General information
The Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree prepares graduates with strong employability skills and the foundations for excellence in managing business corporations.
Organizations are examined from a number of perspectives, including how they are managed and the changing environments in which they operate. National and international contexts of business are explored, along with relevant issues facing managers in business, labour and the public sector.
Students receive extensive practice in applying theory to the processes of decision-making and problem solving through technology-based exercises and simulations, case study analyses, problem-based learning activities and field-based projects.
In years 1 and 2 of the program, students build strong qualitative and analytical foundation and become familiar with economics theories and concepts. They are also introduced to the functional areas of business—accounting, finance, marketing and organizational behaviour—and examine the ever-increasing role of technology in organizations.
In the second half of the program (years 3 and 4), students may pursue majors and minors in one of the areas offered by the faculty. This is also the time to select elective courses that students find interesting and that are in line with their career and professional aspirations.
Students will participate in one (or more) of FBIT’s experiential learning opportunities: Co-op , Capstone Study Project, Internship, and/or Venture Creation. These exciting courses provide opportunities to consolidate learning from earlier years of the program while working for an organization or working in teams on a real-world project with a partner organization.
Admission requirements
Admission to the Bachelor of Commerce program is competitive. The specific average or standing required for admission varies from year to year. Students are selected by taking into consideration a wide range of criteria including school marks, distribution of subjects taken, and performance in subjects relevant to the academic program. Possession of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Preference will be given to applicants with the best qualifications.
Current Ontario secondary school students must complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with six 4U or 4M credits including English (ENG4U) with a recommended minimum average of 60 per cent and one of Advanced Functions (MHF4U), Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) or Mathematics of Data Management (MDM4U) with a recommended minimum average of 60 per cent. All other applicants should refer to admissions for the requirements for their specific category of admission.
Internship program
Internship provides the students with the opportunity to obtain paid on-the-job experience with businesses locally and globally. FBIT students apply classroom concepts in a real-world environment and gain valuable and relevant work experience to promote networking and life-long career success. They will also bring their work experience back to the classroom and enrich the learning environment for themselves and their classmates.
Participating employers are given the opportunity to bring the motivated learners, thinkers, and doers of tomorrow into their workplaces, as well as provide valuable mentoring to interns.
Ontario Tech University has a detailed policy document for Internships, Co-ops and Practicum opportunities. Students should review this document (link) before considering and starting an internship at FBIT. The University policy framework sets the minimum requirements and in addition to these points, FBIT has the following important requirements for its internship program.
FBIT internship requirements:
- Internships are at least 4 months of full-time work (usually 480 hours or more) and maximum of 4 semesters or 16 months.
- Internships are paid work placements. The intern’s wages (stipulated in a contract) are paid by the sponsoring business over the internship.
- Students participating in an internship program may enroll in one course (3 credits) per semester. This course must not interfere with the internship schedule outlined by the employer and students may be asked to provide written confirmation from the employer confirming a lack of conflict.
- Students may secure their own internship opportunity with an employer. However, the FBIT Experiential Learning office must approve the opportunity before anything is finalized and the work term is initiated.
- Successful internship completion and a satisfactory verbal and/or written reports throughout the semester will result in the intern receiving a letter grade and three credit hours (XBIT4600) toward their undergraduate degree requirements.
- Students may do a second internship while in the program and the second internship opportunity will count as an elective course (XBIT4610).
- Undergraduate students must return for one semester of full-time studies after their internship before graduation (internship cannot be their final semester).
- Students in the Co-op program are not eligible for internships.
Note: For international internships, the students must coordinate closely with the Experiential Learning office at FBIT before finalizing any details.
FBIT requirements for acceptance into internship (above and beyond University requirements): Completion of 54 credit hours (Third year standing) with at least a 2.3 cGPA and the following additional program specific course requirements:
- BCom all majors EXCEPT Technology Management: at least 30 credit hours of BUSI courses
- BCom Technology Management major: at least 30 credit hours of BUSI and INFR courses
- BIT Technology Management: at least 30 credit hours of BUSI and INFR courses
- BIT Game Development and Interactive Media: at least 30 credit hours of INFR courses
- BIT Networking and IT Security: at least 30 credit hours of INFR courses
- Clear academic standing
- Academic Misconduct: Students who have a major academic misconduct on file (i.e. sanctions imposed by the Dean and/or Academic Integrity Committee) are not eligible for Internship. Students with a major academic misconduct can apply for a waiver after one (1) year of the misconduct decision date. Decision for eligibility will be made by the Dean or Dean’s designate.
The University and Faculty provide numerous resources for students to find internships and succeed in their work placements. However, internship placements are competitive and not guaranteed.
Students are encouraged to review the information on the Faculty of Business and IT website (link) for the most up to date information regarding our experiential learning programs including Internship.
Academic requirements to major/minor in the Bachelor of Commerce program
To remain in their major or minor, students must hold a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA (or 2.3 for the Accounting major or minor). Students falling below a 2.0 (or 2.3 in the case of Accounting), will be enrolled in general Commerce.
Finance major
The Finance major is offered to students seeking careers in corporate and government finance, banking, financial planning and investments. Finance graduates pursue careers with jobs such as financial analysts, loan officers, traders (in markets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, futures, options and swaps), portfolio managers, security analysts, credit managers, budget directors, investment advisors, treasurers, financial planners, insurance representatives, and investment bankers.
The Finance major curriculum offers a variety of courses with topic coverage that includes equity analysis, derivative securities, portfolio management, fixed income security analysis, working capital management, advanced corporate finance applications and mergers and acquisitions, international finance, financial modelling, and personal finance.
The Finance major helps prepare students for the professional designations of Chartered Financial Analyst and to attempt the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) Global Education Inc. exam.
Program details and degree requirements
To be eligible for the Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree, students must successfully complete 120 credit hours, including all courses outlined in the following program map.
Although reasonable efforts will be made to adhere to the following program map, course requirements and term offerings may change. For the most up-to-date list of course offerings, please visit the faculty website at businessandit.ontariotechu.ca.
Required courses for all Bachelor of Commerce students [78 credit hours]
Finance major requirements [42 credit hours]
In addition to the required courses for all Bachelor of Commerce students, students enrolled in the Finance major are required to complete five (5) core finance courses, a minimum of four (4) finance elective courses, one business elective (1) and an additional four (4) open electives.
Finance electives (choose 4)
Elective course definitions
*General elective
A general elective is considered a course outside of business (i.e., without the BUSI prefix).
†Business (BUSI) elective
A business (BUSI) elective is a business course outside of one’s major.
‡Open elective
An open elective can be either a general or a business elective.
A maximum of two (6 credit hours) of any open or BUSI electives can consist of courses within one’s major.
