Bachelor of Agriculture/Bachelor of Business

This combined program offers graduates the opportunity to pursue careers in agriculture and business related areas.

Students can achieve disciplinary depth as well as the breadth of learning expected in agriculture and business degrees.

Course Aims

The Bachelor of Agriculture/Bachelor of Business combined degree aims to produce professional graduates with skills in practical agriculture, accounting, agribusiness, marketing, management and international business. These students should have the ability to apply their knowledge to a diverse range of agricultural and business endeavours and to 'problem solve' business and technical aspects of farm and resource management. This degree provides a specialist/generalist agricultural and business training that equips students with the background to solve agricultural resource problems from a business and economic perspective.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: demonstrate a coherent understanding of agriculture by articulating the methods of agriculture and explaining why current agricultural knowledge is both contestable and testable by further inquiry and by explaining the role and relevance of agriculture in society; exhibit depth and breadth of agricultural knowledge by demonstrating well-developed knowledge in at least one disciplinary area and by demonstrating knowledge in at least one other disciplinary area; critically analyse and solve agricultural problems by gathering, synthesising and critically evaluating information from a range of sources, designing and planning an investigation, selecting and applying practical and/or theoretical techniques or tools in order to conduct an investigation and collecting, accurately recording, interpreting and drawing conclusions from data; be effective communicators of agriculture by communicating agricultural results, information or arguments, to a range of audiences, for a range of purposes and using a variety of modes; be accountable for their own learning and scientific work by being independent and self-directed learners, working effectively, responsibly and safely in an individual or team context, demonstrating knowledge of the regulatory frameworks relevant to their disciplinary area and personally practising ethical conduct; demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of business and management theory and processes and their application to real-world business contexts, and to promote sustainable business in a globalised economy; utilise cognitive and communication skills, tools and digital technologies to communicate appropriately and persuasively with a range of stakeholders; apply critical and creative thinking to analyse complex real-world business problems and synthesise materials from a variety of sources in identifying solutions; identify relevant information drawn from a range of sources in order to analyse data and complex business-related issues; evaluate and demonstrate judgement in formulating responses to complex, social, cultural and ethical issues; demonstrate a preparedness to engage in continuous learning and reflection to help inform professional practice; and demonstrate ability to work independently and collaboratively to generate solutions to business problems.

Graduate Attributes

Knowledge of a Discipline Graduates will develop a strong scientific understanding of practical and theoretical aspects of agricultural science and economic management, and a well-developed capacity for analysis. They will obtain knowledge from lectures, reading materials and by direct experience in practicals, case studies and field excursions. Graduates will be expected to know key terms and concepts to the extent that they can demonstrate and apply them in assessments. Knowledge will be assessed in examinations for some units and in online tests, practical tasks, oral presentations, essays and reports. Agricultural science and economic management are global issues, the global perspective is drawn upon in all areas involved with understanding, applying and evaluating agricultural science and economic management information. Knowledge is built upon from information gathered from agricultural and business systems throughout the world. Thus teaching will draw upon case studies and examples from a range of countries. Graduates develop the global context of the discipline and its ability to minimise or solve problems. Interaction with graduates from all over Australia and overseas will assist in developing graduates' understanding of global issues. Communication Skills Graduates are taught and assessed on a range of different communication types appropriate to science and business graduates. There is emphasis on the ability to provide clear and accurate descriptions of agricultural science and business issues; on writing reports of technical and scientific investigations; and on presenting critical reviews of knowledge. Within the core and prescribed units communication tasks address a range of different audiences and use oral, written and electronic presentation. Problem Solving Problem solving is taught in the scientific context of researching the background to a problem, formulating one or more hypotheses in agricultural science and economic management to be tested, and drawing conclusions from the results of those tests. Many practical assignments are based around this approach. Problem solving skills are also developed in laboratory settings and case studies where graduates decide the best approach to performing tasks. This will prepare graduates for dealing with and solving real-world problems that arise in agricultural science and economic management. Information Literacy Graduates will be taught how to access the literature (especially online resources), how to evaluate the robustness of literature sources (discrimination skills) and how to critique available information. Graduates will then practise these skills through the generation of reports, and oral presentations in relation to agricultural science and economic management. Ethical Conduct and Social Responsibility Graduates are taught ethical practices in relation to the discipline, including respecting intellectual property rights, ethical behaviour in fieldwork and assessment tasks, and honesty and trust as the basis of the cooperative endeavour of science and economic management. Graduates will be encouraged to act ethically and be socially responsible. These are underlying principles of the discipline of agricultural science and economic management which enable the production of food and fibre at the same time as protecting the environment. Legal obligations and responsibility will also be integrated into the teaching content. Lifelong Learning Graudates gain confidence in their ability to search for and find sources of information relevant to the discipline. Graduates will develop the ability to identify, evaluate and implement personal learning strategies and/or study skills in pursuit of ongoing personal and professional development. Independence and Collaboration Graduates are encouraged and taught to develop independence of thought and action. Teamwork is used in classes at all levels, especially in practical work in the field and laboratory and is case studies. Graduates develop the skills to work cooperatively to define and achieve common goals, to take initiative and to assume responsibility for tasks. Graduates will learn in a professional forum to discuss, calmly and rationally, ideas and concepts, sometimes controversial and sometimes from different points of view. This, in addition to the ability to use the language of the discipline in reasoned argument, is one of the aims of online discussions.