business training, because you’re doing this as a second major inside a broader Arts degree, you benefit from a well-rounded liberal‑arts education, which helps develop critical thinking, communication, and ethical judgment — skills employers value across roles.
There are global exposure options: you can participate in international exchange programs, study tours, and professional placements abroad, helping you gain a global perspective and cross-cultural experience while earning credit toward your degree.

Progression & Future Opportunities

If you join the Bachelor of Arts (Second Major: Business Studies) at the University of Notre Dame Australia, you’ll be well‑positioned to step into a variety of meaningful roles soon after graduation — from marketing specialist or public relations advisor, to customer‑service coordinator, client liaison, operations performance analyst, events manager, or engagement/diversity‑project officer.

Here’s what this means for you:

The program blends your BA major (whatever your first subject is) with solid business fundamentals — you’ll learn accounting, business law, management, human‑resource principles, taxation, strategic management, and even entrepreneurship or change‑management if you choose electives. That gives you flexibility: you can tailor your business training around what genuinely interests you.
You’ll have access to the University’s dedicated Career and Employability team (via CareerHub) for help right from Year One — résumé/cover‑letter support, help with job applications, interview prep, networking and job search guidance, even after graduation.
There are real-world opportunities built in — while internships aren’t strictly mandatory, the program allows for optional work‑integrated learning or placements. That means you can gain practical experience, build your CV, and test out what kind of business path suits you.
Because the business major is combined with an Arts major, you graduate with both broad, critical-thinking skills and business know-how. That dual dimension is attractive to employers across private companies, NGOs, government agencies, or public‑sector organisations — so your employability is quite broad.

Further Academic Progression:
If after this degree you want to go deeper, you could consider enrolling in an Honours year at Notre Dame (the Honours option is available for BA graduates). That would prepare you for more advanced roles, or even set you up for postgraduate studies (like a Master’s in business, management, or related fields) depending on your first major.

In short — this program gives you a flexible, well‑rounded foundation: you keep the breadth and intellectual grounding of an Arts degree, while also building business‑oriented, workplace‑ready skills. If you’re someone who likes to keep options open, while also preparing for concrete roles in commerce or organisations, this is a very smart fit.