International Business MSc

About the Course

The MSc international business is designed for students seeking to operate within an international management or international business setting, as well as a myriad of organisations and disciplines where an understanding of international business is an asset. The programme aims to enable students to develop a sound understanding of international business contexts and the ability to make integrative links across various disciplines. Some aspects of the course will focus on emerging markets.
Graduates will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of the impact of contextual factors on organisations - within the context of internationalisation:

• the management of resources and operations
• the financing of business enterprise
• the management and development of people
• the use and the limitations of a range of research methods and on the development of appropriate business policies and strategies

The programme offers training in research methods with particular application to the empirical study of international management situations, issues and process.

Aims

The aim of this degree is to provide students with:

• A programme in international business and management that will enable them to further develop transferable skills suitable for engaging with the challenges of employment/self-employment within the global economy.
• Comprehensive understanding of the processes of globalisation in the 21st century and their implications for the business person.
• Comprehensive knowledge and skills for successful careers in multinational corporations, non-governmental organisations, multilateral international organisations, international laws, and academic institutions.

Enquiries

Course Director: Dr Frederick Mieh
Email frederick.mmieh@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 265256

For applications already submitted:
Contact Admissions online
Tel +44 (0)1895 265265

Business School Enquiries Desk: for enquiries prior to application
Email masterbbs@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267124 or 265910

Related Courses

• Management MSc
• Marketing MSc
• International Relations MA
• Global Supply Chain Management MSc

Special Features

• Specialist programme directed at graduates seeking a career in international management/international business.
• Insight into the processes of globalisation in the 21st century and their implications for the business person.
• Elective module explores social network technologies and innovation.
• Tutors are active members of the Business School’s Centre for Research Entrepreneurship, international Business and Innovation in Emerging Markets (CEIBIEM) in these research areas. Research subjects for consideration on the programme include :
  

• Sustainability of economic development in emerging economies
• Micro and macroeconomic policies, exchange rate policies, balance of payments (export and import sectors) intervention and liberalisation policies
• International Business - Global or international trade analysis, foreign direct investment trends and their impact on economic development
• Stock exchange market analysis, foreign exchange market economics and econometric analysis
• Strategic management and strategic decision-making
• Strategic innovation and the adaptation and evolution of firms in highly uncertain environments
• Multi-national enterprises (MNEs) and their philosophies
• Human Resource Management (HRM) in large MNEs
• Strategic behaviour of firms
• Internationalisation and its impact on technology management in developed and in emerging economies 
• Some of the well cited publications are on knowledge markets and the growth of international business
• Entrepreneurship and Small Business Ventures and Entrepreneurial Management
• Technology-based small firms, and management of technology and innovation
• Design management and scientific entrepreneurialism
• Adoption and use of ICTs in small firms and intellectual property rights
• Enhancing analytical skills in business and Quantitative Methods in Business and Management

Course Content

Core Modules

• International Business Economics
  By the end of this module you will have gained fundamental knowledge of business economics and be able to critically assess the main structures and activities in today’s economic market. You will also appreciate how relationships within the international economic system affect business planning, measurement and control, as well as the forces behind globalisation, liberalisation and cross-border business and resource movements.
• International Business Strategy
  During this module you will explore the sources of competitive advantage and comparative advantage when firms operate in international markets. You will gain an understanding of how to evaluate the key strategic issues facing the multinational enterprise. You will also explore the dynamic inter-relationships between international corporate governance, strategy and innovation.
• International Management
  You will gain a systematic understanding of the theories and concepts pertaining to the management of organisations operating in the international arena and their challenges: legal, cultural, economic, political, technological and ethical. This module also allows the opportunity to explore managerial behaviours and organisational processes relevant to operating in a competitive global environment.
• Organisational Behaviour
  This module explores the main theories and key functions of leadership and management and their application, and you will be able to critique these as well as appreciate the contemporary issues facing leaders and managers. You will also be able to critically evaluate characteristics of effective management and how this differentiates from leadership, and discuss and assess relative strengths and limitations of key approaches to developing leaders and managers in organisations.
• Understanding Business and Management Research
  This module provides students with a balanced view of social science and business research methods enabling a critical understanding of research information. It provides students with knowledge of relevant research methods and techniques for the Master's level project work.
• Dissertation
  A research-based dissertation is an integral element of the programme to which considerable importance is attached. It offers students the opportunity to demonstrate their academic competence and professional potential. There are few constraints on the research topic other than it must be directly relevant, amenable to enquiry and of appropriate intellectual depth. The dissertation involves the full cycle of proposal development, literature review, methodology, evaluation, and final reporting.
  

Elective Modules (one from)

• Global Diversity Management
  This module provides an insight into Global Diversity Management by examining how organizations plan, coordinate and implement a set of management strategies, policies, initiatives such as training and development activities that seek to accommodate diverse sets of social and individual backgrounds, interests, beliefs, values and ways of work in organizations with international, multinational, global and transnational workforces and operations.
• International Business Ethics, Sustainability and Corporate Governance
  This module provides students with the chance to consider business ethics, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in the international context. These issues will be addressed from both the ‘business’ side and the ‘society’ side, and for both large corporations and small firms, using a combination of empirical studies and the theoretical resources of moral philosophy.
• Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation
  This module explores the intersection between knowledge, social network technologies and innovation. It examines how organisations create, utilise and communicate knowledge in the global knowledge-based economy and the wider social and economic factors affecting knowledge transfer. The module identifies the exploitation of WEB.2.0 which enables social engagement and processes for business development.

