Planning your first year of the Bachelor of Commerce

In the first year of the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) as a single degree, you will complete the six Stage I core courses, one Waipapa Taumata Rau course, and one additional course that will depend on the subjects you are planning to major in.

Unsure about what to major in? Don’t worry, you’ll get a taste of all your options in the first year.

We recommend that full-time single-degree students take four courses (60 points) per semester to not overload themselves, meaning a total of eight courses within the first year.

There are six Stage I core courses to complete:

• BUSINESS 111
• BUSINESS 112
• BUSINESS 114
• BUSINESS 115
• INFOSYS 110
• STATS 100 or STATS 108
  

In addition to the six core courses, this leaves room for one Elective or one Stage I major course:

• ELECTIVE 1 or STAGE I MAJOR COURSE

You will also complete the Waipapa Taumata Rau core course

• WTRBUS 100

What does a typical pathway look like for a full-time BCom student?

BUSINESS 111 and WTRBUS 100 should always be prioritised in a student’s first semester because they are the prerequisites for BUSINESS 112 the following semester.

For the remaining Stage I core courses, students are free to make their own choice about the sequencing of these courses, e.g., taking either INFOSYS 110 or STATS 108 in the first semester and the other in the second semester or taking just one of BUSINESS 114 or BUSINESS 115 in the first semester and the other in the second semester.

Which Statistics course should I take in my first year?

STATS 100 and STATS 108 both meet the BCom core requirement.

STATS 100 is designed for students who lacked confidence in Year 13 Statistics or didn’t study it at that level. You can’t take STATS 100 if you are enrolled in another Statistics course or have already passed a course in this subject.

STATS 108 is required by the Professional Accounting bodies and to advance in some majors such as Finance and Business Analytics. You can enrol in STATS 108 after completing STATS 100.

What elective or major courses can I choose in my first year?

The following BCom majors require these Stage I courses:

• Accounting: ACCTG 102
• Economics: ECON 152, MATHS 102 or 108
• Finance: ACCTG 102

Note that BUSINESS 114 is a prerequisite for ACCTG 102, and so ACCTG 102 would be taken in a student’s second semester.

Note that BUSINESS 115 is a prerequisite for ECON 152, so ECON 152 would be taken in a student’s second semester.

If you choose other majors, you can consider either a business or non-business course as an elective. Please do not choose the same subject as the General Education course you are going to enrol in future.

If you need to take more than two Stage I major courses in your first year, you will need to decide which courses should be prioritised and which courses can be deferred to the second year. If you need help with deciding what courses should be prioritised, please visit Student Hubs for assistance. For example, a Finance major requires two Stage I courses ACCTG 102 and MATHS 108. ACCTG 102 can be enrolled in your first year, and MATHS 108 can be enrolled in your second year.

What electives can I choose from in my first year?

Electives are a great way to increase your employability by developing additional skills and knowledge.

You can choose to include courses from the BCom schedule or up to two courses from outside the BCom Schedule.

Recommended business electives you might take within your first year, whether or not you are going to study further in those subjects, include the following:

• ACCTG 102
• ECON 152
• INFOMGMT 192
• MATHS 108
• STATS 208

When should I take the General Education course?

While most full-time BCom students will take their General Education course in their second or third year, you can choose to take it in your first year if you have space.

You must choose your General Education course from either the:

• Business and Economics (BE) Schedule
• Open Schedule: Please consider non-Business courses.

What if I have received course advice to take ACADENG 104 (Academic English for Business) as one of my electives?

It is typically best to take ACADENG 104 in your first semester if possible, so your first-year pathway could look like the following:

What if I would like to take fewer than four courses per semester?

Given that the Stage I core courses should be prioritised first over any elective courses, here is a typical pathway for a student taking three courses per semester:

The remaining core course can be enrolled in the following semester in the coming year.

How does planning my enrolments for my first year fit into the context of planning for my entire degree?

To learn more about planning your degree, explore the Business School degree planning webpage.

Learn more about your first year in the Bachelor of Commerce and gain insights from our Business School students and staff as they answer some commonly asked questions about our Commerce and Property programmes, student life and more.