Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) Program
The schedule for the Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) Program includes seven academic terms (AT) and three mandatory work terms (WT), as shown in the following table:
| |
Fall |
Winter |
Summer |
| Year 1 |
AT1 |
AT2 |
|
| Year 2 |
AT3 |
WT1 |
AT4 |
| Year 3 |
WT2 |
AT5 |
WT3 |
| Year 4 |
AT6 |
AT7 |
|
The BComm Co-op program offers students the opportunity to participate in various national and international learning experiences, both academically as part of an exchange and practically as part of their work terms. Students may also choose a major in a variety of special areas, a minor in an area outside of the Faculty of Management, and additional certificate(s) should they wish to do so. The BComm Co-op program does not currently offer double majors.
Each of the three work-terms receives academic credit, and constitutes a full work load (see the Regulations section of this calendar for workload limits and conditions).
Degree Requirements
- Four-year program - seven academic terms and three work-terms
- Total credit hours required - 120
- Required GPA for graduation - 2.00
- Work-terms - 9 credit hours (3.0 credit hours each)
- COMM 1711.015: Prersonal and Professional Development I
- COMM 1712.015: Personal and Professional Development I
- COMM 1010.03: Business in a Global Context
- COMM 1101.03: Introduction to Accounting I (Financial)
- COMM 1102.03: Introduction to Accounting II (Managerial)
- COMM 1503.03: Introduction to Quantitative Decision Making
- COMM 1715.03: Business Communication
- COMM 2202.03: Finance I
- COMM 2203.03: Finance II
- COMM 2303.03: Introduction to Organizational Behaviour
- COMM 2310.03: Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
- COMM 2401.03: Introduction to Marketing
- COMM 2504.03: Intermediate Quantitative Decision Making
- COMM 2603.03: Legal Aspects of Business
- COMM 3500.03: Advanced Quantitative Decision Making
- COMM 3501.03: Production/Operations Management
- COMM 3511.03: Management Information Systems
- COMM 4353.03: Strategic Management
- ECON 1101.03: Principles of Microeconomics
- ECON 1102.03: Principles of Macroeconomics
- Six Electives (18 credit hours) can be at or above the 1000 level in any discipline
- Two Electives (6 credit hours) must be at or above the 2000 level in any discipline
- Ten Electives (30 credit hours) must be at or above the 2000 level in either Commerce or Management
NOTE: Students readmitted to the Commerce Co-op program will be subject to the Academic Regulations as stated in the Calendar for the year of readmission. For further information, contact the Faculty of Management's Undergraduate Advising Office, 6100 University Avenue, Suite 2086 by sending an email to uao@dal.ca or calling 1 (902) 494-3710.
Program Guide
Students normally follow a fixed program of study, as outlined below:
Academic Term One
- COMM 1010.03: Business in a Global Context
- COMM 1101.03: Introduction to Accounting I (Financial)
- COMM 1503.03: Introduction to Quantitative Decision Making
- COMM 1711.015: Personal and Professional Development I
- ECON 1101.03: Principles of Microeconomics
- One elective
Academic Term Two
- COMM 1102.03: Introduction to Accounting II (Managerial)
- COMM 1712.015: Personal and Professional Development II
- COMM 1715.03: Business Communication (or one elective from term three)
- COMM 2401.03: Introduction to Marketing
- ECON 1102.03: Principles of Macroeconomics
- One elective
** One elective - to be completed during any work term (financial implcations) or academic term after winter term of 1st year (email uao@dal.ca for details)
Academic Term Three
- One elective (or COMM 1715.03: Business Communication from term two)
- COMM 2202.03: Finance I
- COMM 2504.03: Intermediate Quantitative Decision Making
- COMM 2603.03: Legal Aspects of Business
- One elective
Work Term One
Academic Term Four
- COMM 2203.03: Finance II
- COMM 2303.03: Introduction to Organizational Behaviour
- COMM 2310.03: Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
- COMM 3501.03: Productions/Operations Management
- COMM 3511.03: Management Information Systems
Work Term Two
Academic Term Five
- COMM 3500.03: Advanced Quantitative Decision Making
- Four electives
Work Term Three
Academic Terms Six and Seven
- COMM 4353.03: Strategic Management
- Nine electives
Students can either pursue a customized program of study by choosing electives from a wide range of the functional areas of business, humanities, or social sciences, or they can follow a more specialized program taking their elective courses towards a major, a minor, and/or a certificate(s). Students interested in majoring should consult the School's website and their Academic Advisor for further details before registering for their fifth academic term.
