What are electives?
Electives at Sauder allow you to explore interests outside your core BCom program, get exposure to a wider world, and take advantage of courses at UBC’s 12 faculties and 11 schools. From astronomy to drama, from sociology to Japanese, you can be as adventurous as you like.
You can also select courses to complement your choice of option/career or to develop expertise in a specific subject area.
Plan early
Some senior level courses require junior level prerequisites, so make sure you plan your program early.
What are my elective requirements?
Normally, students complete 18 credits of non-Commerce electives in their first two years of the BCom program and then complete the remaining electives in Years 3 and 4.
-
If you are:
• a Direct Entry student admitted to Year 1 of the BCom program between 2006W and 2010W
• a Transfer student admitted to Year 2 of the BCom program between 2007W and 2011W, or
• a Transfer student admitted to Year 3 of the BCom program between 2008W and 2012W
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| Option |
Total Electives |
Requirements |
|
Accounting
Finance
Organizational Behaviour &
Human Resources
Business Technology Management
Marketing
Real Estate
|
48 credits
|
• At least 18 credits, whether Commerce or non-Commerce, must be at the 300-level or higher.
• At least 30 credits must be non-Commerce.
• At least 12 credits of non-Commerce electives must be at the 300- or 400-level.
|
|
General Business Management
Transportation & Logistics
|
51 credits
|
• At least 21 credits, whether Commerce or non-Commerce, must be at the 300-level or higher.
• At least 30 credits must be non-Commerce. At least 12 credits of non-Commerce electives must be at the 300- or 400-level.
|
|
Commerce & Economics
|
39 credits
|
• At least 15 credits, whether Commerce or non-Commerce, must be at the 300-level or higher.
• At least 27 credits must be non-Commerce. At least 9 credits of non-Commerce electives must be at the 300- or 400-level. Students in Commerce and Economics may not take economics courses as their 300- or 400-level non-Commerce electives.
|
|
International Business
|
See primary option
|
• International Business students should complete elective requirements of their first declared option as outlined above.
• Elective credits are also used to satisfy the option requirements for International Business. See International Business for more information.
|
-
If you are:
• a Direct Entry student admitted to Year 1 of the BCom program in 2011W or later
• a Transfer student admitted to Year 2 of the BCom program in 2012W or later, or
• a Transfer student admitted to Year 3 of the BCom program in 2013W or later
-
| Option |
Total Electives |
Requirements |
|
Accounting
Finance
Organizational Behaviour &
Human Resources
Business Technology Management
Marketing
Real Estate
|
45 credits
|
• At least 15 credits, whether Commerce or non-Commerce, must be at the 300-level or higher.
• At least 30 credits must be non-Commerce.
• At least 12 credits of non-Commerce electives must be at the 300- or 400-level.
|
|
General Business Management
Transportation & Logistics
|
48 credits
|
• At least 18 credits, whether Commerce or non-Commerce, must be at the 300-level or higher.
• At least 30 credits must be non-Commerce. At least 12 credits of non-Commerce electives must be at the 300- or 400-level.
|
|
Commerce & Economics
|
36 credits
|
• At least 12 credits, whether Commerce or non-Commerce, must be at the 300-level or higher.
• At least 27 credits must be non-Commerce. At least 9 credits of non-Commerce electives must be at the 300- or 400-level. Students in Commerce and Economics may not take economics courses as their 300- or 400-level non-Commerce electives.
|
|
International Business
|
See primary option
|
• International Business students should complete elective requirements of their first declared option as outlined above.
• Elective credits are also used to satisfy the option requirements for International Business. See International Business for more information.
|
Note: COHR courses cannot be counted as non-Commerce electives.
What are non-Commerce electives?
Non-Commerce electives include courses in subject areas other than Commerce. Psychology, political science, international relations, economics, science, languages, or any other areas that interest you, are all excellent choices.
Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources courses with a prefix of COHR cannot be counted as non-Commerce electives.
Interested in science? Check the exclusion lists
If you are interested in a Science elective, please check the Credit Exclusion Lists before choosing one.
The Faculty of Science has complied a list of courses in which there is sufficient overlap that credit may be obtained for only one selection.
Which electives don’t count for credit in the BCom program?
The following are courses that do not count for credit in the BCom program because they duplicate other Commerce courses.
Courses similar to Comm 290 and Comm 291 include:
| BIOL 300 |
Biometrics |
| ECON 226 |
Making Sense of Economic Data |
| ECON 325 |
Introduction to Empirical Economics |
| EPSE 482 |
Introduction to Statistics for Research in Education |
| EPSE 483 |
Statistics in Education |
| FRST 231 |
Introduction to Biometrics |
| GEOG 374 |
Statistics in Geography 1 |
| HKIN 371 |
Introduction to Statistics and Research Methodology |
| MATH 130 |
Finite Mathematics |
| MATH 230 |
Introduction to Finite Mathematics |
| MATH 231 |
Topics in Finite Mathematics |
| PLNT 321 |
Biometrics |
| POLI 380 |
Quantitative Methods in Political Science |
| PSYC 218 |
Analysis of Behavioural Data |
| PSYC 366 |
Methods in Research |
| STAT 124 |
Business Statistics (UBC-O) |
| STAT 200 |
Elementary Statistics for Applications |
| STAT 203 |
Statistical Methods |
| STAT 241 |
Introductory Probability and Statistics |
| STAT 251 |
Elementary Statistics |
Other courses not for credit in the BCom program:
English course similar to COMM 390 - Business Writing:
| ENGL 301 |
Technical Writing |
The BCom program requires you to complete Comm 390 - Business Writing (formerly COMM 486W) in Year 3. ENGL 301 cannot be used to satisfy the Business Writing requirement or elective requirements.
Economics courses similar to other Commerce courses:
| ECON 301 |
Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis I1 |
| ECON 350 |
Public Finance Policy Topics |
| ECON 466 |
The Economics of Government Regulation of Business |
| ECON 480 |
Transportation
2 |
1Credit may be obtained for only one of ECON 201, 206, 301, 304 or one of ECON 201, 206, 301, COMM 295 (students who take COMM 295 may take ECON 304 for elective credit).
2Credit may be obtained for only one of ECON 480 and COMM 446.
The courses are cross-listed. BCom students must register in COMM 446, with the exception of CMEC option students.
Electives in the Faculty of Science
If you are interested in a Science elective, please check the Credit Exclusion Lists before choosing one. The Faculty of Science has compiled a list of courses in which there is sufficient overlap that credit may be obtained for only one selection.
What are Credit/D/Fail electives?
This system allows you to take eligible elective courses and safely explore new and exciting subjects – but for a Credit, D, or Fail standing instead of a percentage grade on your academic transcript. These standings are awarded as follows:
- Cr is awarded for a grade of 55% or higher.
- D is awarded for a grade of 50-54.9%.
- F is awarded for a grade of less than 50%, where 50% is the passing grade.
More on Credit/D/Fail
How many Credit/D/Fail electives can I take?
You can take a maximum of six credits of Credit/D/Fail graded courses per session and up to a maximum of 12 credits of Credit/D/Fail graded courses towards your BCom degree.
Important points about Credit/D/Fail
You can take non-Commerce elective courses for Credit/D/Fail as long as they do not fulfill a requirement for a:
- Minor
- Concentration
- International Business Option
- Combined Major in Business and Computer Science (BUCS) program
First year BCom students may not take core course requirements for Credit/D/Fail.