As globalisation is impacting commercial activities around the world, commerce courses have come to the rescue of those who want to better understand this change and its impact. Also, pursuing commerce courses offer an entry to the corporate world.
Associated with buying, selling, or exchanging goods in general, studying commerce courses involve large-scale analysis of trade, business transactions related to purchasing, production, distribution, and financial management. Moreover, it helps to develop the understanding of fundamentals of business, accounting and barriers of trade and taxation policies.
Some of the popular commerce courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels include:
1. B.Com (General & Hons)
2. B. Com (Accountancy)
3. B. Com (Accounting and Finance)
4. B. Com (Applied Economics)
5. M.Com (Accountancy and Business Statistics)
6. M. Com (Accountancy)
7. M. Com (Accounting and Finance)
A student who has graduated from a commerce course can work in BPOs, IT firms, software companies, recruitment and staffing organizations, banking sector, infrastructure companies and government organisations. Also, commerce graduates can serve on the posts of junior accountant, process associate, account assistant, budget analyst, junior bank officer, insurance associate and commerce lecturer among others. One can also find job opportunities as Senior Analyst, Market Analyst, Investment Banker, Equity Research Analyst, Operations Manager, Executive Assistant, business analyst. This is not all; one can land jobs at the overseas firm as well and could get the opportunity to work out there too. Commerce sector has never stopped booming and with rising in entrepreneurship,
Pass outs of postgraduate commerce courses can work in different market segments, including banking, insurance, and investment, as well as the automobile and manufacturing sectors. Also, they can serve the taxation departments under the Government of India. Further, commerce postgraduates can work as a finance and accounts executive, financial analyst, credit analyst, auditor, stock broker, CPA, CA, bank manager and lecturer depending upon their specialisation and interest.
Those going for commerce courses must possess or acquire the following attributes during the course of the program:
Course |
Eligibility |
Bachelor of Commerce (B Com) and Bachelor of Commerce Honours [B Com (Hons)] |
Students who have passed Class 12 with Mathematics and English as compulsory subjects |
Master of Commerce (M.Com)
|
Students who have graduated or in the final year of their under-graduation can apply |
There is no entrance test for students willing to enrol into a B Com program. Students interested for B Com can apply directly to colleges and are given admission based on the marks attained in the grade 12 examination.
Entrance tests at the national/ state/ university level are conducted for admission to the professional commerce courses like B.Com and M. Com, based on the rank/ score secured in the entrance exam, students are granted seats in the respective courses.
Let us have a look at a few of the common entrance tests conducted by various universities for commerce courses like M. Com.
1. DU Joint Admissions Test (DU-JAT): DU JAT is a joint common entrance test conducted for students to gain admission to Delhi University colleges that offer B.Com courses. The duration of the exam is 2 hours and it features objective questions. Information regarding the fees and exam date can be found on the website - www.du.ac.in.
2. Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET): Students who would like to take admission to B.Com with the Symbiosis International University can appear in the SET exam. More information related to SET can be found here - Symbiosis Entrance Test
The admission to commerce courses offered by Symbiosis is given on the basis of the merit list prepared by the Institute. SET is designed to test the level of knowledge students have in English, general aptitude, logical reasoning and quantitative thinking.
3. Manipal University Online Entrance Test (MU-OET): MU-OET is an online test conducted by the Manipal University for students seeking admission to undergraduate commerce courses. Students who want to enrol for a B.Com program can appear in the entrance test. Follow the link below to get detailed information about MU OET - Manipal University Online Entrance Test
Below mentioned are a few institutes that conduct common entrance tests at their own level for admission to commerce courses such as B.Com and M.Com.
Also, some colleges prefer candidates who get through the entrance exam, to appear for group discussion and personal interview rounds.
Course/ Delivery Type |
Duration (Years) |
Fee Structure (INR) |
Bachelor of Commerce (B Com) - Full-time |
3 |
1-3 Lacs |
Bachelor of Commerce Honours [B Com (Hons)] - Full-time |
4 |
1-3 Lacs |
B. Com (Accountancy) |
3 |
1-3 Lacs |
B. Com (Accounting and Finance) |
3 |
1-3 Lacs |
M.Com (Accounting) |
2 |
1-3 Lacs |
M.Com (Accounting and Finance) |
2 |
1-3 Lacs |
M. Com (Accountancy) |
2 |
1-3 Lacs |
Students, who are unable to dedicate time to regular UG commerce courses, can enrol themselves to a B Com program through the distance education mode as well. The University of Mumbai, Karnataka State Open University, Alagappa University, Delhi University Distance Education and IGNOU are a few well-known institutions that offer distance-learning programs for the commerce courses. Also, there are evening colleges affiliated to reputable universities that allow students to continue their degree education. Further, BBA and B Com students who are working on a part-time basis can attend the evening classes.
