Are you a 10th pass out or still studying and thinking of what stream to continue with?
If you are aiming for business, trade, finance, management, or e-commerce, your relentless pursuit can be facilitated through the commerce stream.
Its curriculum has been structured to equip you with contemporary economic knowledge and develop financial excellence. The subjects you study in this stream in higher secondary act as a buffer for preparing for the top-tier education.
However, your decision to opt for it must be centered on a deeper understanding of its constituent subjects.
So, here is a detailed account of commerce subjects along with an exhaustive description of all related dimensions.
What is the Commerce Stream?
Commerce is one of the 3 streams of higher secondary and primarily focuses on finance, trade, and economics. For those aiming to pursue a career in business, banking, trade, or even entrepreneurship, commerce is the best option.
According to the AISHE 2021-22 report, the undergraduate enrollments have seen approximately 14% taking commerce, which is almost equal to science takers and significantly larger than engineering takers.
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What are Commerce Subjects?
commerce subjects are divided into 2 major parts, i.e., compulsory subjects and optional subjects. The compulsory subjects are mandatorily taught to students in commerce, while the electives offer students the choice as per their interest and caliber.
Let’s learn about these subjects comprehensively.
1: 4 Compulsory Commerce Subjects
The compulsory commerce subjects essentially impart the knowledge of the elementary economic and financial system. They are obligatorily taught to all commerce students, irrespective of the board and institution.
Here are 4 compulsory commerce subjects that you should be mindful of.
1. Economics
Principally, the economics subject involves imparting information and knowledge about a nation’s macroeconomics and microeconomics. Some fundamental topics of these subjects are:
- Basic concepts of economics
- Consumer and producer behavior
- Market types and this understanding
- National income
- Banking and money supply
- Budgeting and balance of payments
Such topics bring clarity in grasping the business environment, perceiving the global economic perspective, developing analytical and problem-solving skills, and making informed decisions.
2. Accountancy
Accountancy envisages the systematic recording, analyzing, and managing of the financial records of an organization or individual. It deals with understanding the financial health to gauge the performance of the organization and making informed decisions.
Some notable topics taught in this subject are:
- Fundamentals of accounting, such as basic terms, accounting equations, debt, and credit rules etc.
- Transaction recording techniques.
- Financial statements and their adjustment.
- Examine financial records through a thorough ratio analysis and a cash flow statement.
- Managing partnership accounts in a business.
It also possesses immense importance in understanding the legal compliances, measuring the firm’s performance, and managing resource allocation to stakeholders in a financial process.
3. Business Studies
It is an interdisciplinary subject encompassing the essence of management principles. The student learns business working, understands the corporate environment, and goes through the ethical business considerations through this commerce subject.
Some prominent topics of this subject are:
- Evolution and fundamentals of business.
- Types of business organizations.
- Public, private, and international enterprises.
- Modes of business.
- Business ethics and business social responsibility.
- Source of finance.
- Internal and international trade.
This commerce subject supports the development of managerial proficiencies, entrepreneurial acumen, and social responsibility, and helps in implementing theoretical information in the business environment.
4. English
The English subject in commerce primarily deals with imparting an understanding of the literary semantics. The subject includes developing communication skills, improving comprehension, and learning the expression of the English language.
It mainly includes 4 broad sections, which are:
- Comprehension skills
- Writing skills
- Grammar
- Literature
Learning this subject helps in becoming more interactive, getting access to more information, and further facilitates career endeavors like job interviews.
Besides these subjects, some optional subjects are also there from which you can select as per your interest.
Let’s take a glance at them as well.
2: 6 Optional Commerce subjects
The optionals or electives are the subjects from which you can choose the one that aligns with your interest. Though these subjects vary from institution to institution and board to board, some of the most common optional commerce subjects are as follows.
1. Mathematics
Mathematics will improve your analytical and problem-solving abilities during the course. The fundamentals of math are highly crucial in grasping financial and economic concepts. Its primary focus is on qualitative reasoning and data analysis, which helps in understanding the core subjects better. The fundamental subjects, such as algebra, calculus, probability, and statistics, facilitate in implementation of mathematical skills in other subjects.
