Courses after 12th commerce, what the enrolment data actually shows

Among courses after 12th commerce, B.Com. is the biggest commerce degree in the national data, and regular-mode B.C.A. enrolment rose 87% between 2019-20 and 2023-24. The Ministry of Education's AISHE 2023-24 report puts commerce at 12.0% of undergraduate enrolment, with B.Com. at 40.8 lakh. B.C.A. enrolment in regular mode went from 4,63,625 to 8,65,410 over the same four years.

Which degrees do commerce students take, and is commerce worth the effort?

The Department of Higher Education's AISHE 2023-24 final report, released in July 2026, shows where undergraduates enrol. Based on actual response, Arts holds 32.1% of undergraduate enrolment, Science 13.5%, Engineering and Technology 12.9% and Commerce 12.0%. Arts and Commerce together come to 44.1%, well above engineering. Undergraduate courses hold about 76.8% of all higher education enrolment in 2023-24, so these shares describe most of the system.

By degree, B.A. has 1.3 crore enrolments, 38.6% of the total, far ahead of B.Sc. at 53.4 lakh (15.7%). Engineering degrees follow, with B.Tech. and B.E. together at 43.2 lakh (12.7%), then B.Com. at 40.8 lakh (12.0%). One limit applies to every number here: AISHE counts enrolment by degree, not by the stream a student studied in Class 12. The figures show where students go, not which students go where.

The table sets enrolment, pass-outs and growth side by side. The growth column comes from a separate regular-mode table, so it is not interchangeable with the enrolment column. n/a means the figure is in a different table.

On whether commerce is worth the effort in India, enrolment data cannot say what a degree pays. What it does show is scale. AISHE 2023-24 records 1.1 crore pass-outs, and among undergraduate degrees B.Com. produced 9.6 lakh, more than the 8.2 lakh from B.E. and B.Tech. combined. A degree that many people finish each year does not by itself set one graduate apart, so the choice of specialisation and skills carries weight.

Which degrees are growing fastest, B.C.A. or B.B.A.?

AISHE's regular-mode table gives the clearest growth signal. B.C.A. enrolment rose from 4,63,625 in 2019-20 to 8,65,410 in 2023-24, up 87%. B.B.A. went from 5,28,740 to 7,85,735 over the same four years, and B.Tech. with B.E. from 36,44,045 to 44,15,836, up about 21.8%. Regular mode only is counted, so distance and online study are not in these rows.

Distance mode moved the other way in the commerce and arts space. At universities, distance-mode B.A. enrolment fell from 19,46,123 in 2021-22 to 16,34,889 in 2023-24, and distance-mode B.Com. from 4,31,282 to 3,96,476. The window is two years against the four of the regular-mode table. By location, AISHE 2023-24 puts 59.0% of total enrolment in seven states: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar and Rajasthan. That is by the state of the institution, not of the student's home.

Regular-mode enrolment in computing and management degrees grew over these four years. The Ministry of Education's release of 8 July 2026 puts STEM enrolment, Science plus Engineering and Technology as AISHE defines it, at 1.02 crore in 2023-24, up from 91.5 lakh in 2014-15. The same release puts women at 44% of STEM enrolment, up from 38.4%, and total higher education enrolment at 4.50 crore in 2023-24 against 3.42 crore in 2014-15. Enrolment counts show how many study these degrees, not whether the graduates are hired more or paid more.

Can a commerce student study technology without PCM?

B.C.A. enrolment in regular mode rose 87% between 2019-20 and 2023-24, and Class 12 subject rules are set per college in its admission notice. The existing post on why commerce and arts students are rethinking their post-12th plan covers the wider shift.

NEP 2020 paragraph 11.9 names the 4-year multidisciplinary bachelor's as the preferred option. How a college lets a student combine commerce with technology subjects is that college's decision, so the course structure, not the degree name, is the thing to read.

