Many Innovations In M. Com. Degree

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30553, 23 September 1964, Page 18

Many Innovations In M. Com. Degree

Newly-approved regulations for the master of commerce degree at the University of Canterbury are likely to encourage wider interest in advanced studies in commerce, particularly by those primarily- interested in accountancy and business administration.

Graduates who have majored in accounting may select masters papers such as management accounting, business finance, accounting theory, managerial economics, and data processing .and quantitative analysis. The previous requirement that graduates complete economics 111 before proceeding to M.Com. has been removed in the case of students advancing in accounting. For those with specialised interest in primary industry, a new paper on agricultural accounting and management will be taught jointly by the department of accountancy and Lincoln College. A further specialised paper on production and industrial accounting will be introduced later in collaboration with the School of Engineering. Graduates whose main field is economics will also have the opportunity of selecting from a considerably-expanded range of papers in both theoretical and applied aspects of economics. A further change increases the number of papers from four to five and substitutes a dissertation or extended essay for a thesis. “The intention is to expose masters’ students to a larger number of specialised areas of study and also to make it more practicable for candidates to complete all requirements for the M.Com. degree within 12 months, thus following established precedent in a number of other masters’ degrees,” said Professor A. S. Carrington. Professor Carrington, who is dean of the faculty of commerce, said the increased opportunity for graduate study in accounting reflected the tendency for greater specialisation within the accountancy profession and the con-

siderable expansion of knowledge in this field. “It is no longer possible to cover all the important areas of accounting in depth in an undergraduate degree, and the more able and ambitious graduates are recognising the need for advanced study to meet the challenge of new developments,” he said. An increasing proportion of graduate students could be expected under the combined influence of the greater flexibility and relevance of the new degree and the increasing demand for highly-skilled specialists in commerce. Improved bursaries and other opportunities for financial support including sponsored bursaries offered by various business organisations, should encourage this trend, he said.