Business Management and Finance (with Placement Year)

Master the numbers that move organisations with our Business and Finance degree

Our Business Management and Finance BSc at St Mary's University London prepares you for a career where financial insight meets real leadership. You'll build deep expertise in finance alongside the wider skills that turn good analysts into trusted decision-makers: strategy, marketing, human resources, and the commercial understanding that ties them all together.

The people who manage money shape what gets built and which ideas get the chance to grow. That's why our course treats ethics not as an add-on, but as central to what it means to do this work well. You'll graduate ready to make decisions that stand up to scrutiny – financially sound and professionally rigorous.

The course is designed by experienced industry professionals – accountants, finance directors, and business leaders – so what you learn reflects how the field actually operates. It's built around the capabilities employers genuinely look for:

• Apply creative business and financial thinking to real situations

• Work confidently with AI, data, and digital platforms

• Lead with strong ethical and professional standards

Study business and finance in the capital
Our Business and Finance degree is based at our Twickenham campus in the beautiful London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, giving you opportunities to explore the global financial capital and interact with nearby businesses of all sizes.

Gain extra qualifications as you study
During your degree, you can complete specific modules to achieve extra qualifications (subject to validation) from Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA).

Modules
Business Management and Finance will help you to understand the financial and economic aspects of businesses, how to manage and motivate people and how to build an organisation for success.

Management and development of a business requires an understanding of the changes taking place in the contemporary business world, society, consumer markets, financial markets, business strategy, global economies, and digital technology. You'll learn how all these factors, combined with the ability to understand key financial aspects, are critical to the sustained development of a business.

Hear from our students
Lauren, Business student - "The staff here are really helpful and are always on hand when help is needed, both in lectures and tutorials."

About the Placement Year
A placement year enables you to undertake a year of experience in an organisation between your second and final year.

It will enable you to:

• apply the knowledge and skills you gain from your course in a work setting

• build your commercial awareness and insights into organisations and industries you might want to work in

• develop your professional skills through company training, networking skills and confidence in the workplace

• get some great experience for future job applications or even land a graduate job.

Support from St Mary’s every step of the way
Securing a placement can really help you develop your job search skills and the Employability Service placement and Careers Teams can support you to find and apply for available opportunities.

Please note: in the event that you cannot secure a placement you will be able to transfer onto the three year version of your degree programme.

Why St Mary’s?
You will gain skills and support to make a positive impact – for yourself and for others – through high-quality teaching, real-world experience, and a community that lifts each other up. Our campus is a London oasis – blending city energy with open green spaces to think, connect, and grow.