Sarker Tanvir Ahmed at 18:11, 16 February 2026

2026-02-16T18:11:32Z

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{{short description|Undergraduate degree in business}}
{{Hatnote|This article is about the Bachelor of Commerce.
"BCom" or "B Com" which redirect here, may instead, depending on jurisdictions and institutions, refer to the [[Bachelor of Communications]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

A '''Bachelor of Commerce''' ('''BCom or B Com''') is an [[undergraduate degree]] in [[commerce]], [[accounting]], [[mathematics]], [[economics]], [[finance]] and [[management]]-related subjects.

==Structure==
{{Business administration}}

===Bachelor of Commerce===
The [[Bachelor's degree|Bachelor]] of Commerce degree<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.varsitycollege.co.za/programmes/full-time/bachelor-of-commerce-bcom|title=Bachelor Of Commerce (Bcom) - Varsity College|website=www.varsitycollege.co.za|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831131853/https://www.varsitycollege.co.za/programmes/full-time/bachelor-of-commerce-bcom|archive-date=2017-08-31}}</ref> is designed to provide students with a wide range of managerial skills, while building competence in a particular area of business;
<ref>[https://www.athabascau.ca/business/programs/index.html?/undergraduate/all/all Available BCom degrees], [[Athabasca University]]</ref> see aside listing. For a comparison with other business degrees, see {{sectionlink|Business education#Undergraduate education}}.

Most universities, therefore, plan the degree such that in addition to their [[academic major|major]], students are exposed to general business principles, taking courses in accounting, finance, economics, business management, human resources and marketing. Programs often require foundational courses in [[business statistics]] and [[Business mathematics#University level|mathematics]], and [[Information system|information systems]].

Depending on the institution, a formal [[academic major]] may or may not be established. Regardless, a Bachelor of Commerce degree<ref>{{Cite web|title=B Com Course Details In Hindi {{!}} बीकॉम कैसे करें {{!}} Student Guide Portal|date=26 November 2021 |url=https://studentguideportal.com/b-com-course-details-hindi/|access-date=2021-12-07|language=en-US}}</ref> requires students to take the majority of their courses in business-related subjects, including the aside, among others.

===Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)===
The [[Honours degree|Honours]] Bachelor of Commerce (HonsBCom or BComm (Hons) or HBCom) is further advanced.
The degree has a specialization aspect, analogous to the [[Bachelor of Business Administration |BBA]], developing the student's business skills and/or providing in-depth knowledge of the field.

It requires additional academic courses to be completed, and usually with higher academic performance standards, and may also require a researched [[thesis]] component.
It often serves as an abridgement (or entry requirement) between the undergraduate program and postgraduate programs, including the [[Master of Commerce]] (M.Com. or M.Comm.) and the [[Master of Business Administration]] (MBA) degrees.

It may consist of a four-year program<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ucanwest.ca/undergraduate-programs/bachelor-of-commerce|title=Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Bcom)- University Canada West|website=ucanwest.ca|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807044341/https://ucanwest.ca/undergraduate-programs/bachelor-of-commerce|archive-date=2016-08-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=The University of Ontario Institute of Technology|date=|title=Commerce - Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)|url=http://www.uoit.ca/ac-calendar/0506/EN/main/programs/103887/bcom_hons_92.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223230316/http://www.uoit.ca/ac-calendar/0506/EN/main/programs/103887/bcom_hons_92.html|archive-date=2014-02-23|access-date=2014-02-21|website=www.uoit.ca}}</ref> or of a one-year program taken subsequent to a three-year [[Bachelor's degree]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/courses/Bachelor-of-Commerce-Honours |title=sydney.edu.au |access-date=2014-02-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226105318/http://sydney.edu.au/courses/Bachelor-of-Commerce-Honours |archive-date=2014-02-26 }}</ref>
the one-year program is typically focused exclusively on a single subject-area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bcom.unimelb.edu.au/about/honours|title=BCom Students - Faculty of Business and Economics|website=bcom.unimelb.edu.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316005629/http://www.bcom.unimelb.edu.au/about/honours/|archive-date=2012-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unisa.ac.za/qualifications/|title=Qualifications|website=www.unisa.ac.za|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216065503/http://www.unisa.ac.za/qualifications/|archive-date=2014-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wits.ac.za/academic/clm/sebs/newsebswebsite/postgraduateprogrammes/14711/honours_degree.html |title=wits.ac.za |access-date=2015-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126230943/http://www.wits.ac.za/academic/clm/sebs/newsebswebsite/postgraduateprogrammes/14711/honours_degree.html |archive-date=2015-11-26 }}</ref>

===Duration===
The [[curriculum]] generally lasts three years in [[India]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Malta]], [[South Africa]], some parts of [[Canada]], and [[Hong Kong]]. The curriculum requires four years of study in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], the majority of [[Canada]], [[Egypt]], [[Ghana]], the [[Philippines]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Nepal]].

In [[South Africa]], [[New Zealand]], [[Australia]], [[Pakistan]] and some universities in [[India]], the BCom (Hons) degree is considered an additional [[postgraduate]] qualification, whereas in [[Malta]], an additional year of study is not considered a postgraduate qualification.

In [[Pakistan]], BCom is generally a 2-year duration degree, whereas BS Commerce, formerly known as BCom (Hons) in the country, is a 4-year duration degree.

==History==
{{see also|Birmingham Business School (University of Birmingham)#History and background}}
The Bachelor of Commerce degree was first offered at the [[University of Birmingham]]. The [[Birmingham Business School (University of Birmingham)|University's School of Commerce]] was founded by [[William Ashley (economic historian)|William Ashley]], an Englishman from [[Oxford University]], who was the first professor of Political Economy and Constitutional History in the Faculty of Arts at 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. Ashley began the programme which was the forerunner of many other BCom degree programmes throughout the [[British Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://100.rotmancommerce.utoronto.ca/stories/the-early-years|title=Ashley began the programme which was the forerunner of many other BCom degree programmes throughout the British Empire.}}</ref>

Eighteenth-century economists had divided the English economy into three sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, and commerce. Commerce included the transport, marketing and financing of goods. The Birmingham programme in commerce included economic geography, economic history, general economics, modern languages, and accountancy.{{fact|date=May 2025}}


==See also==
*[[Bachelor of Accountancy]]
*[[Bachelor of Business]]
*[[Bachelor of Business Administration]]
*[[Bachelor of Business Science]]
*[[Bachelor of Economics]]
*[[Bachelor of Finance]]
*[[Business school]]
* {{slink|Business education#Undergraduate education}}
* [[Master of Commerce]]
* [[Master of Business Administration]]
* [[Commercial management]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Bachelor's degrees|Commerce, Bachelor of]]
[[Category:Business qualifications]]

Bachelor of Commerce - Revision history

Sarker Tanvir Ahmed at 18:11, 16 February 2026