The Business Navigators programme provides an enhanced Bachelor of Commerce experience for high-achieving students who want to combine their studies with valuable extracurricular activities. The programme enables those students to build skills, expand networks, and boost employability – all of which will help enhance their future career success.

Are you ready to navigate your way to business success? Your enhanced Bachelor of Commerce journey starts here - find out more below!

You are enrolled in three customised courses (BUSINESS 113, BUSINESS 203, and your chosen Capstone), you choose from three prestigious pathways that align with your ambitions (Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Scholarship), and you participate in a range of  extracurricular activities.

• Enhanced learning experience – The three customised core courses have cutting-edge content and real-world applications.
• Shape your future – Choose from three prestigious pathways that align with your ambitions:

Leadership – Develop the skills to inspire and lead others.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Turn ideas into reality and drive change.

Scholarship – Excel in research and prepare for postgraduate success.

• Seamless integration – The three customised core courses fit within your Bachelor of Commerce - no additional courses required.
  
  
• Beyond the classroom – Complete a minimum of 60 hours in each calendar year of extracurricular activities plus a written reflection to demonstrate skills that employers value.

• Unparalleled access – Learn directly from New Zealand's top business leaders through the three customised core courses.
  
  For example, in 2025 Jamie Beaton and Fangzhou (FZ) Jiang, co-founders of Crimson Education, joined the teaching team in BUSINESS 113 and over a 5-week period took students through case studies of major New Zealand growth companies Xero, Halter, PushPay, Crimson Education, and Zuru/Zeil. Leaders from these companies attended as guest speakers, giving the students unprecedented exposure to business leaders.

• Career advantage – Build skills, expand networks, and boost employability through extracurricular activities.
• Recognition that matters – Transcript notation, certificate, and digital badge that employers recognise as a mark of excellence.
• Lifelong connections – Join a tight-knit community of like-minded, high-achieving students.

• You need to be enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce or a Bachelor of Commerce conjoint to be considered for admission to the Business Navigators programme.
• To be accepted into the programme, you need to meet an academic capability standard and be able to verbally articulate your suitability for the programme.

• Applications for the 2026 intake will open on 1 December 2025 and close 27 March 2026.
• Applications will be online via this web page. The application process comprises several stages: 

1. Start your application by completing and submitting a simple online form. 
2. In late January 2026 (once the NCEA, CIE and IB results are out) your academic capability will be assessed. To be considered for the programme you need a Rank Score over 210 (NCEA), 230 (CIE), or 28 (IB). If you are already a university student, you need to have comfortably passed all of your courses with a cumulative GPA of 4.0 or higher. 
3. If you meet the academic capability standard you will be invited to submit a timed video response. This will involve recording a short video answering questions within a set time limit. The questions will not be shown to you beforehand. 

• Places are limited in the programme - not all applicants will be selected. 
• After the closing date a selection committee will take a detailed look at your academic performance and will review your video response. It will then be determined if you are suitable for the programme. 
• Applicants will be informed if they have been accepted into the programme during the mid-semester break (in the first half of April 2026).

• The Business Navigators programme begins when Semester One resumes after the mid-semester break. For the remainder of Semester One, Business Navigators students will participate in a number of extracurricular activities. Students need to complete a minimum of 60 hours of extracurricular activities in each calendar year. These activities are kept in a log that is submitted at the end of each semester. 
• Business Navigators students will automatically be enrolled in BUSINESS 113, taught in Semester Two. Entry into BUSINESS 113 requires a B- or higher in BUSINESS 111. You must also have comfortably passed all other courses in your Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Commerce conjoint (eg have A and/or B grades). Note that as BUSINESS 113 is a substitute for BUSINESS 112, you must not have already completed BUSINESS 112. 

If you have questions about the Business Navigators programme, please send an email to businessnavigators@auckland.ac.nz.