Students who have graduated from Commerce courses with a minimum of 50 percent or above score are eligible to apply for M Com programs.
Though many institutes require candidates to appear for an entrance exam, some institutions give direct admission based on the marks scored in the Bachelor’s degree in commerce.
There are a few institutes, which conduct a CET for admission to M Com commerce courses.
These CETs majorly feature objective type questions based on the logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude, general knowledge and English at the undergraduate level.
Once results of the CET are published, students may be called for a group discussion or a personal interview.
Course/Delivery Type |
Duration (Years) |
Fee Structure (INR) |
Master of Commerce (M Com) - Full-time |
2 |
1-2 Lacs |
The areas of specialization offered under a B Com program include advertising and sales management, computer application, foreign trade, e-commerce, office management and tax procedure. Students who opt for B Com (Hons) can also specialize in banking, marketing, accounts and finance, taxation, financial market, economics and investment. Talking about other career prospects, one can get a job with handsome salary as a Statistician, Assistant Manager/ Officer, Statistical Assistant, Service Quality Leader, Market Research Analyst, Lead Modeller, Economics Teacher, Curriculum Developer, Subject Matter Expert – Economics, Data Analyst – Energy Economics.
One of the most popular and always in demand job profiles is Advertising and Sales Management. This requires individuals to be agile and in touch with changing market trends and requirements.
Needless to say how e-commerce business has expanded and boomed in past decade, creating a lot of job opportunities and ever growing career. The industry is desperately looking for qualified graduates and postgraduate in commerce major.
The commerce aspirants can easily find work in office management, which would always require individuals with accounts and financial knowledge. The other area where commerce graduates are in great demand is Tax department. Here, no other professional can fill in for as it requires the expertise of commerce personnel.
One can also explore the possibility of specialising as the Market Research Analyser. The person closely follows and reads the market demands and needs. MRA is required in all the departments and in all forms of businesses.
One of the most popular and always in demand job profiles is Advertising and Sales Management. This requires individuals to be agile and in touch with changing market trends and requirements.
Needless to say how e-commerce business has expanded and boomed in past decade, creating lot of job opportunities and ever growing career. The industry is desperately looking for qualified graduates and postgraduate in commerce major.
The commerce aspirants can easily find work in office management, which would always require individuals with accounts and financial knowledge. The other area where commerce graduates are in great demand is Tax department. Here, no other professional can fill in for as it requires the expertise of commerce personnel.
One can also explore the possibility of specialising as the Market Research Analyser. The person closely follows and reads the market demands and needs. MRA is required in all the departments and in all forms of businesses.
Many postgraduate commerce courses offer marketing, international marketing, accounting and finance, and statistics as areas of specialisation. Firstly, a student has to identify his specific interest out of several options available. This could be in investment banking, research methodology in commerce, investment management, accounting and finance, marketing, or e-commerce, which is growing at a rapid-fire.
Then, shortlist colleges and universities offering you specific course, you have identified for yourself. Once you know in which area you want to take your career in, the rest will follow. The information mentioned in this article will further help you in narrowing down your goal. One can specialise to become, an Accounts Assistant, Executives, Financial Analyzer, Investment Banker, Executive Assistant and can get many other portfolios.
After post graduating, one can opt for several specialised careers and one of the top being account assistant. The individual has a lot to learn and build on from being an account assistant.
A Financial analyst is an exciting job profile for the commerce graduates. In this, the individual takes care of financial planning, analysis and projection for companies and corporations.
Another department in which commerce aspirants can specialise is investment banking. Here, the investment banker helps their clients in raising money in capital markets by issuing debt or selling equity in the companies.
Postgraduates with interest in clerical skills can specialise to be an executive assistant. Their roles include helping with marketing research, training staff and scheduling important meetings.