Business School : Business and Marketing - BA (Hons)

This course provides an incisive study of how organisations operate, the contemporary challenges and opportunities ahead of them, and the business-focused creativity needed to successfully market them. 

Business

The study of business provides a detailed understanding of the way organisations work, how they operate within their specific environment and the impact on individuals working within them.

This pathway develops a general knowledge of business to complement a more specialised area of study. Modules introduce key themes, specifically, business operations (how it works) and entrepreneurship (creating opportunity within a competitive environment).

You learn how to apply business theory, identify types of business opportunity and address a range of business issues in an imaginative way. Investigating the issues confronting individuals within a business, you will develop an awareness of the problems businesses can face in general, and be able to identify a number of possible responses.

Marketing

Taught by experienced marketing professionals, the Marketing pathway gives you the practical skills required to succeed in this dynamic sector.

The programme aims to apply a broad understanding of marketing theory to a range of practical marketing situations and develop key transferable skills to enhance your employability.

It offers an exciting range of specialist marketing options, all of which have a workplace focus which enables you to apply your academic learning directly to your career aims.

Find out more about Birmingham City Business School!

Key Facts

• Birmingham City Business School is one of the UK’s most established, respected and largest Business Schools.
• A perfectly balanced study of how organisations operate, their contemporary challenges, and the business-focused creativity needed to market them.
• We are approved and accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) as entry qualification to their Professional Diploma in Marketing.
• Have the opportunity to work with new facilities, such as a dedicated interactive marketing room.
• Studying a core first year, before moving to subject-specific modules, gives subject flexibility and increases your employability.
• The chance to undertake a year-long work placement means you get inside the business world, pick up key transferable skills, and put theory into practice.
• 92% of students agreed that staff were good at explaining things (Source: National Student Survey - http://unistats.direct.gov.uk)
• 92% of students were satisfied overall (Source: National Student Survey - http://unistats.direct.gov.uk)

Why Choose Us?

• Birmingham City Business School has the respect of professional marketing. It’s one of only a small number of study centres selected by CIM to offer their new Chartered Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing.
• It’s a practice-based environment. From the start, you’re seen as a business professional with marketing expertise.
• The course combines effective application of business theory, with exciting specialist marketing themes, such as new media channels and the vital importance of a positive consumer experience.
• Like all first year business students, you and your team put together an integrated business plan focusing on a real business problem, which you pitch to industry experts ‘Dragons’ Den’-style.
• Joint Honours degrees allow you to study two main subject areas and potentially aim for employment in two distinctive areas.
• Teaching includes case studies that look at the published results of real companies, and high profile guest speakers share experience and insight.
• You have the chance of a twelve-month exchange programme in the second year at one of our international partner institutes.
• Local companies respect and often recruit Birmingham City Business School’s graduates. As well as helping you find a suitable place for your work experience year, the Placement Office advertises around 1,000 jobs each year.
• Birmingham City Business School welcomes around 3,000 students from over 80 countries, so you have a whole world of experiences, business and social, on your doorstep.

Download the Course Programme Specification

Entry Requirements

A minimum of five GCSEs at grade C or above, which must include English Language and Mathematics GCSEs. Equivalent level 2 qualifications will be considered, however Mathematics and English Language GCSEs at grade C or above are an essential requirement for entry. All Level 2 qualifications must be achieved prior to application.

• A minimum tariff score of 280 points made up of a minimum of two passes A2 Level, two 6 unit or one 12 unit AVCE. Remaining points can be made up from AS qualifications
• Applications are welcomed from those with international qualifications (equivalent to those above) such as International Baccalaureate 32 points, including internationally accredited Foundation courses. You must also have an English Language qualification such as IELTS (minimum score of 6.0) or TOEFL (minimum score 550). Find out more about country-specific entry requirements and qualifications.
• Satisfactory completion of a full-time foundation course of an appropriate type
• The programme welcomes applications from students who have significant relevant work or life experience but who may not necessarily meet all of the published academic requirements for their chosen course. The University must be satisfied that your work or life experience is equivalent to the qualifications that other applicants will be studying. We want all of our students to succeed and will only offer a place where we believe that an applicant is capable of completing their chosen course with a strong final degree classification.

Application Details

The code for this course is NN15.

Search for this course on UCAS

UCAS Information

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.

UK, EU and international students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.

You submit an application via the UCAS website with a list of up to five courses. All choices are confidential during the application process so universities and colleges considering an application cannot see your other choices. Applications must be completed by mid-January of the year that you wish to start university.

You can monitor the progress of your application using the UCAS Apply system.

Fees and Finance

Fees for students from the UK or EU countries?
Start	Mode	Duration	Award	Fees
Sep 2013	FT	3 years	BA (Hons)	£7,500 per year
Sep 2013	SW	4 years	BA (Hons)	See below

Fees for students from non-EU countries?
Start	Mode	Duration	Award	Fees
Sep 2013	FT	3 years	BA (Hons)	£10,100 per year

The University reserves the right to increase fees broadly in line with increases in inflation, or to reflect changes in government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament.

Where a full-time undergraduate student opts to extend the normal length of a Bachelor’s degree by an additional year in order to take a full-year work placement there will be no fee for the additional placement year.

Additional information

There are no additional compulsory costs for this course however you may wish to purchase text books or additional materials relating to the subject area.