2. Informatics Practice
Informatics practice, or I.P., dwells deeper into the practical application of computing knowledge. It deals with learning some basic software, such as SQL, Visual Basic, Python libraries, and fundamentals of Python.
3. Computer Science
Computer science is another technical optional subject in commerce. It differs from IP by the fact that IP focuses more on the practical application of computing knowledge, whereas computer science focuses more on theoretical aspects. It disseminates knowledge about Python, the basis of computer systems, and understanding of computer networks and database management.
4. Physical Education
It is one of the easiest optional subjects, which is quick to grasp and cover. It mainly focuses on physical fitness, sports, yoga, and the evolving scope of physical fitness. The concepts of Olympism, disability, and disorder, physical tests, measurements, evaluations, and fundamentals of anatomy and physiology make it a very intriguing and enjoyable subject.
5. Fine Arts
If creativity lures your mind, then you should opt for it. Your pursuit of learning interior design or fashion design goes through this subject, which will polish your creativity and diversify your skill set. It contains the chapters related to drawing, painting, graphics, applied arts, and computer graphics, which are fundamental in designing.
6. Psychology
This subject introduces the principles, concepts, and methods employed in psychology. You will learn about human development, sensory and perceptual processes, underlying concepts of memory, the factors driving emotions, motivation, and learning.
These commerce subjects will enhance your competence in core commerce subjects.
Skills Learnt While Studying Commerce Subjects
It has also been generally understood that learning its subject develops significant skills, which are crucial for career building. Some of those qualities are:
- Numerical Efficiency: The subject teaches record keeping, financial management, accounting principles, etc., which indirectly enhances your numerical proficiency.
- Analytical Skills: Analyzing financial records and trial balance, and understanding corporate legal provisions, facilitates enhancing analytical skills.
- Corporate Awareness: Thorough understanding developed through commerce subjects enhances the awareness of the corporate setting.
- Financial Acumen: The accountancy and business studies help in developing financial intellect.
- Understanding of Economic Setup: This stream will make you understand the economic concepts on which the global trade, business, and governmental transactions work.
With the revolution in the broader economic layout, a wave of its transformation and craze swept among the higher secondary students, making it one of the most opted for streams.
But you might be wondering why to choose the commerce stream?
Here’s why.
Why Choose Commerce After the 10th?
The commerce stream opens a wide range of career opportunities and also gives you entrepreneurial skills. Apart from that, there are some other reasons as well for choosing it.
- Diverse Career Opportunities: This stream opens up an array of exciting job opportunities from which you can select the one according to your interest.
- Entrepreneurial Edge: The financial competence and fiscal savvy proficiency developed during the course gives an edge to the commerce students during their entrepreneurial endeavors.
- Multiple Education Prospects: You can go with multiple higher education options after the course and opt for a respective job opportunity.
- Understand Global Perspectives: The commerce subjects taught during the course develop a holistic understanding of the global economic perspectives and financial conditions, which help in grasping the
- Developing an Extensive Skill Set: The analytical skills, fiscal intelligence, and mathematical brilliance conjointly evolve the mind into a sharp thinking machine.
Moreover, commerce also has immense scope in diverse fields, which are next to be discussed in the sequence.
What is the Scope of the Commerce Stream?
Commerce, when compared to other streams, holds the position of dominance in the financial, marketing, and accounting fields. This paves the way for multiple career options that expand its scope.
- E-commerce: The growing gig economy has proportionally widened the scope for e-commerce, which demands employees versed in business and trade concepts and principles. Firms such as Amazon and eBay are examples.
- Business and Trade: Commerce stream opens avenues for joining a well-built business or getting into a trade field.
- Banking: The banking sector demands employees who are thorough with accounting, business studies, and economics. Understanding of these topics is deeply incorporated into a commerce student.
