4 Things to Know About the Smith School Of Business
WRITTEN BY
LUMI T.
A Quick Overview of the Smith School of Business
Located in Kingston, Ontario, the Smith School of Business is recognized internationally, for its education and business programs. Its notable commerce programs offer a variety of opportunities to obtain degrees for its students and open multiple career paths. Knowing that 98% of its Commerce students acquire jobs within six months of graduation and 85% participating in international exchange, it may not be a bad idea to look into this program for all you future bright business students! Here are a few opinions from Archanna Thiru, a second-year student Smith that may be of great use!
How was the workload, and your insight in the importance of participating in clubs/activities on top of studying for your courses.
I found the workload manageable. There are definitely certain times of the year where things get busy, so prioritizing and staying organized is super important, especially when multiple group projects are running at the same time. Joining clubs are quite common in Queen's Commerce, but they are not mandatory in any way. I would say they are good to join if a student has the time because it helps build important skills. You also get to meet some great people with similar interests. Students can also join some clubs just as a general member, or attend the conference if they are not interested in becoming an executive.
What were the type of skills were you able to enhance in attending this program?
By attending this program, I was able to build my communication skills through activities such as presentations, and teamwork skills through clubs I have joined or group components in the various courses I have taken. In terms of hard skills, I can only speak to the first two years of the program, but you get a good base of business, by taking a variety of courses, so that you can pick what you want to focus on in upper years.
Your experience when you were a first year student
I enjoyed my experience as a first-year overall. I liked meeting new people, and found the community I was in to be supportive. It can be intimidating to get involved at first because everything is so new, but I think that it makes the first-year experience better! I also lived in residence, which I really enjoyed because I was able to meet students from outside my program.
Any advice/tips you think may help first-year students?
A big piece of advice is to not be afraid to get involved or reach out. There are a lot of commerce society clubs to join as well as Queen's AMS clubs. Upper-year students and the faculty are also super helpful!
Some more additional general information gathered from various sources linked to the university are listed below.
Career Possibilities With All This Education
So what exactly might you be able to pursue, after taking the Bachelor's program at Smith's? Careers range from Accounting, entrepreneurship, to investment management and much more. If you haven't figured out your exact career path yet, that's okay! Smith's Career Advancement Centre provides solid Career Support that will guide you through the decision-making process.
For a greater list of career paths that will open up for you in taking the Commerce Program, visit this website:
https://www.queensu.ca/admission/programs/commerce
The 4 Year Plan Layout
Year One And Year Two: For this year, you will mainly focus on building a solid foundation by grasping the important business concepts, ranging from business management to an intro to marketing.
The required courses for Year 1 are listed below:
- Business Management
- Introduction to Mathematical Analysis for Management
- Introduction to Financial Accounting
- Introduction to Management Accounting
- Introduction to Marketing
- Organizational Behaviour
- Managerial Statistics
- Principles of Economics
- Business Communications
- Managing Work and Teams
The Required Courses for Year 2:
- Introduction to Finance
- Finance II
- Marketing II
- Business Decision Models
- Managerial Economics
- Introduction to Human Resources Management
- Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
- Introduction to Digital Business and Technologies
- Introduction to International Business
For Years Three and Four, you will be able to choose around 5 to 6 commerce electives as well as 3 to 4 non-commercial electives. These electives can be chosen based on the career path you're steering towards. The class sizes for all years approximate a maximum of 85 to 90 students. For information on required courses for the third and fourth year, please visit this link:
https://smith.queensu.ca/bcom/Smith-Commerce-Brochure.pdf
Special Feature: The International Exchange Option
Smith offers the opportunity for students to study abroad for one or two terms in Years Three or Four, in partnership with more than 120 schools in 35+ countries. There is no additional tuition fee for the exchange, although students must handle personal expenses, including those of travel and accommodation. It is stated that students usually apply for exchange in the second year. To use this opportunity to your advantage, it is required that you have a good academic record as well as the completion of all required Commerce courses in the first and second year. A good academic record, according to Smith's involves (mentioned in the Academic Calendar) :
"1. Attain an academic year GPA of not less than 2.00 at the end of the regular academic session (September - April); and
2. Maintain a cumulative GPA of not less than 2.00 (includes all courses taken at Queen's registered under the Bachelor of Commerce); and
3. Pass all courses attempted (including required courses, Commerce elective courses, and elective courses from other faculties); and
4. Be registered as a full-time student in the Bachelor of Commerce Program. That is, they must take at least 60% of the normal course load during the September to April time frame"
For a detailed description of the program, along with a handful of useful information, visit this link:
https://smith.queensu.ca/_templates/documents/bcom/bcomm-academic-calendar.pdf
Tuition
Smith states that currently, annual tuition and fees for domestic students sit at $16,288. Just over $17,000 is needed for residence, meal plan, textbooks and supplies per year.
Prerequisites for Admission
As stated by Ontario Universities Information, the prerequisites needed for Smith's School of business are:
- ENG4U with a minimum mark of 80%
- MCV4U with a minimum mark of 80%
- 1 other 4U course in mathematics with a minimum mark of 80%
- 3 additional 4U/M courses
No more than two 4M courses from the same discipline.
Stay Connected
If you are interested in staying updated on Smith's School of Business, check their Facebook here!
https://www.facebook.com/SmithBusiness/
Interested in more information?
Visit this website for tips, statistics and personal experience on Queen's Commerce
https://www.admissionsally.ca/blog/queens-commerce-guide
Works Cited
"Commerce - OUInfo." Www.ontariouniversitiesinfo.ca, www.ontariouniversitiesinfo.ca/programs/706. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.
Nicholson, Joel. "Queen's Commerce: The Definitive Guide for Applicants (2020)." Www.admissionsally.ca, 4 Mar. 2020, www.admissionsally.ca/blog/queens-commerce-guide. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.
Queen's University. "Commerce." Undergraduate Admission, Queen's University, Canada, www.queensu.ca/admission/programs/commerce. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.
Smith School Of Business. Bachelor of Commerce Academic Calendar 2020-21. smith.queensu.ca/_templates/documents/bcom/bcomm-academic-calendar.pdf.
---. Your Best Start. FOUR-YEAR HONOURS DEGREE Bachelor of Commerce.
Smith School of Business. "Study at Smith." Smith.queensu.ca, smith.queensu.ca/international/study_at_queens.php. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.
Smith's School of Business. "Smith Bachelor of Commerce - Program - International Exchange." Smith.queensu.ca, smith.queensu.ca/bcom/the_program/international_exchange.php. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.