Business students may focus their studies in a number of different areas of business. These focus areas are informal and aren’t noted on transcripts.

Focusing your studies gives you deep knowledge and skills in a specific area of business, resulting in a competitive edge in the workplace. Customize your business degree by focusing in one of the following areas:

General management
General management is about developing skills to adapt and succeed in today’s ever-changing workplace and leading others to accomplish common business goals. Pursuing this focus area will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of management. You’ll develop innovative and industry-relevant skills to prepare you to work in a diverse industry of versatile management careers with the flexibility to take electives from many areas of business. It also gives you the opportunity to design your own general management focus area!

Accounting
Accounting isn’t just about crunching numbers – it’s strategizing, communicating and guiding corporate decisions. Accountants keep businesses ahead of the curve by solving problems, building sound financial strategies and ensuring good fiscal health. Pursuing courses from this focus area will help you learn how to approach, analyze and shape financial practices within an organization.

Entrepreneurship
An entrepreneurial mindset can help you embark on a variety of career paths and position you to succeed in today’s dynamic market. Entrepreneurs are innovators who play an integral role in the growth and development of a healthy economy by infusing new ideas, initiatives and strategies into the business community. Pursuing courses in this focus area will help you gain the knowledge, develop the skills and learn how to approach opportunities and challenges like an entrepreneur.

Finance
Corporate finance, international finance, investments: it all comes down to raising, allocating and managing real and financial assets. Pursuing courses from this focus area will help you gain the knowledge to thrive in a dynamic industry, acquire the investments analysis skills to manage money, and learn to make the right business decisions when it comes to financing and investing.

Human resources management
Human resources management is about maximizing the productivity of an organization by optimizing the effectiveness of its employees. Pursuing courses from this focus area will help you learn about best practices in human resources management and prepare you for all aspects of the employment relationship. It will also empower you with the leadership, teamwork, communication and strategic planning skills necessary for a successful career in human resources management.

Information systems
Information systems are the foundation that enables effective and efficient operation of a business and its processes. They also provide strategic value in enabling new and innovative business models and are a critical requirement for supply chain integration and co-ordination.

International business
In today’s globalized business environment, business leaders around the world are recognizing the need for today’s employees to understand how global markets work, how cross-cultural differences in business behaviour are affecting everyday business activity, and how different regulatory environments affect business. Pursuing courses from this focus area will provide you with the knowledge to analyze global opportunities. This focus area will help you develop the skills to do business in the global marketplace and make ethical decisions in an international context.

Labour relations
Labour relations examines issues involving employer and unionized relationships in the workplace in a variety of social, legal, political and economic contexts. Pursuing courses from this focus area will help you understand the complexities and importance of union-management relationships. You’ll also develop analytical skills to help identify and establish successful strategies to promote workplace equality and inclusion in Canada and abroad.

Marketing
Tap into your creative side as an advertising executive, stay ahead of the trends in technology and communication, and support your passion by helping to raise an organization’s profile in a community. Understand why people buy the things they do, how to do market research and how to use marketing tools to improve customer loyalty, experiences and relationships.

Supply chain and operations management
Supply chain and operations management are critical aspects of business in diverse fields such as technology, oil and gas, healthcare and more. Pursuing courses from this focus area will help you gain confidence in framing supply chain and logistics challenges. It will also empower you to use analytics to derive effective and efficient managerial decisions that are values-based and sustainable.