Course details

Summary

Strategy and Entrepreneurship is the highest level of managerial activity, usually performed by a company's chief executive officer and executive team. Strategy is the capstone function of business management. It deals with making decisions to create advantage and above-normal profits and provides overall direction to an enterprise. Entrepreneurship pertains to how to recognise, assess and exploit attractive opportunities using innovation, leveraging risk, and engaging in competitively aggressive action. Entrepreneurship refers to all aspects of setting up, running and growing new business ventures. Together, these disciplines help managers develop and grow businesses of any size (including new ventures).

A major in Strategy and Entrepreneurship is a useful companion to a technical degree as it adds a managerial way of thinking to technical competence.

Why study Strategy and Entrepreneurship at UC?

Students at UC will be exposed to business at all levels from individually owned and run small businesses, to family business, to social enterprise to high-tech focused startups and large corporations using innovation to gain advantage.

A wide portfolio of classes in Strategy and Entrepreneurship allow students to develop their ability to recognise opportunities as well as core business skills of planning, project management and teamwork. Students gain real-world experience and make connections with businesses and the community through the case competitions.

Recommended preparation

There are no formal requirements for those wishing to study Strategy and Entrepreneurship.

Good communication skills, both written and interpersonal, are important. Those who have studied English-rich subjects eg, English, history, geography to an advanced level at school will benefit from the skills they have learned.

Sound analytical and numeracy skills are also important. An interest in business, and why firms succeed or fail, is advantageous.

Qualification structure and duration

The three year BCom degree requires a minimum total of 360 points:

at least 255 points of Commerce courses (up to 60 points of Mathematics and/or Statistics at 100 or 200-level may be included in the 255 points)

the remaining 105 points can be from commerce courses or courses from other degrees.

A minimum of 225 points must be from courses above 100-level, with at least 90 points at 300-level.

Double Degrees

It is possible to combine a commerce degree with other degrees; a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws is a highly marketable combination. The Bachelor of Commerce also combines well with the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Forestry Science and Bachelor of Engineering with Honours.

Career opportunities

Whether you want to specialise in strategy, take over a family business, create a social enterprise to solve an unmet human need, work in government policy, become a venture investor, manage a large corporation or even start your own business one day - UC Commerce programmes reflect the latest research and business applications to give you a flying start in whatever career you choose.

UC's real-world focus on internships, competitions, entrepreneurship, and community involvement gives you a taste of the excitement and opportunity of working at the top end of business innovation and leadership.

Graduates start their careers in a wide range of trainee management, operations, marketing or market research roles and advance into positions as business consultants, strategic business analysts, and senior managers in the commercial, public and not-for-profit sectors.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Bachelor's degree. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.