Business and International Relations

Are you ready to understand what it takes to be a successful business leader on the world stage?

Course outline

The BSc (Hons) Business and International Relations course provides a comprehensive understanding of business and management alongside a profound understanding of global politics. You will gain a strong foundation in management principles and business concepts, including strategic decision-making. You will also explore major issues in international affairs such as concepts and theories of international relations, approaches to security studies or international political economy. Understanding how business and politics intersect on a global scale will provide you with a solid starting point for your future career.

You will be taught by research-active staff who are experts in their respective fields and who constantly update their teaching based on the newest research findings.

The integrated placement year will bridge the gap between theory and practice, and provide you with invaluable real-world experiences in the UK or abroad, equipping you with the skills and insights you need for a range of professional roles within business, government or advocacy.

Key benefits

• Power up your future – Develop the skills employers around the globe look for. Gain an edge in a fast-changing world and thrive in your career with Aston Power Skills.

• Safe in our hands - Ranked 4th in the UK for ‘student-to-staff ratio’ (International Relations; Guardian, 2025)

• Here for you. 96% of students felt positive about the academic support they received (Business and International Relations; National Student Survey, 2024).

• Earn more – Our graduates are among the highest paid in the country, earning on average £35,400 five years after graduating (Longitudinal Education Outcomes, 2024)

• Gold standard teaching – Aston University was awarded Gold – the highest possible rating for the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF, 2023)

• Experiential learning – Experience learning by doing with innovative modules like the award-winning EuroSim module

• Recognised for quality – Aston Business School is proud to be among 1% of business schools worldwide with triple accreditation

Where can this degree take me?

The transferable skills that our business and international relations programmes provide mean that our graduates are successful in finding employment in a wide range of roles such as:

• Finance executive

• Data insight consultant

• Internal auditor

• Sales executive

• Graduate content specialist

• Marketing executive

• Commercial trading executive

• International project manager

• Policy officer

• Business engagement executive

• Product analyst

Our graduates have gone on to work at companies and public sector organisations such as Sainsburys, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Softcat, Highways England, Lloyds Banking, National Express, BT, O2, IBM, J.P.Morgan, Microsoft and the Civil Service.