The BCom specialising in Management Studies is the most flexible three-year degree offered in the faculty, providing a solid foundation in Commerce while also fostering the creativity demanded by modern challenges such as Generative AI, where broad and critical thinking will take on increasing significance. The degree requires a core of 11 courses, alongside an extensive range of electives at first-, second-, and third-year levels. This allows students to select from a wide choice of disciplines offered across UCT, tailoring their education around their specific abilities and interests.
This combination of academic rigour, breadth, and flexibility enables students to leverage their strengths and interests and makes graduates attractive to employers, thanks to the breadth of knowledge they have acquired and their ability to adapt to new and complex challenges. Rather than following a rigid curriculum, students have the opportunity to select courses that meet the degree requirements while also playing to their strengths and interests. This effectively puts the power into the hands of the students, requiring them to develop self-awareness and agency – graduate attributes that are very attractive to employers.
Important rules and electives for the BCom in Management Studies degree (applicable to CB001BUS06, CB023BUS06 and CB011BUS06)
Notes on core courses and electives:
- Depending on the individual student’s interest and abilities, students can follow one or more specialised disciplines within the programme structure. The list of pre-approved electives available to students appears below. However, students who want to take electives that do not appear on the list below should request permission to take these courses from the programme convener.
- All normal course prerequisite rules apply.
- There is no guarantee that all elective courses will be offered every year.
- All normal course equivalents apply as per the Commerce Faculty undergraduate handbook.
- Students who want to be eligible for Honours in a particular discipline need to ensure that they register for the appropriate courses in that discipline.
- The guide below assists students in choosing electives if they are interested in eligibility to apply for Honours in a particular discipline commonly taken by students in the degree programme (note that students must achieve the required marks as per the entrance requirements described in the postgraduate handbook). The list of courses presented below was correct at the time of publication of this handbook; however, students should consult the relevant departments to confirm current Honours requirements:
Economics:
ECO2007S OR ECO2008S, plus ECO3020F, ECO3021S plus another ECO course at 3rd year level
Finance and Tax:
FTX2024F/S, STA2020F/S, FTX3044F, FTX3045S
Information Systems:
BUS2033S, INF1003F INF2008F, INF2009F, INF2010S and INF2011S plus INF3003W, INF3014F and INF3012S OR INF3011F, INF3012S and INF3014F
Marketing:
BUS2010F/S, STA2020F/S, BUS3041F, BUS3043S, BUS3008W, STA3022F
Organisational Psychology:
PSY1004F, PSY1005S, BUS1007S, BUS2024F, BUS2023S, BUS3003F, BUS3004S
Statistical Sciences:
STA2020F and STA2030S, STA3030F, STA3036S (STA3022F optional)
Award of majors:
The degree may be awarded with majors. A student who has completed 120 credits in a specific single discipline at NQF level 7 may graduate with a major in that discipline. A student who has completed at least 60 credits in each of two disciplines at NQF level 7 may graduate with two majors in those disciplines. Students deemed to have completed their major/s will be moved to the CB021 programme code. The disciplines for which majors may be awarded are as follows:
| Name of Major | Code of Major |
| Computer Science | CSC05 |
| Economics | ECO01 |
| Finance | FTX05 |
| Industrial & Organisational Psychology | BUS28 |
| Information Systems | INF01 |
| Statistics & Data Science | STA13 |
The list of approved electives for the BCom Management Studies
BUS1004F Introduction to Strategy and Marketing
BUS1007S Introduction to Industrial and Organisational Psychology
CSC1016S Computer Science 1016
EGS1007S Human and Physical Systems
GEO1009F Introduction to Earth and Environmental Sciences
INF1003F Commercial Programming
MAM1012S Mathematics 1012
PHI1024F Introduction to Philosophy
PHI1026F Critical Foundations
PHI1010S Ethics