Financial Options and Advice

We have deliberately tried to set fees that reflect the cost of course delivery in order to help our students avoid debt.

Full-time students won't have to pay for tuition fees until after their studies - there are government tuition fee loans available. If you are a full-time student, after leaving university you will start to pay back your loan once you are earning over £21,000 a year, at a rate of nine per cent on any income above £21,000. So if you were earning £25,000, you would pay back nine per cent of £4,000, or £30 per month.

Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis offers key facts on fees, loans and grants:

Financial Support

We offer further information on possible financial support. This includes the type of loans, grants and scholarships available both from the government and from Birmingham City University.

University Approach to Employability

Expertly woven into our curriculum and work experience opportunities, and underpinned by a diligent approach to career preparation and the close involvement of professional bodies, the University views employment as one of the principal rewards for a student's ambition, application and academic achievement. It's why the University is one of the country's top 30 universities* for placing students in graduate-level employment.

Our close links with business and the professions mean that our courses are always relevant, up-to-date and meet the exact needs of the current marketplace. Wherever possible, we involve employers in planning the curriculum, while many of our lecturers come from and maintain their links with industry, ensuring they are up to speed with the latest developments.

Employability will be an integral outcome of your studies.

* Sunday Times University Guide 2012

Employment Opportunities

If you take the Business pathway, you will be well placed for graduate fast-track training and entry-level management posts in a number of industries, including commerce, government, community organisations and charities. You may also use your knowledge to set up your own entrepreneurial venture.

The Marketing pathway is specifically designed to meet the needs of commerce, and provides you with the skills to succeed in a number of marketing career paths.

Placements

You will benefit from the opportunity to spend a year working in industry between your second and third study year, allowing you to acquire invaluable, hands-on experience ahead of your career in business.

It is an excellent opportunity for you and your placement company. Your work experience allows you to develop a greater understanding of the business world, pick up key transferable skills, and put theory into practice, whilst your placement company can gain from your fresh ideas and enthusiasm.

A note for all full-time students starting a Bachelor’s degree in 2012/13:

If you commence your studies in September 2012 under the new fees regime, and decide to undertake a placement year (making your degree a 4 year sandwich course), please note that you will not be charged a tuition fee for that particular year.

Further Studies

You may progress to postgraduate study on the University’s MA and MSc programmes, or complete professional examinations with the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

About KIS data

From September 2012, all universities and colleges are publishing standardised information for all undergraduate courses in the form of a Key Information Set (KIS). The KIS data is designed to meet the needs of prospective students and allow for informed decision-making when choosing a university course.

Putting our students first

We pride ourselves on our student satisfaction levels which have risen from 73 per cent to 83 per cent between 2010 and 2012. Our dedication to improving the student experience is illustrated by our award-winning student engagement, our close links with business and industry and our £180 million investment in new facilities.

Working with your Students’ Union

Improving student satisfaction is a priority commitment shared by both Birmingham City University and its Students’ Union.  In its strategic planning, the Union has pledged to be more accessible, more relevant and provide more opportunity to engage with a diverse student community.

The Students’ Union is already a key stakeholder in supporting an excellent teaching experience at Birmingham City University, through joint projects such as the Extra Mile Teaching Awards and the Student Rep scheme, which allows students to share their ideas on how they are taught.

As Birmingham City University moves towards a two campus strategy where it can better support enhanced learning and student support facilities across a two-mile radius, the Students’ Union will also be better able to implement its commitment to improve communication and engage with its valued student membership.

Course Structure

As a Joint Honours degree student at Birmingham City Business School, you will study a core first year before continuing onto subject-specific modules in the remaining years of your course.

This exciting development is designed to offer you flexibility of subject choice and increase your employability.

Course Modules

First Year
Autumn	Spring	Credits
Accounting and Finance		30
Economic Environment	New Venture Creation	15 each
Marketing Fundamentals		30
Managing Organisations People and Self		30
Second Year
Autumn	Spring	Credits
Creative Problem Solving	The Business Entrepreneur	15 each
Business Operations and Logistics	Contemporary Business Issues	15 each
Marketing Research	MAPR Practice Project	30
Managing the Brand		30
Final Year
Autumn	Spring	Credits
In the final year you undertake a choice of modules totalling 90 credits from the list below. (The modules stated as 'core' are compulsary).
Marketing Strategy and Planning (core)		30
Sustainable Marketing	Social Marketing	15 each
Digital Marketing Strategy	Creative Industries Marketing	15 each
Global Marketing	Relationship Marketing	15 each
PR Planning	Contemporary Advertising	15 each
Modules that run across both terms: Only one can be chosen
Business Start Up Project or		30
Management Consultancy Project or		30
Dissertation		30
Placement project		30

Assessment Methods

You encounter a wide range of innovative assessment styles, including business reports, academic papers, case studies, individual and group presentations, portfolios and projects, as well as conventional examinations.

Enquiries

Prospective students from the UK or EU

• Take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions for answers to a range of questions about our courses and studying here.
• If you need further help, you can contact the Course Enquiries Team online by using the Course Enquiry Form.
• Alternatively, call us on +44 (0)121 331 5595.

Prospective students from non-EU countries

• International enquirers from non-EU countries may enquire via the International Enquiry Form.
• Alternatively, call us +44 (0)121 331 6714.

Prospectus

For an overview of our undergraduate courses and range of other information order a printed Prospectus or download a PDF of our 2014/15 Prospectus (16MB).