Commerce (BComm (Hons))

Our Bachelor of Commerce degree programme is the leading undergraduate business degree in Ireland. It is designed for motivated students who intend to make a future impact on the business world. This highly innovative degree offers a comprehensive range of five employment-led thematic majors in Year 4:

• Banking and Financial Markets
• Human Resources and Leadership
• Business Development and Consultancy
• Marketing and Consumer Understanding
• Operations and Supply Chains

This four-year programme is designed to help students gain the theoretical and practical skills required for the employment market in business. Teaching and academic guidance will be provided by experienced staff; students will have opportunities to interact with businesses and learn in real workplace scenarios and students also have the option to benefit from experiencing college life in other countries through the Study Abroad Programme.

In years one, two and three students are introduced to a number of different business areas. In third-year students are provided with intermediate-level taster modules to reflect the 5 thematic majors in Year 4. During this year students will also have the opportunity to; participate in a paid business internship and to partake in the study abroad programme. In the final year, students will select one thematic major to specialise in thus providing an excellent springboard for a successful career.

BComm graduates will have a wide variety of career options open to them from, banking, finance, human resource management, insurance, marketing, retail, advertising, tourism, teaching and taxation project management, manufacturing, business consulting, financial analysis, investment banking and general management, and of course many more.

Modules (60 credits per year)

Year 1 (all 5 credits)

• AC1100 Introduction to Accounting
• BU1000 Developing Critical Thinking Skills
• EC1207 Principles of the Micro Economy
• EC1208 Principles of the Macro Economy
• FE1101 Introduction to Food Business and Development
• IS1105 Business Information Systems
• LW1108 Introduction to the Legal System
• LW1109 Introduction to Business Law
• MA1100 Introductory Mathematics for Business I
• MG1000 Foundations of Management and Organisational Behaviour
• MG1002 Foundations of Marketing
• ST1023 Introduction to Business Statistics

Year 2

In Year 2 students take a combination of compulsory modules and electives. The electives allow students to begin to specialise in fields that interest them the most.

The compulsory modules include Introduction to Management Accounting; Intermediate Management Accounting; Placement Skills and Professional Practice; Economics of Managerial Decision Making; Economics - Production and Costs; IS Analysis and Design for Business; People and Organisation; International Business; Enterprise Planning and Processes; Business Ethics.

The elective modules include Sustainability in Modern Businesses; Global Food Policy; International Politics; European Government and Politics; Commercial Law; Introductory Mathematics for Business; Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Consumption; Methods of Business Statistics.

Year 3

In Year 3 students select one of the following options:

• Study at an approved university abroad for the full academic year;
• Study at an approved university abroad for semester 1, return to UCC for semester 2, then complete either a 6-month work placement or a research project;
• Study in UCC for semesters 1 and 2, then complete either a 6-month work placement or a research project.

In this year students gain an intermediate knowledge of possible thematic majors which are available in the fourth year.

In addition to taking these core modules, students select a range of minor subjects from the following subject areas: Accounting, Business Economics; Food Business & Development; Law; Management; Marketing, Maths, Statistics

Year 4

In year 4 students take 40 credits from their selected thematic major including:

• Banking and Financial Markets
• Human Resources and Leadership
• Business, Development, and Consultancy
• Markets and Consumer Understanding
• Operations and Supply Chains

And 20 credits from a range of minors including Accounting, Business Economics; Food Business & Development; Government; Law; Management; Marketing, Maths, and Statistics.

Academic Programme Catalogue

See the Academic Programme Catalogue for the complete and up-to-date content for this course. Note that the modules for all courses are subject to change from year-to-year. For complete descriptions of individual modules, see the Book of Modules.

The objective of the BComm Degree is to produce graduates who can contribute immediately in the business community. There are many reasons to choose this unique programme, including the following:

• The programme is developed and delivered in conjunction with industry.
• You will develop key professional, practical skills that you can apply to your first job.
• You study Business Economics, Food Business & Development, Government, Information Systems, Law, Management, Marketing, Maths and Statistics.
• Our teaching staff are experts in their fields, many with extensive industry experience. Classes often include guest speakers.
• In 3rd Year you (i) will develop essential transferable skills whilst participating in a business internship. Our dedicated placement officer will help you arrange your six-month internship, or (ii) will have the opportunity to compete to spend a semester or year abroad in one of our partner institutions.
• Throughout the programme we will also focus on enhancing your analytical skills and personal development. This will allow you to build the skills required to have an intelligent, informed, creative, and compassionate engagement with the world of business.

