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Commerce with Accounting
Course Overview
The BComm (Accounting) degree at NUI Galway combines a broad-based business education with the advantage of a specialized programme for those interested in a career in accounting or a related discipline. Students on the programme particularly like the small class size, which really helps them to settle in. This programme offers significant exemptions from professional accounting examinations.
The Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) is a three-year undergraduate course* designed for students who have decided that they want a career in accountancy, taxation or corporate finance. This programme offers excellent levels of exemptions from the examinations of all of the major professional accountancy and taxation practitioner bodies. Our internship and placement partners include PWC, KPMG, Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, DHKN, Crowe Howarth, Supermacs and Mazars.
*4 years of optional Global Experience & Work Placement year:
The BComm (Accounting) can be extended from three to four years. We offer students an opportunity to enhance their studies, spending one year studying abroad or one semester studying abroad along with a one semester work placement. With this option in third year, students will study a range of business/accounting courses through English at an international partner university in Europe, North America, Asia, or Australia, providing students with an invaluable experience and graduating with a BComm (Accounting - International Experience) degree. Students return to NUI Galway to complete their final year
Find out more about Accounting Exemptions here.
Also, check out our Top Tips for the Leaving Certificate Accounting Exam by Mary Killilea who teaches in St. Joseph’s Patrician College “The Bish”, Galway
We are recognised by:
Applications and Selections
Who Teaches this Course
Requirements and Assessment
Key Facts
Entry Requirements
Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, another language, Mathematics, and any two other subjects recognised for entry purposes. Additional requirements: Minimum H4 in Accounting
Additional Requirements
For A-Levels - Grade C in A-Level Accounting
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Duration
3 years (4 years with 'Global Experience Year' option)
Next start date
September 2024
A Level Grades (2023)
universityofgalway.ie/alevels
Average intake
35
QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes
Closing Date
NFQ level
8
Mode of study
ECTS weighting
Award
CAO
GY207
Course code
Course Outline
YEAR ONE
• Introduction to Management Accounting
• Introduction to Financial Reporting
• Principles of Microeconomics/Macroeconomics
• Information Management for Business
• Mathematics and Statistics for Business
• Business Law I
• Skills for Success
• Management and Enterprise
• Foundations of Marketing Thought
YEAR TWO
• International Financial Reporting II and III
• Management Accounting I
• Taxation I
• Auditing, Assurance and Governance
• Inferential Statistical Methods for Business
• Applied Microeconomics for Business
• Macroeconomics and the Business Environment
• Business Finance I
• Information and Operations Management
• Business Law II
• Skills for Business
• Plus two optional subjects from the following areas:
· Economics and Finance
· Management and Human Relations
· Marketing
· Statistics for Business
· Doing Business in China
OPTIONAL GLOBAL EXPERIENCE YEAR
• One semester studying abroad in the USA or Europe
• One semester on professional work placement
FINAL YEAR
• Advanced Financial Accounting
• Management Accounting II and III
• Taxation II
• Business Finance II
• Advanced Business Law
• Innovation: Creativity and Enterprise
• Plus four optional modules from the following areas:
· Economics and Finance
· Management and Human Relations
· Marketing
· Doing Business in China
· Operations/Logistics
· Information Systems
· Law
· Accounting Internship
Curriculum Information
Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.
Glossary of Terms
- Credits
- You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
- Module
- An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
- Subject
- Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
- Optional
- A module you may choose to study.
- Required
- A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
- Required Core Subject
- A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
- Semester
- Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.
Year 1 (60 Credits)
Required MG3116: Management: Enterprise and Society - 5 Credits - Semester 1Required MG3107: Skills for Success - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required AY130: Financial Reporting - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required MA119: Mathematics for Business - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required EC139: Principles of Microeconomics - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required MS120: Business Information Systems - 5 Credits - Semester 1
Required ST1120: Data Science for Business Analytics I - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required MS1100: Information Management for Business - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required AY120: Accounting - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required EC141: Principles of Macroeconomics - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required LW190: Business Law 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Required MK1100: Foundations of Marketing Thought - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Year 2 (60 Credits)
Required AY308: Taxation I - 5 Credits - Semester 3Required ST2120: Data Science for Business Analytics II - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required MG3108: Skills for Business - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required AY207: Management Accounting I - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required AY325: International Financial Reporting II - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required EC2100: Applied Microeconomics for Business - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Optional ST2217: Inferential Statistical Methods for Business - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Optional AY3105: Auditing, Assurance & Governance Option - 5 Credits - Semester 3
Required AY324: Auditing, Assurance & Governance - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required MS2101: Managing Digital Transformation - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required LW290: Business Law II - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required EC2101: Macroeconomics and the Business Environment - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required AY208: Business Finance I - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Required AY326: International Financial Reporting III - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional MG3118: HRM & Decent Work - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional MK2102: Marketing & Sustainability - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional MS2100: Cybersecurity - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional CI200: Doing Business in China - Language & Culture 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional EC247: Introduction to Financial Economics - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Optional EC259: Economics of Public Policy - 5 Credits - Semester 4
Year 3 (60 Credits)
Optional CI300: Doing Business in China - Language & Culture 1 - 5 Credits - Semester 5Optional EC345: Health Economics - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional EC369: Money And Banking - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional EC423: Ireland in the Global Economy - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional EC3101: Microeconomics and Public Policy - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional EC3105: Econometrics - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional MS325: Contemporary Project Management - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional IE309: Operations Research - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional MS414: Business Intelligence and Analytics - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional LW427: European Union Law I - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional MK311: The Marketing of Services - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional MK314: Media & Marketing Communications - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional MG328: Human Resource Management - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional AY327: Accounting Internship - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional LW333: Comparative Competition Law - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional LW383: Information Technology Law - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional LW356: Industrial And Intellectual Property Law - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional MK206: Consumer Behaviour - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional ST311: Applied Statistics I - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional MS3110: The Future of Technology in Work and Society I - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional MG3121: Leading Individuals, Teams and Projects - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional LW3159: Lawyering, Technology and Innovation - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Required AY3100: Advanced Principles in Auditing & Reporting - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Required AY321: Management Accounting II - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Required LW423: Advanced Business Law - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional AY308: Taxation I - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional MG2100: Organisational Psychology - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional EC382: International Economics - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional LW229: Company Law I - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional SBE3114: Global Studies - 5 Credits - Semester 5
Optional CI301: Doing Business in China - Language & Culture 2 - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional EC362: Economics Of Financial Markets - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional EC386: Public Economics - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional EC3102: Macroeconomics and Public Policy - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional EC3100: Economics and Philosophy - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional EC429: Marine Economics - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional LW374: Banking Law - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional LW364: International Trade Law - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional MS319: Enterprise Systems - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional MG323: International Business - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional LW428: European Union Law II - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional MK303: Global Marketing - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional MK341: Brand Management - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional MG2101: Entrepreneurial Venture Development - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional MG3102: Work in a Global Context - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional ME353: Quality Systems - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional EC3106: Behavioural Finance - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional ST312: Applied Statistics II - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional AY3104: Clinical Taxation - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional EC3104: Agricultural and Food Economics - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required MG3109: Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required AY319: Taxation II - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required AY322: Management Accounting III - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Required AY314: Business Finance II - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Optional LW231: Company Law II - 5 Credits - Semester 6
Further Education
Many graduates of the BComm (Accounting) go on to study on Master of Accounting programmes at NUI Galway and, depending on their choice of optional subjects during their degree, may also choose to study a Master of Economic Science, Master of Finance, Postgraduate Diploma in Education, an LLB or other postgraduate programmes across business disciplines.
Why Choose This Course?
Career Opportunities
Our graduates have had excellent success in securing employment as trainee accountants in all types of accountancy practices. Graduates may also find employment in financial services, taxation, banking, manufacturing and other industries. This programme offers the maximum amount of undergraduate exemptions from professional Accounting exams. Find out more about these Accounting Exemptions here.
Click here to see where your Commerce degree can take you in the world!
Who’s Suited to This Course
Learning Outcomes
Transferable Skills Employers Value
Work Placement
The Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) at NUI Galway incorporates work placements in two ways. Firstly, students can participate in summer internships at the end of 2nd year and this counts for one of their subjects in final year. Secondly, students have the option to apply for International Experience and extend their degree by one year to facilitate international study and work placement.
“The placement programme in NUI Galway has terrific benefits to both employers and students. From an employer’s perspective, we have an opportunity to measure the student’s suitability for future graduate positions, as well as benefiting from their contribution during the placement. The students have a unique opportunity to add valuable practical work experience to their resume. They also hone key competencies in areas such as team work, relationship, communication, problem solving and leadership skills and these attributes are highly sought after by employers. These students, with relevant work experience, have a higher propensity to be successful when interviewing for graduate positions.”
Paul Vance, Head of Resourcing, KPMG
Study Abroad
Students on this programme have the opportunity to add an international experience dimension to their degree at the end of second year, when they may apply on a competitive basis to transfer from the three-year BComm (Accounting) degree to a four-year BComm (Accounting) with international experience. Successful applicants will spend one semester of their third year at an international university studying business through English, either in Europe, North America or further afield and a second semester in a work placement. The students will then return to NUI Galway for fourth year to complete their degree.
International Study Abroad Partner Universities
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Related Student Organisations
Course Fees
Fees: EU
Fees: Tuition
Fees: Student Contribution
Fees: Student levy
Fees: Non EU
EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy** €140. **Payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI. Further detail here.
Find out More
- J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, University of Galway
- T + 353 (0)91 492 612
- E business@universityofgalway.ie
What Our Students Say

