A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BCom, B.Com., BComm, or B.Comm.) is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA. It is predominantly offered in Commonwealth nations; however, the degree is no longer offered in the United Kingdom.
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The degree is designed to provide the student with a wide range of managerial skills while at the same time building competence in a particular area. Most universities therefore plan the degree such that additional to their major, the student is exposed to general business principles, quantitative analysis and organizational behaviour. The curriculum thus focuses both on academic subjects, such as statistics or economics, as well as practical business subjects, such as accountancy, law, management, marketing, finance, etc. Cooperative education programs are also common. For a comparison with other degrees in business and management, see further under Bachelor's degree.
The precise requirements for the degree vary, and the course structure tends to vary in different countries. The curriculum generally lasts three years in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malta, South Africa, the United States of America, parts of Canada and the United Kingdom, and four years in majority of Canada, Republic of Ireland, Ghana, Pakistan, Philippines and the Netherlands. In South Africa, and some universitites in India, many students extend their studies to a fourth "Honours" year (B.Com. (Hons.)) - an additional postgraduate qualification - usually focused exclusively on one subject. In Malta the additional year is not considered as a postgraduate qualification.
Depending on the institution, a formal academic major may or may not be established. Regardless, the Bachelor of Commerce requires a student to take the majority of their courses in business-related subjects, namely the following and others depending on the student's particular interest.
A BCom graduate may pursue the Master of Commerce, or other post-graduate masters programs such as the Master of Finance (MFin), Master of Accounting (MAcc), Master in Business Administration (MBA). The degree is usually recognised by the various professional accounting bodies, and graduates often therefore pursue accounting designations such as the Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) or Certified General Accountant (CGA). Graduates also commonly pursue professional certifications such as the CFA, CIM and PMP.
The Bachelor of Commerce degree was first offered at the University of Birmingham. The University's School of Commerce was founded by William Ashley, an Englishman from Oxford University, who was the first Professor of Political Economy and Constitutional History in the Faculty of Arts of the University of Toronto. Ashley left Toronto in 1892, spent a few years at Harvard University and then went back to England to the new University of Birmingham where he founded the School of Commerce and began the program - the forerunner of many BCom degree programs throughout the British Empire. Eighteenth-century economists had divided the English economy into three sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, and commerce. Commerce included the transportation, marketing, and financing of goods. The Birmingham program included economic geography, economic history, general economics, modern languages, and accountancy.
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