Some degrees are closed to online study whatever the stream. UGC's 2020 regulations, in clause 2(z), list engineering, medical and para-medical disciplines, pharmacy, nursing, dental, architecture, law, agriculture, horticulture, hotel management, catering technology, culinary sciences, aircraft maintenance, visual arts and sports as programmes that cannot be offered in ODL or online mode, unless the statutory body concerned permits it. A commerce student who wants law or hotel management should expect a campus seat, unless the statutory body permits online study.

Can a commerce student get into an IIT?

Campus admission to the IITs runs through JoSAA, which manages joint seat allocation for 138 institutes in 2026-27, 23 of them IITs. JEE (Advanced) 2026 was organised by IIT Roorkee and held on 17 May 2026. The subject requirements for JEE are set in the exam's official notice, which is the place to check them.

The non-JEE channels are narrow. A JoSAA 2026 notice lists a Science Olympiad Excellence channel (SCOPE) at three IITs, where candidates are not required to write JEE (Advanced), and an Olympiad Admission Mode for a newly started B.S. (Mathematics) at one of them. IIT Kanpur's 2026-27 brochure invites Olympiad-channel applications with very few seats, for example 2 in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering and 4 in Physics. These are routes for exceptional performers and not for the general student.

Online IIT programmes have their own admission pages, which state the entry route for each. The post on what an IIT online degree is lays out the difference between these programmes and campus admission.

How to choose in four steps

Take a hypothetical student in Pune who likes accounting but is drawn to data work. The steps below apply to that student as much as to anyone else.

1. Start from the target. If the career needs a degree on UGC's prohibited-online list, such as law or hotel management, plan for a campus seat from the outset.
2. Treat enrolment as a signal of crowding and demand, not of outcomes. B.Com. produced 9.6 lakh pass-outs in 2023-24, so a B.Com. alone is a common credential.
3. For an online degree, confirm the institution's recognition for the admission session before comparing courses. The post on choosing between an online and a regular degree sets out the checks.
4. Get the admission route in writing: the entrance test, the minimum marks and any subject conditions.

Where the IIT Jodhpur online B.S. fits

IIT Jodhpur's B.S. in Management and Technology is an online undergraduate degree designed and awarded by IIT Jodhpur, with Masai as delivery partner. It is taught through recorded lectures and live faculty sessions with optional campus immersions, and it covers management, technology, AI and analytics. It takes Class 12 or equivalent from a recognised board in any stream. JEE is not required, but admission includes an entrance test and minimum marks apply.

The existing explainer on IIT Jodhpur admission without JEE covers how the entrance route works.

Frequently asked questions

What are the top 5 courses in commerce?

AISHE 2023-24 ranks degrees by enrolment, not merit. Among commerce-linked degrees, B.Com. at 40.8 lakh is the largest. The others tracked are B.B.A. at 7,85,735 in regular mode and B.C.A. at 8,65,410, and B.C.A. enrolment rose 87% in regular mode between 2019-20 and 2023-24. The figures cover only these degrees and say nothing about professional qualifications or pay.

What is the best course after 12th commerce?

No course is best by default, and enrolment cannot rank outcomes. The data supports a process instead: check whether the degree can be done online, read the admission rules, and treat a large pass-out count, such as 9.6 lakh for B.Com. in 2023-24, as a reason to plan specialisation and skills.

Can a commerce student attend the JEE exam?

Eligibility is set in the official JEE notice for the year, which is the place to check. JEE (Advanced) 2026 was organised by IIT Roorkee and held on 17 May 2026. Olympiad channels such as SCOPE do not require JEE (Advanced), but they are for exceptional performers.

Can a student study at an IIT online after commerce?

Online programmes have their own admission pages, separate from campus channels such as JoSAA. IIT Jodhpur's online B.S. in Management and Technology is one such programme, and its page states the entry route.

Which courses after 12th commerce cannot be done online?

UGC's clause 2(z) lists engineering, medical, law, architecture, hotel management, agriculture, pharmacy, nursing and other disciplines as prohibited in ODL and online mode, unless the statutory body concerned permits them. B.Com., B.B.A. and B.C.A. are not on that list, but the institution must still be entitled to offer them online for the session.

Next step

The B.S. in Management and Technology, IIT Jodhpur page sets out the curriculum and how to apply.