Learning about international business strategies is essential, as modern businesses are increasingly globalised and innovation-oriented. The University of Bolton's BSc (Hons) International Business Management degree with integrated foundation year taught by the University of Bolton Manchester (UoBM) in Manchester city centre offers an excellent start to a career with global opportunities.

Key information

Award:

BSc (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Full-time

Duration:

4 years

Location:

UoB Manchester

UCAS points:

UCAS code:

M971

Start date:

To be confirmed

Course Details

The BSc (Hons) in International Business Management with integrated foundation year offered by UoBM provides a strong foundation in business management with an international perspective on contemporary strategic concerns. You can develop your understanding of global business and management while experiencing life in the multicultural heart of Manchester.

The foundation year is the first year of this four-year degree, offering an excellent grounding in the fundamentals of business and management alongside study skills development. It's designed to prepare you for degree-level study.

As you progress through the course, you'll develop a thorough understanding of key topics in international business management, such as market analysis, the role of emerging markets in today's economy, and intercultural business environments and competition. We'll coach you in building confidence in navigating people, finances and projects in a cross-cultural context and developing sought-after skills such as communication, data analysis, time management, teamwork and problem-solving. We'll also emphasise the global need for responsible and sustainable entrepreneurship.

Modules cover areas of communications, marketing, finance, HR and project management to ensure you graduate with the knowledge required to thrive in international businesses. The degree is expertly structured to combine both academic and practical areas of business management, giving you the tools to navigate global companies and international markets successfully. We also aim to help you develop lifelong learning skills so that you can take ownership of your professional development for the future, maximising your potential for success.

The final year dissertation allows you to combine your new skills with academic research. We'll guide you as you learn to apply your knowledge and prove your critical understanding of international businesses. By studying our BSc (Hons) in International Business Management with integrated foundation year, you'll build essential knowledge and experience a range of opportunities that support you in developing the attitudes, abilities and competencies needed to launch your careers in the field of business in a global context.

Highlights

UoBM's highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic international business management lecturers offer face-to-face sessions, online classes and one-to-one support, ensuring you can access help and advice when needed.
You'll explore key concepts in areas such as people management, business law, marketing, operational and strategic management, information systems and big data, project management, finance, and economics.
You'll also have the opportunity to undertake a major project in your final year that allows you to explore an area of professional interest in greater depth.
Our highly experienced and enthusiastic lecturers have worked in a wide range of businesses ranging from multinational organisations to SMEs and offer face-to-face, online and one-to-one support.
UoBM offers excellent IT facilities, WiFi and well-appointed teaching, learning, and study areas.

Key Features

UoBM is partnering with the University of Bolton to bring the University's highly regarded teaching-intensive, research-informed approach to a new campus in Manchester city centre.
You can benefit from excellent student-centred and innovative teaching close to Oxford Road in the heart of Manchester's student hub.
We use small group and tutorial teaching so that you can benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
We regularly invite guest speakers with senior positions in industry and practice, enabling you to benefit from their knowledge and advice.
Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work in advance and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
We weave contemporary research findings into our teaching and offer a robust academic underpinning to your business management studies.
Our dedicated team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research skills and apply these during your final year dissertation.
A link tutor provides academic communication between UoBM and the University of Bolton so that the experience you receive as an off-campus student is equivalent to that of an on-campus student.
As an off-campus student, you'll have access to the support of the University's dedicated Off-Campus team and resources.
You'll also have access to the University's e-learning resources, an extensive e-library and the support of University librarians.

48 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
You should also have five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
We'll be happy to consider your application if you have non-traditional entry qualifications and relevant experience or a suitable portfolio of work that we consider a reasonable substitute for the qualifications we typically accept for this course.
You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
If English isn't your first language, you'll also need IELTS 5.5 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
This course is open to Home students only. Applications from International and EU students cannot usually be accepted because the study location for this course is not licenced by UKVI to sponsor students. Therefore, if you require sponsorship under the Student Visa Route to study in the UK, then, unfortunately, we'll be unable to consider your application for this course. Some EU students are eligible to study this course under the EU Settlement Scheme or Common Travel Area arrangement – for details, please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

This BSc (Hons) International Business Management with integrated foundation year degree provides a broad understanding of business functions in the business and commercial world. The course offers a route into general management and specialist areas, such as business accounting and finance, enterprise, human resource management, business law, marketing, retail or supply chain management.

In addition to nurturing academic knowledge, the programme supports your development of key employability skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving and data analysis. Overall, the course aims to give you an essential appreciation of the skills needed to thrive and adapt to the changing world of work.

What can I do with this qualification?

Graduates with a broad understanding of how businesses and managers operate have a competitive advantage when entering employment or self-employment. As a graduate of this degree, you'll be attractive to employers from the public, private and voluntary sectors for a wide range of business and management roles. Some typical employment opportunities include retail management, human resources, marketing, customer service management, advertising, merchandising, logistics and supply chain management, accountancy and law.

After graduation, you may pursue further study in marketing, finance, human resources, data analysis, logistics or supply chain management to develop your expertise in a particular area of business. Studying for an MBA is also another option.

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into various other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some possibilities include:

Hotel and leisure management
Public relations
Financial management
Information systems
Market research analysis
Product management
Health policy and information
Purchasing
Teaching and education
Media (TV, film, online, newspaper, magazine)
Self-employment
Banking
Auditing and quality assurance
Project management
Risk and insurance

Course fees

Home Fees	Year of study					Total
Entry year	2024/25	2025/26	2026/27	2027/28	2028/29
2024	£9,250	£9,250	£9,250	£9,250	-	£37,000

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2023-2024 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2023-2024 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2023-2024 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

Please apply directly to UoB Manchester. Details of how to apply can be found on the UoB Manchester website .

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

We understand that our students' learning needs and preferred learning styles vary, so we use a range of learning and teaching methods, including online (where appropriate).

Lectures introduce the core course content, while seminars allow you to explore subjects in greater detail. Tutorials offer space to ask questions, ensuring you understand the topics covered in the lectures and seminars. We use case studies and practical scenarios to help you learn to apply academic theory to real-life practical scenarios, allowing you to gain insights into contemporary practice in a working business environment. We'll also expect you to undertake considerable guided independent study, for instance, library research and background reading, preparing for seminar and tutorial activities, and working on assignments.

Guest lectures and presentations by visiting speakers from relevant employment areas will allow you to further develop your knowledge and understanding.

You can expect time-constrained exams, essays, reports, presentations, portfolios, and others in terms of assessment. These contribute to your final module mark and demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes.

We also use other assessment forms to help you learn, provide feedback, and inform your development. These do not, however, count towards your final module mark.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Communication Skills
Data Skills
Professional Development Skills
Research Skills
Academic and Professional Skills
Economics for Business
Business Finance
Business environment
Managing Human Resources
Principles and Practice of Marketing
Legal Aspects of Business
Business Information Systems
Business Strategy
Managing International Business
Operational and Project Management
Undergraduate Major Project

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level zero	Coursework 38%, Practical exams 50%, Written exams 13%
Level one	Coursework 63%, Practical exams 25%, Written exams 13%
Level two	Coursework 38%, Practical exams 50%, Written exams 13%
Level three	Coursework 71%, Practical exams 29%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level zero	Guided independent study 76%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24%
Level one	Guided independent study 76%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24%
Level two	Guided independent study 76%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24%
Level three	Guided independent study 76%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.