- Finance Management: You can also go with the finance management stream, where your skill set developed during the commerce course will be highly relevant and exploitable.
- Entrepreneurship: With a deep understanding of business and economic principles, commerce students always stand at an advantage in starting their own business.
Its scope and benefits correspond to the educational opportunity that it provides after higher secondary.
Degree Courses to Pursue for Commerce Passouts
Commerce passouts have a multitude of degrees and diplomas that they can opt for after passing higher secondary. Here are some degree courses that you can opt for after the 12th class to continue your education in the same stream.
- B.Com: Bachelor of Commerce is the most fundamental course that you can opt for after passing 12th with the commerce stream. It has all the subjects that you have learned during your previously read commerce subjects, but in a more detailed and practical form.
- BBA: Bachelor of Business Administration is the next best course you can opt to delve deeper into the business niche. For this, you can go with some top BBA colleges in India, which have a dominating reputation and unrivaled legacy in providing quality education in this field.
- Bachelor’s in Management Studies: This course emphasizes more on analytical concepts and focuses on making better decisions in businesses. However, it resembles BBA a lot in its essence.
- Chartered accountancy: This particular job, though hard to pursue, is very lucrative in terms of salary. You will have to work on operations such as auditing, accounting, and managing taxes after completing this course.
- Company Secretary: It prepares the student for working as a company secretary and fulfills the duties regarding legal compliance and managing organizational regulations.
- Bachelor’s in Hotel Management: This course opens avenues to work in the hospitality sector. Here you will be taught basic hotel functions, customer management, and fundamentals of finance and economics.
- Bachelor’s in Event Management: This program teaches you the skills in planning and organizing an event. You will get the opportunity to manage events of all types, and this will expand your network and related expertise.
- Bachelor’s in journalism and mass communication: This course connects you to the stream of mass media. You will get the opportunity to handle the advertising functions, manage digital media, and conduct journalism.
- Bachelor’s in design: Here, you will get your creativity fine-tuned to a new level. It includes the sub-niches of graphic design, interior design, and fashion design.
Some of the above programs can be undertaken through online mediums. However, you need to be aware of the pros and cons of online education to go with it.
In this discussion, you must stay cognizant of how commerce subjects differ from others.
Comparison between Commerce and Other Streams
In contrast to other streams, commerce has distinctness in its essence, which makes it more versatile and all-encompassing. This can be understood by comparing it with our streams.
For this, here is a table depicting the major differences between them.
| S. No. | Points of Difference | Commerce | Arts | Science |
| 1 | Ideal focused upon | Business, economics, financial, and trade systems | History, culture, and human civilizations | Research, experimentation, and natural science |
| 2 | Subjects | Economics, Marketing, Finance, accounting, and business studies | History, sociology, political science, and literature | Physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics |
| 3 | Skills Developed | Financial literacy, analytical skills, and business acumen | Critical thinking, cultural awareness, and creativity | Problem-solving, research qualities, and technical proficiency |
| 4 | Career Opportunities | Marketing, banking, finance | Teaching, writing, social work, and journalism | Engineering, IT, Research, Data science, medicine |
| 5 | Focus on entrepreneurship | High | Optimum | Low |
Conclusion
Consolidating and summarizing the entire information, it is self-evident that opting for the commerce stream opens myriad opportunities for you. However, your interest and ambition are the two pivotal aspects to be considered before sealing your decision.
All in all, learning commerce subjects will help you gain the traction for your education and will be a North Star in your career.
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FAQs
Ans: No, Commerce class 11 is not difficult. If you understand the fundamentals of economics, accountancy, and business studies, and the underlying concepts, then it can be grasped easily.
Ans: The compulsory subjects in commerce are economics, business studies, accountancy, and English. Some optional subjects are fine arts, psychology, mathematics, and computer science.
Ans: Commerce is relatively easy, as all its subjects revolve around mathematical calculations and economic and business understanding.
Ans: Yes, mathematics is an elective subject in the commerce stream. So you can go with commerce without maths.