Assessment

• Modules are typically assessed by individual assessment, or an examination in May.
  
• Teaching methods include lectures and informal small study groups.
• Coursework and examinations place considerable stress on the ability think and reason critically, but constructively.
  
• The dissertation (12,000 words) is the capstone demonstration of these skills, requiring students to conceive, justify, design and execute a major project.
• Individual and or group presentations using laptops, PCs and digital projectors.

Modes of Study

1 Year full-time in September. The taught element of the course (September to April) includes eight modules; delivery will be by a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials/group work. A further four months (May to September) is spent undertaking the dissertation.

Employability

Employability Outcomes
Previous students of MSc International Business have achieved graduate positions at:

• HMV
• Greenpower
• Boots
• Pro-Bank

 

 Employability Events, Visits and Training

 

The School’s Business Life Employability Programme is designed to help students to acquire a range of employability and networking skills, enabling them to gain a distinct edge in the labour market and to manage their career search and development more effectively. Typical events have included:

• Business Life Capstone Event
  As part of their Business Planning module, postgraduate business students were invited to collaborate with Brunel’s annual Made in Brunel exhibition to provide a route to market for real creative and entrepreneurial products conceived by Brunel’s engineering and design students. Students from MSc Management and MSc Marketing not only created commercialisation plans for the products, but were invited to pitch their ideas to a panel of industry professionals and academic judges.
• BAT (Bloomberg Aptitude Test) with Bloomberg
  The BAT is offered as a three-hour online test taken on campus within an invigilated environment with a Bloomberg representative. BAT was designed in conjunction with leading financial institutions and academics to uncover an individual’s knowledge and skills relevant for a financial career. Students can choose to submit their names along with test scores or anonymously during job recruitment drives.
• Meet the Professionals Showcase
  A professional association is an organisation formed to unite and inform people who work in the same occupation. There are many advantages to joining professional bodies: typically they offer training and access to research, as well as networking opportunities like conferences and forums. Brunel Business School regularly invites key professional bodies to showcase these benefits to Business School students on campus. Professional bodies who regularly take part in the Showcase include: ACCA, ICAEW, CIPFA, CIMA, BCS, OR, CMI, CILT, CIPD, CII, CBI, CFA, CIM and CIPR.
  

UK Industrial and Commercial Visits
Where possible, events and external visits are arranged with UK organisations to help demonstrate theory in practice. Typical events have included: 

• Tour of the Mini Car Plant, Oxford
  MSc in Management students joined MSc Supply Chain Management students in 2012 on a visit to BMW’s Mini car plant in Oxford.  The visit involved a guided tour around the Mini production line which was in full operation during the visit. Students witnessed in practice many of management topics covered in their degree including international business strategy, new product development, customer focused marketing, operations and supply chain management, and financial resources management.
  

• CV Writing for Masters Students

Supply Chain Management is growing in importance as a management discipline and we are confident that graduates of this programme will improve their employability in this area as a result of completing this double-accredited specialist programme.

Graduate School Workshops
In addition to the events and training sessions organised within the Business School, masters students have exclusive access to the workshops and skills training provided by the Brunel University’s Graduate School. Typical sessions have included:

• CV Writing for Masters Students
  A good quality CV is crucial and takes time to perfect. Students on taught masters are invited to attend this special training session on how to prepare Curriculum Vitae towards a targeted job or sector.
• CV Writing Drop-in Clinic for Masters Students
  Masters students are invited to bring along their CVs for a one-to-one review session with a careers advisor or as a follow-up to the Graduates School’s CVs writing for Masters Students.
• How to Succeed in Assessment Centres (Masters Students)
  This session will help students to prepare for assessment centres which are used as part of an organisation’s recruitment processes for jobs in industry or academia, in particular for highly competitive positions.
• Interview Techniques for Masters Students
  A training session especially for masters students that explores the whole competitive process of the interview from preparation to presenting and demonstrating your interest on the day.
• Transferrable Skills for Masters Students
  Students are encouraged to widen their skills base during postgraduate study in response to employer demand for transferrable skills as well as intellectual knowledge.
  

For further Masters Skills Training Courses, visit the Graduate School.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £8,000 full-time

International students: £13,500 full-time

Postgraduate Scholarships Available Now

Brunel University is offering Academic Excellence Scholarships to postgraduate students (15%) and scholarships for Brunel Alumni (15%). Those alumni who graduated with a first class degree would be able to benefit from a double scholarship of almost 30% discount. View information on the postgraduate scholarships.

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

A good honours degree (2.1 or above) typically in business or social science or cognate discipline and from a recognised university plus satisfactory references. Those with a lower second class degree (2.2) may be considered providing that they can show evidence of significant relevant (eg work) experience.

Candidates from non-business/management disciplines (and without any business/management element) will be eligible if they have a first class honours degree or the overseas equivalent. 

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• TOEFL Paper test: 580 (TWE 4.5)
• TOEFL Internet test: 92 (R20, L20, S20, W20)
• Pearson: 59 (51 in all subscores)
• BrunELT 65% (min 60% in all areas)

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.