POL1004F Introduction to Politics
POL1005S Introduction to Politics B
PSY1009F Introduction to Psychology (Part 1) (only with permission from the HOD)
PSY1010S Introduction to Psychology (Part 2) (only with permission from the HOD)
Closed
BUS2023S Organisational Behaviour (not to be taken with BUS3039)
BUS2024F Psychology of Human Resource Management
CML2001F Company Law
CSC2001F Computer Science 2001
CSC2002S Computer Science 2002
ECO2003F Microeconomics 2
ECO2004S Macroeconomics 2
ECO2007S Co-operation and Competition
ECO2008S Development Economics
EGS2013F The Physical Environment
EGS2014S Contemporary Urban Challenges
END1019L Social Infrastructures: Engaging with Community for Change
INF2004F Information Technology in Business
INF2009F Systems Analysis
INF2010S IT Architecture
INF2011S Systems Design & Development
PHI2012F Philosophy of Psychology and Mind
PHI2037F Applied Ethics
PHI2042F Political Philosophy
PHI2044F Philosophy of Mathematics
PHI2016S Philosophy of Art and Literature
PHI2040S Philosophy of Science
PHI2041S Great Philosophers
POL2038F Comparative Politics
POL2002S Political Theory
POL2036F Introductory Political Economy
POL2039F The Politics of International Economic Relations
PSY2003F Social Psychology
PSY2009F Developmental Psychology
PSY2014S Cognitive Neuroscience and Abnormal Psychology
PSY2015F Research Methods I
PSY2003S Social Psychology and Intergroup Relations
PSY2010S Cognition and Neuroscience
PVL1003W Foundations of South African Law
PVL1008H Law of Persons and Family (formerly PVL1008S)
PVL1004F South African Private Law: System and Context
STA2020F/S Business Statistics
STA2030S Theory of Statistics
Closed
ASL3200F Political Economy of Africa
BUS3041 Marketing IIA
BUS3003F Research Design in Industrial and Organisational Psychology
BUS3004S Research Data Analysis in Industrial and Organisational Psychology
BUS3008W Research in Marketing
BUS3038S Introduction to Project Management
BUS3039S People Management (not to be taken with BUS2023S)
BUS3043S Marketing IIB
BUS3095S Social Impact Enterprise
CSC3002F Computer Science 3002
CSC3003S Computer Science 3003
ECO3024F International Trade and Finance
ECO3020F Advanced Macro & Microeconomics
ECO3009F Natural Resource Economics
ECO3016F History of Economic Thought
ECO3021S Quantitative Methods in Economics
ECO3022S Advanced Labour Economics
ECO3023S Public Sector Economics
ECO3025S Applied International Trade Bargaining
EGS3012S Atmospheric Science
EGS3023F Anthropocene Environments in Perspective
EGS3021F Sustainability and the Environment
EGS3022S Geographic Thought
FTX3044F Finance IIA
FTX3045S Finance IIB
INF3014F Electronic Commerce
INF3003W Systems Development Project I
INF3012S BPM & Enterprise Systems
PBL2000W Constitutional Law
PHI3023F Logic and Language
PHI3024S Metaphysics and Epistemology
POL3030F Conflict in World Politics (POL course pre-requisites waived for BCom MS students)
POL3013S SA Political Thought
POL3029S Third World Politics
POL3038S Urban Politics & Administration (POL course pre-requisites waived for BCom MS students)
POL3045S Global Governance (POL course pre-requisites waived for BCom MS students)
POL3046S South African Political Thought
PSY3005F Critical Psychology
PSY3008F Health Psychology
PSY3011S Clinical Psychology II
PSY3007S Research Methods in Psychology II
PSY3010S Introduction to Clinical Neuropsychology
PVL2002H Law of Property
PVL2003H Law of Succession
SLL1002F Word Power
SLL1029F Language and Cross-Cultural Communication
STA3022F Research and Survey Statistics
STA3030F Inferential Statistics
STA3036S Operational Research Techniques
STA3041F Stochastic Processes and Time Series
STA3045F Stochastic Processes and Distribution
STA3047S Introduction to Machine Learning
STA3048S Statistical Modelling and Bayesian Analysis
Closed
There are also several opportunities in Languages from 1st year to 3rd year, including, but not limited to:
- isiXhosa (in two streams: Communication and Language & Literature (for mother-tongue students))
- Swahili Communication (offered to 3rd year level from 2026)
- Sesotho Communication (currently offered to second year level)
For more information on the courses, please refer to the Commerce Undergraduate Handbook.
For information on applying to UCT, admission requirements, National Benchmark Tests, and key dates, please consult UCT’s Undergraduate Prospectus.