Courses and Programs

Degree Qualifications

A three year programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Commerce and denoted as BCom Degree. A student may pursue one of two routes to achieve this:

The double major route permits students to study certain combinations of disciplines in accordance with their interests and requirements. Curricula may be designed so that graduates are equipped with the necessary skills to pursue careers in various fields.
The focussed programme route involves study around a field of specialisation which is indicated after the contraction BCom e.g. BCom (Accounting) and BCom (MIS).

b) A three year programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Administration and denoted as BAdmin. This qualification offers a combination of disciplines in public administration, political science and local government.

c) A four year programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Laws and denoted as LLB. This qualification offers a combination of modules according to a structured curriculum in the legal discipline.

d) A four-year extended BCom programme for those students not meeting the minimum entry requirements.

The Faculty thus offers a variety of qualifications and programmes in Accounting, Business Management, Economics, Human Resources Management, Industrial Psychology, Public Administration and Political Science and Law. The majority of degree qualifications are based on a double major, with a minimum of 384 credit points per degree, offered on a modular semesterised basis.

The following degree qualifications have been restructured for relevance and are offered by the Faculty of Commerce, Administration and Law in 2008:

BCom Extended Four-Year Programme
This is an alternate access programme offered over a four year period. It targets students with potential and flair for business and commercial interests. Students with matriculation endorsement and with a pass in English, E (HG) /D (SG) and Mathematics, F (SG) will be considered. It is designed to develop competencies of students in language and numeracy and at the same time giving additional support by way of small group tutorials/lectures, for students to cope with the regular BCom modules. The additional year is designed to be student-centred focusing on raising their ability to meet the standards of the programme.

BCom (Accounting)
This is a three year qualification that provides a specialisation in accounting, auditing, management accounting and taxation. Graduates will find employment in these and related accounting fields.

BCom
This is a three year qualification that furnishes a well balanced programme of offerings with double majors in a range of disciplines including business management, economics, human resources management, and industrial psychology. On completion, graduates may proceed in a discipline specific Honours programme.

BCom (Management Information Systems)
This programme is a marriage of MIS and Computer Science fundamentals and is offered as a partnership programme by the faculties of Commerce and Science. Graduates may seek employment in computer related fields with MIS applications. They may on completion of the degree wish to pursue advanced studies in this field to enhance their qualifications and skills capacity.

BAdmin
This three year programme has been significantly restructured to meet the transformation needs of the public sector and will be of value to intersectoral organisations, such as non governmental and community based institutions. Of relevance is the combination of public administration and political science that form the bedrock of the programmes, complemented by a choice of specialisation in human resource and local government management. Modules focus on the needs of the developmental state emphasizing, sound theoretical grounding and good governance practices that support transparency, accountability and efficient and effective service delivery outcomes that are designed to meet quality of life objectives.

LLB
The Law Departments (Private law, Public law and Criminal & Procedural Law) offer the four year Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree.

This programme has been designed in line with national norms and standards. This degree is the minimum qualification for any career in law, be it public prosecutor, magistrate, judge, law advisor, attorney or advocate.

To become an attorney, a person must, after completion of the degree, attend the School for Legal Practice and/or serve articles of clerkship in an attorney’s office, and pass the profession’s prescribed practical examinations.

In order to formally practice as an advocate, a person must join one of the Bar Associations. To do that, a person holding the LLB degree must firstly apply to be admitted as an advocate by the High Court of South Africa, and thereafter complete a term of pupilage and pass the Bar Council’s practical examination


POST-GRADUATE QUALIFICATIONS

Honours – Accounting
Master’s – Accounting
Doctors – Accounting
Honours - Business Management
Master’s - Business Management
Doctors - Business Management
Honours – Economics
Master’s – Economics
Doctors – Economics

Honours - Industrial Psychology
Master’s - Industrial Psychology
Doctors - Industrial Psychology
Honours - Political Science & Public Administration
Master’s - Political Science & Public Administration
Doctors - Political Science & Public Administration
The Degree of Magister Legum – LLB
The Degree of Doctor Legum - LLD