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In the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Financial Services program, you’ll take business finance courses that cover financial planning and investing, business and financial law and financial literacy. Once you graduate, you’ll be prepared to take on roles such as financial planner, financial advisor or investment analyst. You’ll also be prepared to test for internationally recognized designations such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Two ways to get a practical education
Earn money and get relevant work experience before you graduate with the optional Co-operative Education Program.
Complete projects in the modern workplace with the Business Internship Program.
You will also need work experience in order to complete BUSN 4500, the capstone course in this program, which requires you to have 500 hours of Canadian work experience. Hours gained through Co-operative Education and volunteer positions may be used to satisfy this component. See Program Requirements for more details.
Excellent job prospects
According to the Job Bank of Canada, over 23,000 job openings are expected between 2022 and 2031 in Canada.
Get licensed as a Certified Financial Planner or Chartered Financial Analyst
Once you’ve completed the BBA Finance degree and FP Canada Core Curriculum courses (listed in program requirements), you’ll be qualified to write the FP Canada Financial Planning (CFP) exam and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 exam. The CFP and CFA are both internationally recognized designations that help you stand out in the job market and open up more finance job opportunities in a variety of industries.
Choose a concentration for your degree
The Finance degree offers a number of concentrations to choose from that will help you build industry-relevant skills for your career path. See the Concentrations tab for more information.
1. General College Admission Requirements
2. Pre-Calculus 11 with a minimum grade of "C" or Foundations of Mathematics 11 with a minimum grade of "C"
Calculate your tuition and see the approximate cost of taking your program at Douglas College with the tuition & fee estimator. See costs broken down into categories including tuition fees, textbooks, student activity fees, U-Pass and more.
For more information, refer to the tuition fee charts.
Graduation Requirements
Additional Graduation Requirements with the Co-Operative Education Option:
Course Requirements:
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
| Required Courses | ||
| ACCT 1110* | Principles of Accounting I (see note (1) below) | 3.00 |
| ACCT 1210* | Principles of Accounting II (see note (1) below) | 3.00 |
| FINC 1231* | Business Mathematics (see note (2) below) | 3.00 |
| BUSN 1210 | Management Essentials | 3.00 |
| MARK 1120 | Introduction to Marketing | 3.00 |
| CSIS 1190 | Excel for Business | 3.00 |
| ECON 1150 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3.00 |
| BLAW 1320 | Introductory Business law | 3.00 |
|
Select two courses from the following three options: |
||
| ENGL 1130 | Academic Writing | 3.00 |
| CMNS 1115 | Business Communication | 3.00 |
| CMNS 1125 | Public Speaking | 3.00 |
| Required Courses | ||
| PHIL 1122 | Business Ethics (see note (3) below) | 3.00 |
| ECON 1250 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3.00 |
| FINC 2300* | Personal Finance I (CFP) | 3.00 |
| BUSN 2429* | Business Statistics I (see note (4) below) | 3.00 |
| MARK 2150 | Personal Selling | 3.00 |
|
Select one of the following two options: (see note (5) below) |
||
| FINC 2340* | Corporate Finance | 3.00 |
| Introduction to Corporate Finance | 3.00 | |
| Required Courses | ||
| ACCT 2320 | Introductory Management Accounting | 3.00 |
| BUSN 3310 | Organizational Management Skills (see note (6) below) | 3.00 |
| FINC 3390* | Security Analysis (CFP) (see note (7) below) | 3.00 |
| Select three courses from the following options: | ||
| FINC 3300 | Personal Finance II (CFP) | 3.00 |
| FINC 3305 | International Financial Management | 3.00 |
| FINC 4340 | Investment Management Techniques | 3.00 |
| FINC 4360 | Portfolio Management Techniques | 3.00 |
| Select four courses from the following options: | ||
| FINC 3370 | Financial Markets and Institutions | 3.00 |
| ACCT 3370 | Income Tax I (CFP) | 3.00 |
| ACCT 3410 | Intermediate Accounting II | 3.00 |
| BUSN 3431 | Business Statistics II | 3.00 |
| MARK 3500 | Financial Services Marketing | 3.00 |
| ACCT 3470 | Income Tax II | 3.00 |
| BLAW 3730 | Corporate and Financial Planning Law | 3.00 |
| FINC 4370 | Financial Planning Capstone (CFP) | 3.00 |
| FINC 4380 | Derivatives & Theory & Applications | 3.00 |
| FINC 4390 | Financial Analysis Capstone | 3.00 |
| Required Courses | ||
| BUSN 4275 | Business Strategy and Competitive Analysis (see note (8) below) | 3.00 |
| Open Electives | Eight 1000 - 4000 Level Elective Courses(see note (9) below) | 24.00 |
| Open Electives | Five 3000 - 4000 Level Elective Courses | 15.00 |
| BUSN 4500 | Career Portfolio Development (see note (10) below) | 1.50 |
| Total Credits | 121.50 | |
Co-Operative Education Option
| 3 Co-Operative work terms (See Note 11) | 27.00 |
| Total Credits with Co-Operative Education Option | 148.5 |
Notes
*A minimum grade of "C" for each course which is a pre-requisite to further courses is required (courses indicated by *).
