BCom Year 1 and Year 2

Welcome to BCom!

Year 1 & 2 are known as your pre-core years, which take place prior to entering the BCom core (Year 3). For a visual guide to our 2+2 program structure, please visit the program information section of our website. For more information on opportunities engage with the BCom program, connect with your program advisors, and stay on track with your studies, check out the Pre-Core section of the BCom Program Manual on Brightspace!

Course planning & requirements

Prior to starting the BCom “core” curriculum in Year 3, all BCom students must complete required courses and non-commerce electives. These courses are referred to as our pre-commerce requirements, or “pre-core”. Our Program Planning Worksheet and Pre-Core Course Guide will help you build your schedule.

*see note below if you started BCom prior to September 2022

Microeconomics

• ECON 103 (1.5 units)

English

• 3.0 units of approved English courses, as follows:
  • ATWP 135 (formerly ENGL 135), ENSH 101, or ENSH 102 (1.5 units of course work satisfying the Academic Writing Requirement (AWR)
  • ATWP 250 Genres of Business Writing

If you have another combination of English courses, please contact a BCom Admissions Officer. Decisions regarding the appropriateness of English courses are at the discretion of the Gustavson School of Business.

Notes:

• ATWP 101 is not an acceptable required English course (it can count as a non-commerce elective if completed before an AWR course).
• Satisfying the AWR through a high grade in English 12 is not sufficient. You must also have earned 1.5 units of post-secondary course work in a class satisfying the AWR.

Mathematics and statistics

Below are the three approved combinations of courses for UVic students:

• MATH 151: Finite Mathematics (1.5 units) and STAT 252: Statistics for Business (1.5 units), or
• STAT 255: Statistics for Life Sciences: I (1.5 units) and STAT 256: Statistics for Life Sciences: II (1.5 units), or
• ECON 245: Descriptive Statistics and Probability (1.5 units) and ECON 246: Statistical Inference (1.5 units)

If you are transferring from another institution, you may have a different combination of mathematics and statistics courses. At a minimum, you must have 3.0 units of courses in the mathematics and statistics area. Decisions regarding the appropriateness of mathematics and statistics courses are at the discretion of the Gustavson School of Business.

Strategy and business fundamentals

• COM 200 Strategy and Business Fundamentals (1.5 units)

Note: this course is offered as an elective only in the 2022-23 academic year, and will become a required class in the 2023-24 academic year for students starting Year 3 core in September 2024.

Mandatory courses for international students

International students are required to complete COM 206C (Business English and Communications – Level III) and/or COM 290 (Introduction to Canadian Business) as mandatory courses in January of their second year, unless otherwise specified by a BCom advisor. 

BCom applicants for direct-entry into BCom core must submit a request for registration in October of their second year to be added to these courses on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is the applicant’s responsibility to consult with a BCom Admissions Officer to determine whether or not they need to take these courses.

Progression Conditions

All BCom students must complete the following pre-commerce requirements and meet the minimum GPA conditions outlined below in order to progress to Year 3 BCom core. This applies if you were admitted to BCom in Year 1 or Year 2, or if you are applying to enter directly into Year 3. 

Current students should review the Core Progression Conditions section of our BCom Program Manual in Brightspace for more information on these progression requirements.

*Note: the above progression conditions are valid for students planning to start Year 3 core in September 2024 (e.g. students starting Year 1 of BCom in September 2022).

• All students,regardless of the year in which they start core, must still complete 30.0 units of total pre-core course work, including required courses and electives.
• Students starting Year 3 core in September 2023 may still use ATWP 135, ENGL 146, 147 or 225 as their 2nd approved required English course, and can complete COM 200 as an elective instead of a required course. In that case, students need to complete 7.5 units of required courses and 22.5 units of pre-commerce electives.
• If you’re in doubt about the requirements that apply to you, please reach out to a BCom Advisor.

Review of Academic Performance

Students who have failed a work term required in the mandatory Business Co-op program, or have a GPA below 3.0/9.0 in any academic session, will be ranked as unsatisfactory and may be required to withdraw for at least one calendar year. Gustavson is under no obligation to re-admit students who have been required to withdraw, regardless of the cut-off GPA in the year in which they re-apply.

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