Business Management with Foundation Year

Are you an ambitious, driven individual? Looking to kick-start your career in the business sector? Accredited by the leading professional body The Chartered Management Institute (CMI), our Business Management degree can help you gain the confidence and skills to become a future CEO. You’ll study a range of subject areas, including: global business, sustainability, ethical research, financial decision making and innovation,

With BNU, you can benefit from CMI accreditation, proven to boost employability by providing learners with the management and leadership skills needed to succeed. On completion of your degree, you will gain a CMI qualification developed in consultation with employers.

Our industry-experienced academics have developed this business management degree with the latest industry insights. And are here to support you to develop the knowledge and understanding of contemporary best practice in strategic international management.

You’ll gain experience of real client projects and enhance your CV, ready for graduate employability. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn how to apply practical and realistic solutions to complex business scenarios, studying subject areas that include financial decision-making, contemporary business issues, international marketing, and strategic agility. All of which will help you to develop and specialize in your areas of interest.

This course is a four-year degree, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.

What will I study?
With a BA (Hons) Business Management degree from BNU, you’ll be well-placed and well-prepared to enter the employment market.

You’ll cover diverse subject areas, including managing and engaging people, strategic marketing and global business sustainability. This will be alongside developing key skills such as understanding financial decision making, enhancing your attention to detail and analytical thinking. Studying such varied topics will help you understand how marketing impacts global businesses

We are focused on providing you with all the building blocks you need to create a solid understanding of the business environment. Your first year will be integrated with the BA (Hons) Business and Human Resource Management course. You will be taught a range of modules that cover both courses allowing you to collaborate with fellow students.

During your second year you will study project management, sustainable operations and responsible enterprise and ethical research. Provided with live project briefs from real-life business clients, you will develop skills including working effectively in a team and pitching for business. You will be able to choose optional modules including consumer behaviour and data analytics for business decisions.

In your final year, you will focus on preparing for your future and career after graduation. In addition to learning about macro and diverse business issues and sustainable strategic agility, you will undertake an independent professional project. This allows you to examine a contemporary business management issue, whilst using your time management, professionalism, and personal discipline skills.

What are my career prospects?
Once you have completed your degree, you will be fully equipped to begin a career in a range of industries, in general management or to develop your own business. Working closely with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) means that you are well placed to become Chartered Managers once you start work.

This programme offers the opportunity to go on to postgraduate study, either on a full-time basis or part-time whilst working. You may choose to study for the International MBA offered by the University.

Year one
Preparing for Success Knowledge and Creativity
Preparing for Success Self-development and Responsibility
Inquiry and Research Skills
Introduction to Business Studies

Year two
Core modules
Global Business and Sustainability
People Management and Employment Skills
Introduction to Data and Analytics
Introduction to Financial Decision Making
Principles of Marketing

Year three
Core modules
Consultancy in Practice
Responsible Enterprise and Ethical Research
Project Management and Sustainable Operations
Strategic Marketing

Optional Modules
Consumer Behaviour
Data Analytics for Business Decisions

Year four
Core Modules
Sustainable Strategic Agility and Innovation
Field Immersion and Leadership for Career Development
Macro and Diverse Business Issues
Independent Professional Project

Optional Modules
International Marketing
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Strategy and Planning

Teaching is interactive and student focused where we blend lectures, workshops, independent study, case studies, live briefs and guest speakers to enhance the learning experience. Our approach is to put you in the shoes of a junior executive and ask ‘what would you do? We want you to have a blend of knowledge, skills and abilities that will allow you to be day one ready graduates who can seamlessly fit into any organisation you choose to join or start as an entrepreneur.

Our assessments are heavily real world centric with live briefs and cases that challenge the student to produce a result and not simply demonstrate knowledge of a subject. We ask for management reports, business plans, people management strategies as well as marketing campaigns and digital advertising activities that are assessed through a mixture of presentations, short films, as well as management reports, memos and briefings.

In your final year you will undertake an Independent Professional Project, where you will carry out a major piece of independent research focused on strategic business issues chosen by you. During this project you will be supported by an academic supervisor and with regular meetings throughout the academic year.

We organise industry visits to see how the theory is applied in the real world and discuss with business professionals the challenges and solutions they use themselves. Our active alumni network provides guest speakers, live briefs, careers talks and job application advice across all three years of our degrees. Discuss with business professionals the challenges and solutions they use themselves.

Our business management programme gives you the opportunity to choose your specialism for your future career after your experience of the core curriculum in year one. Rather than having to make your big career decision before you join us, we introduce you to various specialisms and offer you the flexibility to choose the pathway which leads to your chosen career.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Chartered Management Institute