The courses listed below satisfy the FP Canada™ Core and Advanced Curriculum requirements leading to QUALIFIED ASSOCIATE FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (QAFP™) and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) certification.
As a Financial Services bachelor’s degree student, you’ll be able to specialize your degree in:
Program Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this program and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the program, consider the previous version as the applicable version.
The BBA degree granted by Douglas College is given under a license granted to us by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, British Columbia Government, and as such it is an accredited post-secondary degree.
Most BBA courses are transferable to other post secondary institutions. Granting credit for work done at Douglas is entirely up to the receiving institutions. For first and second year courses, most colleges and universities follow the BC Transfer Guide for course transfers.
For 3rd and 4th year courses which are normally subject specialty courses, the receiving institution may grant credit provides such courses are compatible both in content and coverage with the courses at their institution.
This degree is offered to high school graduates, 2-year college diploma graduates or adults returning to education to obtain higher credentials while pursuing professional accounting and financial services certifications such as CGA, CA, CMA, CFP, PFP, and CFA. University and college graduates who may have non-business degrees may also apply.
We offer 3 intakes per year: in the Fall, Winter and Summer semesters. Please note that we may not have many degree-level courses in the summer as most student work in the field, acquiring practical experience. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible, as the seats are assigned based on the application flow. You may also apply online and forward your official transcripts by mail. Apply online here.
All international applicants are encouraged to apply. Foreign applicants should first submit their educational documents including all the official transcripts to International Credit Evaluation Services for assessment of all the previous work done, determination of Canadian equivalency. Once you receive the evaluation, please submit all these documents along with your Douglas College application.
Yes, you may. In such cases, applicants are classified as "pre-BBA" and will be required to complete all the prerequisite courses whether from high school or lower level college prerequisites. Douglas College offers math upgrading and English upgrading for those applicants who may be missing high school level courses.
Yes, we can. Please contact the BBA Coordinators for a personal meeting. We will be pleased to sit down, assess your current educational needs and try to find a program that may best fit your future educational goals and expectation. Get contact info.
The focus of the degree is to equip you with relevant, applied skills in the fields of professional accounting, financial services, banking and wealth planning. You will take a diverse set of courses so you'll be ready for multiple entry position in financial management. Many of the courses contain "hands-on" component enabling you to practice and master skills that will be very relevant at the workplace. The design of the curriculum provides a "seamless" transition from the classroom to the work environment.
You can choose from three specialties: Accounting, Financial Services or Management.
Accounting is ideal if you plan to earn credentials such as a CA, CGA or CMA.
Financial Services will prepare you for wealth planning and securities positions, plus designations such as CFP, PFP, CIM, FMA, CFA or Mutual Fund Licensing.
Management will prepare you for management-level roles in an industry of your choice with the combination of the Chartered Management Program (CMP) designation and industry-specific skills in such fields as financial services, international business, supply chain, hospitality and project or trades management. Plus, earn an additional industry-specific designation for your chosen concentration.
The course offerings are on late afternoons, evenings and all day Saturdays. This format of offering is ideal for working adults and others.
It will take 2-4 years for full-time students to complete this degree (durations for part-time students vary), depending on your level of business education. Get details here.
Concentration in Business Law
Douglas College’s new Concentration in Business Law is the first designation of its kind in British Columbia. It is offered as a special designation to students in the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program who have an interest in supplementing their business education with a series of courses focused on specific legal topics and issues relevant to the modern business professional.
Acquiring a sound knowledge of the basic principles of business law is essential in today’s ever changing, highly complex and heavily regulated business environment. Obtaining a Concentration in Business Law from Douglas College in no way permits graduates to practise law or gain academic qualifications for admission to the Law Society Admission Program. The Concentration will, however, provide Douglas College BBA graduates with practical skills for the business world that will distinguish our students from graduates of other business programs.
Requirements for a Concentration in Business Law
Students enrolled in the BBA program can obtain a Concentration in Business Law designation with their degree by:
Note: If a student has taken more than four eligible Business Law courses, the four courses with the highest grades will count toward the concentration.
Career opportunities include: