What’s the difference in business degrees?

If you’re considering a studying business, you might be wondering which is best for you. Here’s an explainer on Curtin University’s degrees that cover commerce, business administration and innovation.

What are the differences between Curtin’s business degrees?

At Curtin, we offer four business degrees: Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Advanced Commerce (Honours), Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Innovation. Each satisfies a different set of career goals. In a nutshell:

• Commerce focuses on specific business disciplines, leading to careers in financial planning, business information systems, property development and valuation, and other roles requiring industry accreditation or in-depth expertise.
• Our Advanced Commerce (Honours) course offers an honours degree for students who aspire to be a leader in their field or want to pursue research at the PhD level, working on theories and applications to help solve complex business and societal challenges.
• Business Administration provides a broad understanding of all types of business operations, no matter the industry. Think marketing, finance, HR, project management … Essentially, it provides a wide-ranging skillset leading to careers across diverse business areas and industries.
• Our Bachelor of Innovation cultivates creativity and innovation supported by practical business strategies, leading to careers in product development, entrepreneurship and other future-focused areas.

Though each course has particular areas of emphasis, they do have some content similarities, such as in the core units that provide foundational skillsets, and they all offer these benefits:

• flexible course structures: you can tailor our degrees to create the best pathway to your dream career
• real-world learning: access to the latest software, industry experiences, and assessments that mimic tasks you’ll encounter in the workplace
• real-world experience: each degree includes one or more units dedicated to practical experiences such as internships, study tours or global adventures.

An overview of each Curtin business degree

Choose our Bachelor of Commerce if you:

• are detail-oriented and want in-depth skills in one or more areas
• prefer to have professional certification or accreditation in particular business areas – think careers such as chartered accountant, financial planner or property valuer
• are interested in studying a double major or gaining a double degree.

There’s a great range of business majors you can study in Curtin’s Bachelor of Commerce:

Choose our Bachelor of Business Administration if you:

• want broader, transferrable skillsets that offer the flexibility to work across diverse business areas
• like engaging with a diversity of stakeholders and aspire to be a business manager or leader. It suits people who like engaging and are team players, but who aren’t afraid to make the hard decisions.

Here’s the choice of majors we offer in our Bachelor of Business Administration:

Choose Curtin’s Bachelor of Innovation if you:

• are good at spotting inefficiencies and want to improve processes
• have a creative side and would love to design new products or start your own venture
• want the overall business and innovation know-how that is valued in all industries.

You’ll have a comprehensive choice of majors in our Bachelor of Innovation:

Your business degree can influence your career path

The differences between our business degrees means you’ll get slightly different career pathways as a result. Here are some examples:

Advanced Commerce (Honours)

Double your degree for double the expertise

A double degree means you’ll graduate with two degrees, and more career choices! It only takes an extra 12 to 18 months of study (depending on your course) – making it a strong investment in your future career.

Curtin offers double degrees for both Commerce and Innovation:

Professional accreditation and recognition

All four degrees are also delivered by our Curtin Business School. As well as being recognised as an elite global business school through our accreditation with AACSB International, and ranked in the top 1% worldwide by EQUIS, we’re the #1 business school in Western Australia according to the Eduniversal ‘Palmes of Excellence’ league. Plus, we’re an advanced signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Management (PRME). It means you’ll be learning from experts who not only excel in business but also meet rigorous standards for academic and professional excellence. It means your degree isn’t just a local credential – it’s an international standard, widely acknowledged across the globe. And, perhaps most importantly, it means that everything you learn will be grounded in a commitment to human rights and sustainable development.

Still unsure which business degree to choose?

Get more information with our Business Degree Discovery Tool. You can learn more about our degrees in business administration, commerce and inovation; how to personalise your degree with majors, specialisation or as a double degree; and the many career opportunities a business degree can open for you. 

And, if you realise later you’ve made the wrong choice and want to transfer to a different business degree, we’ll help you. That way, you can be certain you’ll receive the right amount of credit for any relevant units that you have already studied.

Related: Check out our career quiz.

Summing up

When choosing your undergraduate business degree, it’s important to consider your interests and career goals. The Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Commerce offer more specialist skillsets, the Bachelor of Business Administration provides a broad skillset in business and management, while the Bachelor of Innovation fosters innovation and entrepreneurship. By understanding these differences, you can be confident in choosing the best course for your dream career.