by Joel Nicholson
Last updated April 3, 2020
Officially, the full name of the Queen’s Commerce program is the Smith School of Business Bachelor of Commerce program at Queen’s University.
But, you might have heard people refer to the program by a lot of different names. Part of this is because the official name is so cumbersome. It’s such a mouthful that people usually abbreviate the program name.
However, there might be some confusion about the program name also, because it has shifted in recent years.
The Change in Program Name for Queen’s Commerce
Prior to 2015, people most commonly referred to the program as Queen’s Commerce or simply QC. However, in October of 2015 this began to shift when the program changed their name.
In 2015, Queen’s changed the official name from simply the Queen’s School of Business to the Stephen J.R. Smith School of Business, thanks to a large donation from Stephen J.R. Smith.
Stephen J.R. Smith is an alumnus of Queen’s. Among other accomplishments, Smith is the founder, chairman, and CEO of First National Financial, a Canadian mortgage lender. According to Forbes, he has a net worth of 1.3 billion.
A fun fact: Smith’s donation of $50-million is the largest donation ever to a Canadian business school.
Since 2015, the school has made an effort to rebrand as “Smith Commerce,” likely as a show of gratitude for the generous donation.
Now, Smith Commerce is more of the official name, and is the name the program uses on their website as evidenced below:
Although for ease and clarity, here at Youthfully, we usually refer to the program as Queen’s Commerce, in any interactions you have with the school you should use “Smith Commerce.” This includes any materials you submit for your application.
It just makes it show you are “new school” when it comes to program semantics.
If you’re looking for tried and tested application advice for Queen’s Commerce, check out our Youth Coaching services.
We’ll offer you strategies, tips, and key information to help you put together the best application possible.
Also, check out our Queen’s Commerce Guide for a comprehensive breakdown of essential, need-to-know information for prospective applicants.
