DESCRIPTION AND PROGRAMME PURPOSE

Staff in the banking and investment industry require a degree in order to embark on a career in banking or to enter the investment management environment. Although other bachelor degrees are accepted, banks and investment houses tend to prefer commerce graduates with specialisation in Banking and/or Investment. As Banking and Investment Management are related fields, it can be beneficial to those seeking a career in these fields to cover some banking and investment concepts and topics in one degree. This will provide a strong foundation to enable graduates to operate responsibly and successfully in the general banking, private banking, investment banking and investment management environment at a junior level.

The qualification will function as articulation into a Postgraduate Diploma in Investment Management or in Banking, which most financial institutions require for a further career in the sector. The programme curriculum offers some investment-specific modules, which are partially based on the Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) from the CFA ® programme.¹

The purpose of the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree is to provide a broad but solid educational foundation to students in the field of commerce, including various key discipline areas such as business management, accounting and economics.

The qualification has been designed to provide the knowledge base, practical competence and application skills that will enable students either to enter the labour market or to pursue further studies in the fields of Banking and Investment Management. The Bachelor of Commerce degree appears on the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) list of recognised qualifications for FAIS Fit and Proper purposes.

¹ CFA® is a registered trademark owned by the CFA Institute. This programme is not affiliated with, sponsored, or approved by the CFA Institute.

WHO SHOULD ENROL

The programme would be suitable for:

• A school leaver who wants to gain the relevant specialised knowledge of the different areas of banking and investment management in order to enable him to pursue a career in that field, and potentially gain access to a graduate trainee programme in the financial services industry.
• An employed person who wants to enhance his knowledge of the core areas of competence related to banking and investment management, and further his career in the financial services industry

PROGRAMME OUTCOMES

Successful completion of this qualification should enable the student to:

1. Demonstrate awareness of the management and leadership competences necessary to operate in the local or international business environment.
2. Demonstrate awareness of the essential components of an effective operations strategy in a business environment.
3. Demonstrate awareness of essential economic theory and its managerial and business implications.
4. Conduct business research with appropriate supervision in a business environment. 

Kindly note that there is an overview factsheet available that provides information on all the different BCom majors offered by Milpark.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

MAJOR: BANKING AND INVESTMENT: 399 CREDITS

In the table below, the "Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3" columns correspond with the complexity of the coursework and progression of the academic levels. These labels align with international BCom standards. The columns do not represent the time it takes for a student to complete the qualification at Milpark. Students have a minimum of four (4) years, and a maximum of nine (9) years, to complete the qualification. This allows for flexibility on the learning journey, at a pace that enables students the best possible opportunity for successful outcomes.

The admission criteria for the Bachelor in Commerce degree are as follows:

If the candidate matriculated in 2007 or earlier

Candidates who matriculated in 2007 or earlier require:

1. A Senior Certificate with matriculation endorsement/exemption for degree studies. Candidates who have a Senior Certificate but who do not meet the matriculation endorsement/exemption requirements stated above, may apply to Universities South Africa (USAF), for mature age exemption (https://mb.usaf.ac.za/); and

2. A symbol of E or higher for Mathematics on HG, or a symbol of D or higher for Mathematics on SG. Candidates who do not meet the Mathematics requirement may beoffered admission on condition that they successfully complete the BCom bridging programme, if they have achieved at least a symbol of E on HG or a C on SG in any two of the following subjects:

• Economics
• Business Economics
• Accounting
• Physical Science or Physics/Chemistry
• Natural Science or Biology.

If the candidate matriculated in 2008 or later

Candidates who matriculated in 2008 or later require:

1. A National Senior Certificate (NSC) with a minimum of 50% in four NSC 20-credit subjects, including English as the language of instruction at Milpark Education, as certified by Umalusi. Candidates who have a National Senior Certificate (NSC) but who do not meet the matriculation endorsement/exemption requirements stated above, may apply to Universities South Africa (USAF), for mature age exemption (https://mb.usaf.ac.za/); and

2. A minimum mark of 50% for Mathematics or 70% for Mathematics Literacy. Candidates who do not meet the Mathematics requirement but who have achieved a minimum mark of 50% or higher in any two of the following subjects may be offered admission on condition that they successfully complete the bridging programme:

• Economics
• Business Economics
• Accounting
• Physical Science or Physics/Chemistry
• Natural Science or Biology.

Candidates who have completed a relevant Higher Certificate (NQF 5) or Diploma (NQF 6) in the field of business or commerce, may also be admitted to the BCom degree.

Other certificates

Any applicant who has a certificate other than a South African National Senior Certificate has to provide:

• a SAQA Certificate of Equivalence, if they want to enrol for a Higher Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Diploma or Postgraduate qualification (www.saqa.org.za)
• or a USAF Exemption Certificate, if they want to enrol for a Bachelor’s degree (https://mb.usaf.ac.za/).

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) applications

Milpark admits a small number of students onto its programme via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Applicants interested in applying via RPL will be considered individually by the relevant Dean.

Downloads

Information Pack

BCom Streams

Fees & Funding

Textbooks

Timetable