Major in Accounting
Note: An average grade of B- must be obtained between COMM 1101.03 and COMM 1102.03 to major in Accounting.
Students must complete the following eight courses:
Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Canada requires certain academic prerequisites for admission to the CPA certification program. That is, CPA candidates must complete an undergraduate degree and cover specific prerequisite subject areas. Appropriate courses can be taken in the Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) program, as part of the Accounting Major structure, to meet these requirements. Particulars can be obtained from the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada website https://cpacanada.ca
Major in Entrepreneurship
Students must complete the following four courses:
Plus four of:
Major in Finance
Note: An average grade of B- must be obtained between COMM 2202 and COMM 2203 to major in Finance
Students must complete the following three courses:
Plus five of:
* Maximum two electives from NON-Finance courses
Note: ECON satisfies “electives” (not COMM/MGMT electives)
Major in International Business
Students must complete:
- One academic term, or one work term, in a country the student does not hold citizenship.
Plus the following five courses:
- COMM 3405.03: Global Marketing
- COMM 3705.03: Contemporary Issues in Global Business
- COMM 4201.03: International Financial Management
- COMM 4315.03: International and Intercultural Management
- COMM 4701.03: International Business Strategy
Plus three of:
- ECON 2213.03: Emerging Giants: The Economic Rise of China and India
- ECON 2219.03: Euros and Cents: From Common Market to European Union
- ECON 2239.03: European Economic History
- ECON 2334.03: Globalization and Economic Development: Current Debates
- ECON 2336.03: Regional Development
- ECON 3330.03: International Trade
- ECON 3331.03: International Finance
- INTD 2045.03: Indian Society: Change and Continuity
- INTD 2106.03: Africa: An Introduction
- INTD 3125.03: The French-Speaking World
- POLI 1060.03: Political Worlds: Themes and Concepts
- POLI 1065.03: Political Worlds: The Global Domain
- POLI 1500.06: Globalization
- POLI 2301.03: Comparative Politics I: Developed Democracies Under Pressure
- POLI 2302.03: Comparative Politics II: The Developing World
- POLI 2520.03: World Politics
- POLI 2530.03: Foreign Policy in Theory and Practice
- POLI 3233.03: Canada in the Global Economy
- POLI 3315.03: African Politics
- POLI 3360.03: Politics in Latin America
- POLI 3476.03: Liberalism & Global Justice
- POLI 3535.03: Wealth, Power and Poverty in the Global South
- POLI 3569.03: Canadian Foreign Policy
- POLI 3574.03: American Foreign Policy
Note: ECON, INTD, and POLI satisfy “electives” (not COMM/MGMT electives)
Major in Managing People and Organizations
Students must complete the following four courses:
Plus four of:
Major in Marketing
Students must complete the following four courses:
Plus four of:
Major in Supply Chain & Logistics Management
Students must complete the following six courses:
- COMM 3507.03: Supply Chain Management
- COMM 3508.03: Sustainable Logistics
- COMM 4501.03: Supply Chain Analytics
- COMM 4511.03: Business Process Integration using ERP Systems
- COMM 4512.03: Business Intelligence and Data Visualization
- COMM 4520.03: Supply Chain Planning & Execution
Plus two of:
Note: SUST satisfies an “elective” (not a COMM/MGMT elective)
Minors
Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) students can choose to complement their degree by declaring a minor in another subject area outside of the Faculty of Management. Students should consult with their program Academic Advisor concerning their degree requirements, and an Advisor from within their desired subject area for the minor requirements. For a current list of available minors please see Minors.
Co-op Work Terms
(For more information visit: www.dal.ca/mcs)
A work term is a period when a student gains practical experience in a business-related work environment. Each passed work term is an academic half credit and must meet the requirements listed below. Three passed work terms are required to graduate.
During a work term a student is an employee of their work term employer with reference to the conditions of their employment and is a student with respect to academic evaluation and conduct only. The university does not accept liability for the student's work environment.
