Communication and Business: International Year One (Cornerstone Entry)

Can a sharp message and a sound business plan work together? The Communication and Business stream of International Year One at FIC, on SFU’s Burnaby campus, is built on that idea, and the Cornerstone Entry version adds a support semester at the start. In total, the route is planned over four terms, roughly sixteen months.

Your first semester is devoted to the Cornerstone trio of CNQS101, CNST101 and CNSU101, non-credit courses covering numerical study skills, academic habits and adjustment to university life in Canada. Credit study then covers BUS200 Business Fundamentals, CMNS110 Introduction to Communication Studies, CMNS130 Communication and Social Change and IAT102 Graphic Design, with recommended electives such as BUS251 Financial Accounting I and ECON103 Principles of Microeconomics. Graphic design sits alongside business here, so you practise presenting ideas visually as well as in writing.

FIC delivers SFU-designed courses through instructors the university approves, and students use SFU spaces including Bennett Library and the Student Learning Commons. After ten courses, at least 30 units, with C- or better in each, a GPA of 2.50 allows transfer into second year of a Bachelor of Arts from SFU’s Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology, with a double minor across FCAT and the Beedie School of Business. SFU’s Co-op Education programme is available to add paid work experience.

Graduates often work as marketing coordinators, social media managers, event managers, human resources assistants, media relations officers and advertising executives. Cornerstone Entry suits students drawn to business communication whose English level is at an early stage and who value extra academic support in their first semester.