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.

The courses you will enrol into in your first year will differ depending on whether you are enrolling for the BCom as a single degree, or as a conjoint degree where you will be taking the BCom plus a second degree.

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 is a Waipapa Taumata Rau University core course where the Business version for single degree BCom students is:

• WTRBUS 100

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 above, there is room for one more course to make up your total of eight courses:

• ELECTIVE 1 or STAGE I major course

Note that 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.

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 does a typical pathway look like for a full-time BCom student who wishes to major in Accounting or Finance?

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

What does a typical pathway look like for a full-time BCom student who wishes to major in Economics?

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

What happens if I want to take a double major where more than two Stage I major course are required?

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.

For example, a Finance major requires two Stage I courses ACCTG 102 and MATHS 108. You can enrol in ACCTG 102 in your first year, and into MATHS 108 in your second year. If you need help with deciding what courses should be prioritised, please visit Student Hubs for assistance.

What does a typical pathway look like for a full-time BCom student who wishes to major in majors other than Accounting, Economics, or Finance?

BUSAN 101 (offered only in Semester Two in 2025) is designed to complement all Business majors.

Some students might choose extra quantitative courses, e.g., MATHS 102, 108, STATS 208.

While most full-time BCom students will take their General Education course in their second or third year of study, some may choose to do this in their first year of study.

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, as this increases the potential for this course to contribute to your likelihood of academic success across all other courses. Your first-year pathway could therefore look like the following:

If you're asked to complete an approved Academic English Language Requirement Course (AELR) – 15pts in the first 12 months of your studies, you can check out the list of approved courses at Academic English Language Requirement.

What does a typical pathway look like for a conjoint student who will be taking the BCom alongside a second degree?

A conjoint degree is when you are completing both a Bachelor of Commerce and another undergraduate degree programme.

Learn more about conjoints.

Specific course planning advice for conjoint degrees will depend on the two degrees that are being combined and so please visit Student Hubs for assistance.

Conjoint students are encouraged to start both degrees in your first semester. It is normal to take a balance of courses from both degrees in both semesters of your first year.

Selecting your BCom courses for your first year of study as a conjoint degree.

Your first semester:

The most important thing is that BUSINESS 111 and your Waipapa Taumata Rau (WTR) course should always be prioritised in your first semester of study because they are the prerequisites for BUSINESS 112 the following semester.

Note that Conjoint students can also choose from the WTR courses offered by other faculties, and so while this choice might be WTRBUS 100 it could also be another option.

Your second semester:

BUSINESS 112 should be prioritised.

Selecting further BCom courses in your first year of your conjoint degree:

The general planning advice above for BCom students wishing to take various majors will still apply. It is just that Conjoint students would not be completing eight courses in the BCom in their first year of study.

Planning further forward in your BCom studies in subsequent years:

Please prioritise completing the Stage I Business Core courses before progressing further in your BCom major(s).

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.