Students are responsible for finding employment suitable to an undergraduate level study of business, and must not take an additional course where the class schedule or delivery interferes with potential work hours or performance expectations; if students elect to take a class, an asynchronous delivery method is strongly recommended. Students complete a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Agreement prior to the first work term accepting this and all other responsibilities associated with the co-op portion of their program.
Students must be remunerated via a guaranteed base salary of minimum wage or higher in the region of employment, and paid in accordance with the labour laws of the jurisdiction in which they work.
Support for the job search is provided by Management Career Services (MCS), and job opportunities are posted on the myCareer job posting system. Members of the MCS team conduct mid-term review meetings with both the employers and students to ensure the work term objectives and requirements are being met. Employers commit to completing and submitting an evaluation detailing the student's performance level which must be assessed as satisfactory or above to receive academic credit.
Work Term Requirements
All students must meet the academic requirements and complete all Co-op Orientation deliverables required for Work Term Eligibility, as outlined in the relevant components of COMM 1711 and COMM 1712, the Personal and Professional Development courses.
Students receive academic credit upon completion of the following for each work term:
- Registering for each work term course (COMM 2801, COMM 3801 and COMM 3802) via Dal Online.
- Finding suitable business-related employment that is approved by Management Career Services (MCS) within the set work term deadlines.
- Completing the work term within the designated semester with one employer, hired as either an employee (not as an independent contractor) or approved by MCS for an Entrepreneurial Work Term. Each work term must total no less than 12 weeks and must be a minimum of 35 hours per week.
- Communicating with a member of the MCS team during the work term to discuss performance and work term experience.
- Receiving a satisfactory performance evaluation from the employer or Entrepreneurial Business Coach.
- Submitting a satisfactory work term report to the assigned faculty member in the Faculty of Management.
Academic Eligibility for Work Terms
Only students who meet the prerequisites (see Section II: Courses Offered of this calendar) are eligible to participate in a work term. Note that as per CEWIL Canada accreditation guidelines, students are expected to be registered in full-time studies (at least nine credit hours) in each of the semesters following a work term, as well as complete their program on an academic semester.
Students who fail a required core course or a work term twice, and/or whose grades drop below a 1.70 GPA overall will be dismissed from the University. Refer to the university regulations regarding academic probation and dismissal for more information.
Co-op/Career Services Fees
Students are charged Co-operative Education/Career Services Fees.
These fees support the administration of work terms as well as career services provided during the student's program to prepare them for their post-graduation job search. It covers, but is not limited to;
- Administration of all work terms and Commerce Co-op Orientation,
- Job search assistance (cover letters and resume building, interview preparation and debrief, coaching for self-developed job search strategies),
- Variety of workshops and other training,
- Networking opportunities with employers (including special events, competitions, information sessions, corporate tours, mentoring, etc.),
- Work term monitoring and mediation of difficult situations,
- Work term report instruction and grading by the assigned Instructor for COMM 2801, COMM 3801, and COMM 3802,
- Marketing and communications tools and activities to promote the Commerce Co-op program to employers,
- Development and administration of work term and grad job opportunities,
- Access to an on-line job posting site (myCareer) and job posting administration,
- Additional electronic tools including asynchronous video interviewing for practice interviews,
- Interview space and schedule co-ordination,
- Facilitation of job offers,
- Tracking of work term eligibility and student job search activity.
To balance the cost, the fees are charged on each academic term until completion of the degree (pro-rated for part-time studies), which includes academic semesters outside of the regular program structure after all work terms have been successfully completed. While no co-op/career services fee is charged for the actual work term, any student taking an academic course during a work term will be charged additional pro-rated incidental fees.
These fees are non-refundable after the deadline dates listed in the University Calendar.
Students taking an academic term (three or more half credit courses) outside of Dalhousie on a Letter of Permission are also responsible for the payment of Dalhousie's Co-op/Career Services fees. Before the Letter of Permission is considered, students must sign a Co-op/Career Services fee agreement, available from the Undergraduate Advising Office.
Payment of all fees is required to obtain a Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) Degree. Consult the Fees section of the Dalhousie University Calendar for details.
Exchange Programs
Dalhousie offers Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) students the opportunity to study abroad in a variety of countries all over the world, including Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway, South Korea and China (a complete list of partnerships can be found here). While participating in this program, students create international contacts, immerse themselves in a different culture, and gain valuable experiences. For more information, please contact our Global Experience Manager by emailing management.global@dal.ca