Choosing your focus
Students in all 3 specialist programs have the opportunity to choose an optional focus or focuses to complement their specialist by enrolling in a suite of courses that can develop their expertise in a subdiscipline of business.
As a Management specialist, you have the flexibility to specialize further by choosing from 8 areas of focus.
As an Accounting or Finance and Economics specialist, you can choose from the following focuses: Data Science in Business and Managing in Diverse Economies.
Rotman Commerce is now offering a new focus: Managing in Diverse Economies. It can be taken as part of any of the 3 specialists (Management, Accounting, and Finance & Economics) in the program.
New focus: Managing in Diverse Economies
In an increasingly global economy, the world needs young professionals who can navigate different approaches to management in a variety of contexts. The new focus aims to enhance students’ adaptability and resilience as well as build awareness, cultural sensitivity and nuance within a business framework.
You’ll take at least one course related to the politics or economics of inequality, globalization or development. You’ll also learn about people in diverse economies by studying the literature/geography/history/political science/religion of different cultures and regions, mainly through the African Studies, Caribbean Studies and Indigenous Studies programs within the Faculty Arts & Science.
The capstone course for this focus (RSM468Y1 Managing in Diverse Economies) offers you a unique opportunity to work on a year-long research project with the possibility of field work in an area of particular interest within the focus on African/Caribbean/Indigenous cultures and the opportunity to share your research with peers.
8 focus areas to choose from:
The focus in Data Science in Business can be taken as part of any of the 3 specialists (Management, Accounting, and Finance & Economics).
In an increasingly digital world, the demand for, and rewards to, individuals with skills in data science are increasing. The focus in Data Science in Business will introduce and develop students’ skills in quantitative methods. The focus provides students with hands-on exposure to empirical tools used to build and analyze datasets in a variety of commerce related settings.
In this focus, students will take 1.0 credits of required courses in programming and data analytics tools. In these courses students will learn skills which they then apply to a variety of applications in various management and economics areas through the choice of 1.5 credits of elective courses.
The focus in Finance can be taken as part of the Management specialist.
Rotman Commerce graduates build careers in a wide range of finance functions in corporations, banks and financial service firms. These roles include corporate finance, finance, financial analysis, commercial banking, investment banking, securities markets and investing, and numerous other roles.
Students in the Finance focus will gain depth in a corporate finance, investments, and/or derivatives, and have a choice of electives across the breath of upper-level finance and financial analysis courses.
The focus in Financial Statement Analysis can be taken as part of the Management specialist.
Students who are interested in accounting careers that don’t require the Chartered Professional Accountants designation can have access to the flexible and robust curriculum of the management specialist while still developing skills as accountants. The Management Specialist is intended to give a broad business education, while allowing for depth in a business subdiscipline.
This focus is intended to develop that expertise in the Accounting subdiscipline, while leaving room for building expertise in other subdisciplines.
The first required course (RSM220H or RSM329H) for this focus adds depth in Financial Accounting beyond the introductory RSM219H which is required of all Rotman Commerce students. The further 2.0 credits allow students to choose Accounting courses and gain depth in their preferred sub-area (e.g. Managerial Accounting; Accounting theory; etc). The final required course RSM429H acts as a capstone course to ensure that students can use their accounting knowledge to expertly analyze financial statements.
The focus in International Business can be taken as part of the Management specialist.
International Business is unique among business subdisciplines in that it more explicitly encompasses both International Economics and Business (e.g. International Strategy/Marketing etc.). The requirements encourage students to choose from both ECO and RSM courses, with priority given to a narrower list of key ECO and RSM courses. The structure also allows students the opportunity to combine this focus with a second focus in a business subdiscipline. Understanding the nature of international business requires general business studies (i.e the Management Specialist), as well as a focus on the unique nature and economics of cross-border transactions. This focus will prepare students to do business internationally by combining their learning in the Management Specialist, with the specific knowledge from RSM and ECO international business and international economics courses.
The list of courses in Requirement 1 include some of the central subjects that comprise the core discipline of international business. These include International Economics and International Business courses. At the same time, Requirement 2 allows students to follow their own interest by including courses that are within the discipline but might be viewed as more peripheral. The requirements also recognize that foreign languages, and international exchange are useful for developing skills and experience in international business.
The focus in Leadership in Organizations can be taken as part of the Management specialist.
Your life will involve numerous leadership roles whether at work, at home, or in the broader community. The courses in the Leadership focus will help you achieve a better understanding of what leadership entails, and thus, will help you develop your leadership skills. The courses focus on the specific skills that leaders use to successfully negotiate, to structure organizations, and to hire, motivate, and retain a diverse talent pool in 21st century sustainable organizations. In essence, you will begin to develop a set of skills to increase your effectiveness as a leader that can be applied in many settings, including but not limited to the workplace.
The focus in Marketing can be taken as part of the Management specialist.
In an era characterized by intense competition and increasingly demanding customers, the success of an organization depends heavily on its ability to create value for its customers. However, many organizations do not have a nuanced understanding of the concept of marketing and customer value, and do not fully exploit strategies to harness customer insights and add value. The focus in marketing is to understand the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, distribution and promotion of ideas and products, which is based on a single premise: that businesses succeed by providing superior value to customers vis-à-vis the competition.
Students will take the core course ‘Principles of Marketing’, and also take at least two courses related to either Marketing Research, Consumer Behavior or Marketing Management. In addition, they are required to take two additional courses related to marketing and behavioral economics, sales, pricing, marketing communications, marketing analytics, branding etc.
The focus in Managing in Diverse Economies can be taken as part of any of the 3 specialists (Management, Accounting, and Finance & Economics)
In an increasingly global economy, the world needs young professionals who can navigate varied approaches to management in diverse contexts. The new focus aims to enhance students’ adaptability and resilience as well as build awareness, cultural sensitivity and nuance within a business framework.
You’ll take at least one course related to the politics or economics of inequality, globalization or development. You’ll also learn about people in diverse economies by studying the literature/geography/history/political science/religion of different cultures and regions, mainly through the African Studies, Caribbean Studies and Indigenous Studies programs within the Faculty Arts & Science.
The capstone course for this focus (RSM468Y1 Managing in Diverse Economies) offers you a unique opportunity to work on a year-long research project with the possibility of field work in an area of particular interest within the focus on African/Caribbean/Indigenous cultures and the opportunity to share your research with peers.
The focus in Strategy and Innovation can be taken as part of the Management specialist.
Innovation is pervasive in today’s economy. Business professionals need to understand how to recognize, manage and create value for sustained competitive advantage. The focus in Strategy and Innovation will enhance students’ ability to create economic value that is essential for starting a company, innovating in an existing organization, advising organizations as a consultant or providing financial resources to an organization as an investor or banker.
Students will take at least 1.0 credits from a list of core strategy and innovation courses. To further develop their knowledge in this area, students will also take an additional 1.5 credits from a selection of supplemental courses in strategy and innovation.
* The Focuses in International Business and Managing in Diverse Economies are part of the UofT Global Scholar program
