Business Management with Placement Year BSc(Hons)

Course structure

In your first year you take core modules shared with our other Business Management degrees.

From your second year onwards, you can specialise in the areas of business which interest you most: options include economics, finance, human resource management and marketing. This can help you to decide which area of business you would like make your career and also prepare you to be your own boss.

Your third year is a vital part of the course. On your salaried placement year you will apply your learning to real-life situations and challenges, meet and network with potential employers, and get real work experience before you graduate – something that employers value and which will help build your CV.

You have the opportunity to gain an additional qualification: the CMI Diploma in Management and Leadership.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. If you apply to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through Student View.

Year 1

First year core modules give you a broad understanding of business principles and explore economics, marketing, HR, organisational behaviour and finance.

Modules

• Business Economics

  In this module you will develop your understanding of key economic concepts by applying them to contemporary issues within the world of business and through the application of quantitative techniques. You will also gain an understanding of how political, economic and environmental factors influence the world of business.

• Principles of Marketing

  This module introduces the role and function of marketing within organisational frameworks. You'll develop an understanding of basic qualitative and quantitative tools available for analysing and interpreting the marketing environment.

• Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management

  This module will introduce you to a range of concepts, principles and theories that have been adopted within the study of organisational behaviour and human resource management.

  This module will provide you with a grounding for understanding how people are managed and organised in the workplace.

• Financial Knowledge and Skills for Business

  This module provides you with an introduction to fundamental concepts in the fields of financial accounting, management accounting, and finance. You will develop a basic understanding of an organisation’s financial position and performance through the application of appropriate analytical tools and procedures.

• Enterprise Project and Skills

  I this module you will create a business plan, a project plan and a marketing plan that include a digital presence.

  You'll integrate and apply skills and learning from other year one modules using project management skills to deliver a practical and applied business project, and will need to demonstrate a clear understanding of market dynamics, financial structures and HRM employment strategies.

  The module is underpinned with a strong skills component which develops quantitative, research, project, academic, team working, personal development and business skills.

• Managing Systems and Operations

  This module will introduce you to the use of digital technologies and operations management in business.

  The module will highlight how managers use digital technologies to measure and improve operations and systems performance, and will provide an understanding of the processes and the methods to improve them in both service-oriented and manufacturing-sector organisations. A range of contemporary issues, innovation and future trends in Information Systems (IS) and operations management will be showcased

Year 2

From your second year, through the module choices you make, you can either continue along a broad business management degree route, or specialise in HR, finance, economics or marketing.

Modules

• International Business Analysis
• Business Law
• Business Problem Solutions

Options*

• Creativity in Enterprise 
• Design and Innovation 
• Working in the Voluntary Sector
• Understanding Finance Theory and Practice
• Economic Theory and Applications
• Personal Financial Planning
• Leadership and Change Initiatives in an International Context
• Working Across Cultures
• Gamification
• Information Systems and Decision Making
• Digital Marketing and Analytics

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Placement year

During your placement year you will complete a business project. This project is an assessed part of your degree and, depending on the topic you choose, could also provide a valuable piece of insight for your placement employer.

Previous placement companies include American Express, BMW, Bosch, Channel 4, Disney, Electronic Arts, Hewlett Packard, Home Office, IBM, Ipsos Mori, ITV, lastminute.com, Microsoft and Rolls Royce Motor Cars.

Our dedicated Placements and Employability team will support you throughout, helping you to get a placement.

Final year

Core modules focus on strategy and management. You have the freedom to tailor your course to your interests through option modules. In the final year options include entrepreneurship, financial markets, international business, law and corporate social responsibility.

Modules

• Strategy
• Managing and Developing People
• Placement Project

Options*

• Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Social Enterprise: New Business Planning
• The Digital Economy
• Game Theory in Economics, Finance and Business
• Financial and Capital Markets
• Globalisation and International Markets
• Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
• Contemporary Economic Issues
• Behavioural Economics
• Current Issues in Finance
• Corporate Financial Management
• International Finance
• Financial Management
• Understanding Employee Relations
• Employee Selection and Development
• Happiness: Work and Society
• Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour
• International Human Resource Management
• Organisational Change
• Digital Marketing
• The Intelligent Enterprise Through Innovation and Technology
• Employment Law
• Family Law
• Intellectual Property Law

• Human Rights and Business
• Retail Marketing and Distribution
• Marketing Communications 1 and 2
• Marketing Planning and Strategy
• Consumer Psychology
• Social Marketing
• Contemporary Issues in Marketing
• Marketing Across Cultures
• Procurement and Supply Chain Management
• Project and Event Management
• Search Engine Optimisation and Content Marketing Management
• Current Issues in Strategic Management

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Course leader

Dr Jose Christian

Jose is a senior lecturer and course leader of our Business Management BSc(Hons) degrees. 

His primary research interest focuses on emerging collaborative online innovation communities. Jose specialises in digital innovation ecosystems, community governance, digital platform strategy, and emergent ICT-based business models. Part of his research involves developing and applying novel data science techniques in the study of online innovation networks.

Jose has a PhD in Innovation Management, an MSc in Global Business Strategy, and a BA (Hons) in International Relations. He's an accredited business management coach with a PGCert in Academic Practice and Advanced Higher Education Fellowship (FHEA).

He's worked on and co-authored research reports for various large European projects including CRE8TV, SPARK, and INSPIRE. For CRE8TV he identified barriers to value appropriation in digital market places. For the SPARK project he helped identify how to support social enterprises in their innovation activities. Finally, for INSPIRE Jose co-developed a set of business innovation tools to support open innovation activities in European SMEs.

Find out more about your course leader. 

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

If you choose to take the professional placement (sandwich) year offered on this course you will pay a reduced fee during this year. Our fee for the professional placement year is £1,410 for UK students and £2,180 for international students. This fee may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2023–24.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Local area

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Support and wellbeing

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