Rhodes University Faculty Of Commerce About us
Why Commerce?
At the beginning of the 21st century, business and commerce in South Africa face new and exciting challenges. On the one hand, the world has become a global village in terms of speed of transfer of information and technology, and the exploitation of markets calls for highly sophisticated expertise to acquire and maintain a competitive edge. On the other hand, our country is grappling with the development of its economy, starved of competitive participation internationally for decades, whilst also taking up the challenge of being a key participant in the regional economy. The men and women who will make South Africa a winning nation by providing the business and commercial skills necessary to uplift our people and to launch our country into the global economy will be those who are equipped with the knowledge and particularly the adaptability to compete in today’s information driven world.
Through its structured curricula, the Faculty of Commerce at Rhodes University prepares its graduates for the leading roles they will be expected to play in their professional lives in the new millennium. Our programmes span the entire range of Accounting, Economics, Management, Information Systems, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, as well as the fields of Commercial Law and Organisational Psychology, to name but a few.
Our degrees and diplomas receive wide recognition, in both the academic and professional communities. The Faculty also contributes to social upliftment through its Extended Studies Programme which is aimed at improving the life and academic skills of candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds to enable them to enter the mainstream of academic life, and through its Postgraduate Diploma in Enterprise Management which is aimed at improving the flow of qualified entrepreneurs to our economy.
One of the factors which sets the Faculty of Commerce at Rhodes University apart from others is the integration of the academic and social experience enjoyed at a high quality institution. Modern business is not only about technology and know-how, but also to a very large extent about people.
With fifty percent of undergraduate students resident on campus, the undergraduate gains social skills with his or her peers which will be invaluable in later life.
The major subjects offered in eight departments form the core of the Commerce Faculty. A brief introduction to these departments follows.