Specializations

Accountants do more than prepare financial statements; they can also audit, find cost and efficiency gains from new technologies, participate in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, do quality management, develop and use information systems to track financial performance, work in tax strategy, and manage health care benefits. While professional accountants must be good with numbers, their clients and employers often think of them as business problem solvers.

For students focused on starting their career in public practice, the Chartered Professional Accountant designation is where it all begins. Each September, public practice firms and governmental offices/corporate sector employers come to campus to recruit articling students for summer, Co-op, and permanent positions. We support students through all stages of the recruitment process with one-on-one coaching, workshops, networking simulation, mock interviews and online resources.

Specialization requirements

• 9 credits of core Accounting courses:
  • Financial Accounting: Intermediate I
  • Cost Accounting
  • Financial Accounting: Intermediate II
• 6 credits of additional Accounting courses such as Financial Statement Analysis, Accounting for Management Control and Incentives, Principles of Auditing

Organizations value individuals who have a solid understanding of technology and its applications. Business Technology Management is an information technology-related specialization for students interested in combining a passion for business with an interest in technology. Students in this specialization will learn about various IT management systems and how these technologies contribute to a company’s competitive advantage. 

Specialization requirements

• 15 credits of core Business Technology Management courses:
  • Information Systems Technology and Development
  • Information Systems Analysis and Design
  • Database Technology
  • Management of Information Systems
  • Business Telecommunications

Entrepreneurial activity drives innovation, productivity, and economic growth, but an unpredictable business climate and unproven products can result in significant challenges. Building on solid conceptual foundations, students in the Entrepreneurship specialization study the economic drivers of innovation and new ventures, financial models, creative thinking, and problem solving. 

This specialization is for anyone interested in creating new ventures or affecting disruptive change in existing companies. In the New Venture Design course, students from the UBC Sauder School of Business, Applied Science and other faculties work in interdisciplinary teams to design a venture, build a prototype, and develop the business model required to raise funding and possibly launch the venture.

Specialization requirements

• 6 credits of core Entrepreneurship courses:
  • Economics of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  • Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity
• 9 credits of additional Entrepreneurship courses such as New Venture Design (recommended), Design Methods for Business Innovation, Creativity in Business, New Product Development

The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. There are many career paths within the finance sector. On one hand, there is a function called finance that is common to all business enterprises. On the other hand, there is the financial services industry which includes firms that are engaged in activities such as investing, lending, insurance, securities trading and securities issuance. The Finance specialization provides students with the professional competencies required to enter financial management positions in business enterprises, investment management and services organizations, banking, financial institutions, or government agencies concerned with private finance.

Specialization requirements

• 9 credits of core Finance courses:
  • Corporate Finance
  • Investment Theory
  • Applied Financial Markets
• 6 credits of additional Finance courses such as Venture Capital, Fixed Income Markets and Management, Risk Management and Financial Engineering

Business leaders increasingly recognize the value of generalists who are able to move within organizations as different needs and opportunities arise. General Business Management demands a general understanding of business including: marketing, sales, accounting, human resources, finance and logistics, coupled with a strong ability to lead teams, motivate employees, generate revenue and cut costs. As a result, students who graduate with this specialization are able to readily adapt to a variety of business situations.

Specialization requirements

• 9 credits of 300/400-level COMM/COHR courses
• 6 credits of 400-level COMM/COHR courses

The Global Supply Chain and Logistics Management specialization is a joint exchange program between the UBC Sauder School of Business, Copenhagen Business School, and Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen. With increasing demand for graduates trained in supply chain and logistics management, the program leverages the strengths of all three institutions in this area. Students from all three institutions complete specialization courses unique to each partner institution, together in a common cohort.

Entry to this specialization is by application only, with limited enrolment. The application process occurs in Year 2. Transfer students to Year 3 of the BCom program are not eligible to apply.

Specialization requirements

• 6 credits of courses taken at Copenhagen Business School: Logistics Clusters, Supply Chain Risk Management
• 6 credits of courses taken at UBC Sauder School of Business: Data Visualization and Business Analytics, Quantitative Policy Analysis
• 6 credits of courses taken at Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen: Management of Innovation in China, Current and Regional Issues in Supply Chain and Logistics Management

All businesses must have a strategy and process for marketing their products or services. Marketing drives profits, hence is one of the core functional areas in most companies. The Marketing specialization provides students with a comprehensive background in contemporary marketing and the environmental forces affecting the marketing activities of organizations. Students learn about the social and psychological determinants of consumer behaviour and use analytical tools to study economics and statistics. Marketing graduates work in a variety of industries and settings. 

Specialization requirements

• 12 credits of core Marketing courses:
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Marketing Analysis
  • Market Research
  • Marketing Applications
• 3 credits of additional Marketing courses such as Public Relations, Digital Marketing, Brand Management, Sustainability Marketing

Almost every organization manufactures a product or provides a service. An efficient and responsive business process is critical to optimize workflow and improve the organization’s competitiveness for success.

Operations and logistics is about helping organizations create, deliver, and provide products and services better. It can mean lower expenses, higher quality, more sustainability, better alignment with customer needs, and increased efficiency. Since operations is about understanding and improving processes, the framework and tools are transferable and applicable to business processes throughout the organization.

Specialization requirements

• 6 credits of core Operations and Logistics courses:
  • Service Operations
  • Supply-Chain Management
• 6 credits of additional Operations and Logistics courses such as Data Visualization and Business Analytics, Air Transportation, Maritime and International Transportation, Applied Project Management

Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources (OBHR) encompasses both transactional and transformational people-focused business activities. Transactional activities contribute to the administrative framework of an organization, such as recruiting, selection, administering benefit plans, collective agreements, conducting performance reviews, technical training, reports and statistics. Transformational activities are strategic in nature and involve changing systems, structures, and behaviours to improve organizational performance. These include managing change efforts, managing a corporate culture, leadership development, organizational design, job design, and design of conflict resolution processes. 

This specialization prepares students for a career in a variety of fields including human resources management, organizational consulting, and industrial relations. 

Specialization requirements

• 15 credits of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources courses such as Business and Management Values, Strategic Staffing, Organizational Change, Managing the Family Business, Managing and Building Teams, Employment Law

The Real Estate specialization offers a broad education in the economic, financial, legal, public policy and strategic aspects of real estate markets. Students who come out of the Real Estate specialization are well-equipped with the quantitative and qualitative skills necessary to work in the industry. Potential career paths in real estate include development, leasing, financing, and property management.

Specialization requirements

• 15 credits of core Real Estate courses:
  • Urban Land Economics
  • Real Estate Investment
  • Real Estate Finance
  • Real Estate Economics
  • Real Estate Development