Ruth Cummins | Audit associate at PWC
One of the best aspects of Commerce with Accounting at NUI Galway for me was the opportunity to do an international year. I was lucky enough to study abroad in America and then do a paid work placement and I can honestly say it was one of the best and one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.

Damien Kiniry | Tax Associate at Deloitte
I chose the B-Comm Accounting course in NUIG because I had a keen interest in accounting and the course invariably stood out from the others. The level of professional exemptions, small class environment and reputation of the college was enough to convince me to pursue my career in accounting through NUIG. My study abroad experience in Dijon, France was the most enjoyable aspect for me to date. It was an invaluable lifelong experience which allowed me to experience a new culture. After completing the B Comm Accounting course I feel fully prepared for the working world. NUIG has been a great campus for my university experience. The facilities and help available, the infrastructure and learning experience is first class. This together with the range of societies and sport teams makes it a college among the best in the country.

Ruth Moran | Class of 2016
I loved accountancy in my fifth and leaving certificate year and decided to pursue it as a career. As this course focused more on accounting I could obtain my CAP 1 exemptions from CAI Ireland. Commerce Accounting also allows you to study in other areas of commerce such as economics, marketing, management and business information systems. I loved how our class was a small size. This meant it was easier to get to know everyone. After my second year, I studied for one semester in Canisius College in Buffalo New York. For my second semester, I worked in DHKN Accountancy firm in Galway. I really enjoyed both of these experiences. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time I spent at NUI Galway, it provided me with a great education and also allowed me to develop friendships that will last a lifetime.