Year level prizes

Year level prizes are awarded for outstanding academic performances.

Alban C. Morley Prize in Commerce

Alban C. Morley was an author, barrister and government auditor. In 1920 he was appointed as a Commissioner for the Royal Commission on the Basic Wage. The Commission's findings were contained in a report which provided an estimate of the income needed to support a family in each capital city of Australia. The report was submitted to the Australian Parliament and was influential in subsequent wage determinations and debates on the adequacy of the basic wage to meet the needs of families. In 1921, Alban C. Morley donated funds to the university to establish a prize to be awarded to the candidate whose first year of the Bachelor of Commerce is adjudged to be of the highest order.

The prize is awarded annually and is valued at the net annual income of the fund (approx $2000). UTR6.72 (11) (1921).

Dennis Foley Medal

The medal is named in honour of Prof. Dennis Foley, the first professor of Indigenous entrepreneurship in Australia and a leading voice in business education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is awarded to the student who is enrolled in the Master of Indigenous Business Leadership and achieves the highest mark for the course.

The medal is awarded annually and is funded by the Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership. (2026).

Helen McKay Memorial Prize

This prize is awarded to the student who has achieved the most meritorious academic performance in the final year of the Bachelor of Commerce and who intends to specialise in Economics or Economic History. It honours Helen McKay, a fourth year Economics/Arts student of the university and recipient of the Faculty's Katherine Woodruff Memorial Prize.

The prize's endowment was subscribed by the family and friends of Helen, with the prize value calculated at the net annual income of the trust (approx $3000). UTR6.92 (107) (1996).

Jennifer Nason Women in Economics Award

Jennifer Nason was a student at the university in the early 1980s before joining J. P. Morgan in 1986. She developed her career there in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, equity financing, and debt. She is recognised leader in international business and serves as the Global Chairman of Investment Banking at J. P. Morgan.

Established by a gift from Ms Nason, this award is offered to students who identify as women or non-binary, who achieved the highest result across third-year Bachelor of Commerce subjects, and who majored in Economics. The awardee will be nominated through the Dean’s Honours List process which recognises the achievement of the top 3% of students across levels 1, 2 and 3 of the Bachelor of Commerce degree. The award is valued at $4,000 and is supported though the Women in Business fund. UGR 046267 (2024).

J. F. Major Memorial Scholarship

In 1962, James Perrins Major, a physician and member of the Standing Committee of Convocations, bequeathed funds to the University of Melbourne to be used for an award in memory of his son, James Frank Major, a Commerce graduate who died on active service.

The prize is valued at the net annual income of the fund (approx $1500) and is awarded annually to a full-time student who achieved the best results in the 3rd year of the Bachelor of Commerce and who is enrolled into the Honours program. UTR6.116 (1983).

Kim Letch-Stobart Award for Women in Commerce and Economics

Kim Letch is an alumna of the faculty, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Commence. She is the Managing Partner at Ernst and Young in CA, United States, and has previously supported the university in many ways, most recently in 2018 through the Kim Letch-Stobart Family Scholarship (awarded to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce who experience disadvantaged circumstances). As a female leader in business, Kim established the Kim Letch-Stobart Award for Women in Commerce and Economics in 2022  to address gender inequity in the sector and to support women in their studies.

Each year, the Faculty produces the Bachelor of Commerce Dean’s Honours List, which recognises the achievement of the top 3% of students across levels 1, 2 and 3 of the degree. The Kim Letch-Stobart Award for Women in Commerce and Economics prize is valued at approx. $7000 and is awarded to the highest achieving Second Year Dean’s Honours List student who identifies as female. UGR 0462673 (2022).

Martin Jilovsky Prize in Actuarial Studies

Martin Jilovsky (BSc, FIA, FIAA, FNZSA) graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Melbourne in 1972, majoring in Mathematics. He undertook Actuarial Studies through the Institute of Actuaries (United Kingdom) and qualified as a Fellow of the Institute in 1980. He held senior positions with several leading actuarial companies in Australia, England and New Zealand and was a tutor, examiner and member of the Superannuation Practice Committee of the Institute of Actuaries from 1994. In 1999 he was appointed Chairman of the committee, and he also fulfilled important roles in many other superannuation industry bodies.

The prize is awarded to the final year student in the Bachelor of Commerce who is an Australian citizen and who has the highest aggregate mark across all final year Actuarial Studies subjects. It was established by Martin's wife, Cathie, and their three daughters, Esther, Leah and Rachel, and is valued at the net annual income of the trust (approx $1500). UTR6.72 (256) (2010).

Paton Advertising Services Exhibition

In 1954, a donation by Paton Advertising Service Pty Ltd established an annual prize which recognised the highest grades achieved in the second year of the Bachelor of Commerce.

The prize is valued at the net annual income of the fund (approx $1000) and is awarded to the most meritorious student. UTR6.92 (1982).

William Noall & Son Prize

In 1957, to commemorate the centenary of their stock and share brokers firm, William Noall & Son established a fund to provide an annual award for a final year student completing the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree.

The prize is valued at the net annual income of the fund (approx $750) and is awarded to the most meritorious Honours student. UTR6.100 (1991).