This course will cultivate your creativity and critical thinking skills in business. You will be exposed to the latest knowledge in global business. You will undertake invaluable work experience through our transferable skills programme. Many students experience global business methods in our partner business schools. Your teamwork, communication and presentation skills will be developed and enhanced through the blended teaching and learning approaches on the programme. The course will facilitate your holistic development. Upon graduation, a wide variety of careers will be available to you, including accounting, banking, finance, marketing, management, retail, advertising, tourism, teaching, taxation, human resources, project management, manufacturing, consulting.

A degree is not just about what you know - it's also about what you can do. We know employers want graduates with both business knowledge and practical skills to hit the ground running. This degree will prepare you to graduate career-ready by building these business skills and providing real workplace learning experiences.

In year 3 you will have the opportunity to take the transferable skills module and a limited number of students may study abroad. Every year up to 170 students take internships with leading employers across many industry areas nationwide and overseas, including accounting firms, banking and finance, food and drinks, telecoms, pharmaceutical and healthcare, retail and distribution and the public sector. Many of the firms hire their internship students as graduates. Most internships are in Ireland, but some are abroad.

A number of our students choose to compete to study abroad in our partner business schools in the US, Canada, Europe and Singapore. Some students spend the first semester abroad and return home in time to complete the work placement programme. Other students spend the full academic year abroad, with many of these arranging their own summer internships in the US and Ireland.

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Communicate and work effectively to a professional standard;
• Demonstrate analytical and problem solving skills associated with effective practice;
• Engage in the application of frameworks and techniques in organisational settings;
• Engage in Experiential Learning.
• Develop original and innovate strategic solutions for a global company towards a sustainable, profitable path.
• Demonstrate enhancement in student professional practice and career paths to excel in future work environments.

In each year of the course you will generally have 12 hours of timetabled lectures supported with a further 12 hours of either tutorials and/or computer laboratory or in some cases field trips as required by individual modules. You will also be responsible for and examined in all material delivered at lectures and tutorials and any additional required reading.  

Full module information is detailed in the section below.

Written exams will take place before Christmas and in April/May. Not all modules will have formal examinations. Many modules use other types of assessment.

Assessment methods are linked to the learning outcomes of each module. The assessments are used to gauge your knowledge, understanding, analytical and critical thinking, problem-solving, presentation and communication skills.

As individual modules have unique features, a diverse range of formative and summative assessment methods are used.  Formative assessment includes concept maps, one-minute papers, project proposals, in-class presentations etc. Summative assessment is generally, but not exclusively, in the form of end-of-semester examinations. This is normally a three-hour exam for subjects valued at 10 credits, and a one and a half hour exam for subjects valued at 5 credits. In some cases, a module may be examined by continuous assessment. 

Leaving Certificate Entry Requirements

At least six subjects must be presented. Minimum grade H5 in two subjects and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects. English and Irish are requirements for all programmes .

Applicants will need to meet the following minimum entry requirements:

EU/EFTA/UK Qualifications

EU/EFTA/UK applicants presenting an equivalent school-leaving qualification should review the EU/EFTA/UK Applicants page for information on equivalent grades and how to prove their level of English.

Mature Students

To compete through the mature entry route, applicants must be 23 years of age on or before 1 January of the application year and apply online via the CAO by 1 February. The application should include a statement of interest. Leaving Certificate Maths (or equivalent) is recommended. Applicants may also be called for interview.

Further information on applying as a mature student is available on the Mature Applicants and Mature Student Entry support pages. 

QQI FET Entry

Applicants who meet the required level of distinctions in required subjects can apply for entry to this course using specific QQI FET qualifications. Please review the Programme Requirements on our Information for QQI FET Applicants page for information on related QQI courses, and visit Access UCC’s QQI/FET Entry section for further support. 

Non-EU Candidates

Non-EU candidates are expected to have educational qualifications of a standard equivalent to Irish university primary degree level. In addition, where such candidates are non-native speakers of the English language they must satisfy the university of their competency in the English language. To verify if you meet the minimum academic requirements for this programme please visit our qualification comparison pages.

For more detailed entry requirement information please refer to the International website .

Non-EU Applications

For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above.

For more information please contact the International Office.