University of Waterloo School of Accounting and Finance - Undergraduate Education

Undergraduate Education

Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management Co-op (BAFM)

Students in the BAFM Program may customize a degree so long as the basic minimum requirements set out in the BAFM Plan are met. Graduates of the BAFM program typically aspire to a host of professional accounting and/or finance credentials such as the Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. BAFM candidates take an area of interest in a non-accounting/finance subject area along with accounting and finance courses. BAFM students/graduates are eligible to apply to the School's MAcc program.

Students in the BAFM Program must apply to one of two work streams upon application to the BAFM program. Changes to work term sequencing are typically not available to students in the BAFM Program. Students may obtain co-op employment deemed by a number of professional bodies to be qualifying practical experience for accreditation purposes. These sequences are:

• Public Accounting (PA) Work Stream: Beginning in their second year of study, students complete three co-op work-terms (totalling 16-months) over the course of their undergraduate plan as follows: Jan-Apr, Jan-Apr and Jan-Aug. Students in this work stream (along with those in the Math CA and Science CA undergraduate programs) have exclusive access to a bank of CA co-op jobs in the Public Accounting sector via the University's job posting and application service called "JobMine" .

• Financial Management (FM) Work Stream: Beginning in their second year of study, students complete four co-op work-terms (totalling 16-months) over the course of their undergraduate plan as follows: Jan-Apr, Sep-Dec, Sep-Dec and May-Aug. Students in this co-op work stream may apply to co-op roles via the University's "Main Group" job posting and application cycle. Students in the Financial Management stream MAY NOT apply to roles in the University's "Chartered Accounting" job posting and application cycle. Some students have voiced concern over this matter, claiming that since all BAFM students are able to select courses from the same curriculum agenda, restriction from the "Chartered Accouting" job posting and recruitment cycle is unfair. The School maintains that access to this recruitment cycle is based on the demand for CA-accredited co-op employment in the public accounting area and that the supply of BAFM-PA, Math CA and Science CA students is sufficient to meet the demand.

Mathematics and Chartered Accountancy Co-op (Math/CA)

Students in the MathCA program may customize a degree so long as the basic minimum requirements set out in Mathematics Chartered Accountancy Plan are met. Typically, students take math courses along with the accounting and finance courses. The work-term sequence in structured similar to the BAFM-PA schedule. Students in the program may obtain co-op employment deemed by professional bodies to be qualifying practical experience for accreditation purposes. MathCA students have access to the University's "Chartered Accounting" job posting and application cycle.

Graduates of the MathCA program typically aspire to a CA designation. In addition to preparation for CA accreditation, three study options are offered that allow students to explore complimentary areas: finance, actuarial science, and operations research management. Students who complete the Finance Option are highly prepared to pursue the CFA curriculum and accreditation process. Students who complete the Actuarial Science Option are suited to explore professional actuary exams. Students who complete the Operations Research Management Option are suited for specialized roles in public accounting, business or research. MathCA students/graduates are eligible to apply to the School's MAcc program.

Biotechnology and Chartered Accountancy Co-op (Biotech/CA)

Students in the ScienceCA program take science courses along with the accounting and finance courses. Students are especially well-prepared for work in public accounting or with biotechnology-intensive businesses. Student take two of four co-op terms during busy season (Jan-Apr). Students in the program may obtain co-op employment deemed by professional bodies to be qualifying practical experience for accreditation purposes. ScienceCA students have access to the University's "Chartered Accounting" job posting and application cycle. Admission to the ScienceCA program is competitive. ScienceCA students/graduates are eligible to apply to the School's MAcc program.

Bachelor of Computing and Financial Management (BCFM)

This is new Program offered jointly with the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science in the Faculty of Mathematics. Students take computer science courses along with accounting and finance courses. Upon completion, these students will receive a unique degree in Canada. Students in this program typically complete six co-op work terms, with the first commencing between semester two and three. The work term sequence is: May-Aug, Jan-Apr, Sep-Dec, May-Aug, Jan-Apr and Sep-Dec. The first class is expected to graduate in 2011. CFM students/graduates are not eligible to apply to the School's MAcc program. CFM students are well-suited to pursue a number of professional accreditation in finance and/or advanced business or science degrees.