Business Management (with Placement Year)

Find your passion with our flexible Business Management degree. Every St Mary's student brings their own ambitions and unique strengths - where will yours take you?
At SMU, our Business Management course is designed for practical, ambitious individuals ready to make a real impact in the workplace. With small class sizes, you’ll enjoy a personal learning journey where you’re truly valued, while our focus on ethical standards and working with third-sector organisations helps you develop as a thoughtful, forward-thinking leader.

Our expert academics bring a wealth of industry experience to the classroom, offering an engaging and relevant approach to teaching that ensures you’re equipped with the real-world skills you need to thrive. A hands-on Business Management degree to help you navigate the corporate world. Our high employability shows this is an approach that works, and that you’ll get where you want to be.

Practical skills that boost employability
Our Business Management course is designed by industry professionals who understand that employers seek graduates who:

• can apply ideas to practical situations

• are confident with the latest technological and digital developments

• maintain the best professional management and ethical standards.

You’ll be assessed on real-world projects, business cases, presentations and simulated exercises (rather than exams) so you’ll have plenty of extra experience for your CV. As you explore our wide range of specialist modules, you’ll:

• earn exemptions and professional accreditations

• complete short courses on Excel and Canva.

We’ll help you find a work placement that complements your goals. You’ll:

• apply knowledge and skills to the real world

• gain crucial experience and confidence

• build your network.

Therefore, you’re always building on your employability. Once you finish your Business Management BSc, you’ll join the 96% of SMU graduates in employment, vocation, or further study within 15 months of graduation (HESA, 2024).

Hear from our students
Lauren, Business Management student - " My lecturers are really helpful and always on hand when help is needed, both in lectures and tutorials”.

Learn in the capital
Our campus is located in the green and picturesque London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, so you’ll have access to the capital as a diverse hub for business. We also have connections with large companies and small businesses in the local area.

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.

During the first year you will be introduced to the principal areas of the Business Management curriculum. The major management theorists will be reviewed within the context of organisational development, as well as the key elements of the business environment. In the second year you will study the core disciplines of Marketing and Financial Management, and will use business case studies to develop your ability to deal with complex management problems. You choose from a range of specialist option modules, according to your academic interests and career aspirations. In the final year, you will study Strategic Management and develop a detailed appreciation of the Business Ethics field, an area of growing interest amongst business practitioners. You will be able to enhance your specialist knowledge through studying a range of dedicated options, including Management Accounting, Employment Law, E-Commerce, Management Consultancy, Marketing Management, and Organisational Change.