International Business BSc

About the Course

This degree will equip you with the broad business and management background and the analytical, technical and interpersonal skills required to understand, analyse and address issues faced by today's companies. International Business pathway provides the fundamentals of national and international market economies and the multivalent forces that shape the operating environments of organisations, both nationally and internationally.

• Emphasis on globalisation issues generated by multi-national enterprises (MNEs)
• Instruction in economics and strategic management processes from an international context
• Teaching that focusses on real life data analysis skills
• Management study that offers a wide choice of job opportunities after graduation
• A year’s paid work placement in third year (for those who undertake a work placement)

The core components of this degree will offer you a range of skills in business and management (see Course Content), including: International Business; International Relations; Economics For Business; International Business In Emerging Markets; Human Resources And Its International Dimensions.

Emphasis in this pathway is on globalisation issues generated by multinational enterprises (MNEs) that account for over fifty percent of global output. A deeper understanding of the commercial power of MNEs will help students to position themselves strategically in a competitive job market.

Aims

This pathway will broaden your knowledge of business concepts as you work on real business issues and live case studies, to develop managerial skills and enhance career opportunities. You will also learn valuable technical skills along the way: numerical methods and statistical software packages such as SPSS and EXCEL without the need for 'A' level maths or the overseas equivalent.

You will learn about the world of business and management and develop the skills to get a good job when you graduate. You will enhance your ability to communicate your ideas and to take responsibility for your learning.

Enquiries

Course Director: Dr Satwinder Singh
Email satwinder.singh@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267547

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

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

Related Courses

• Business and Management BSc
• Economics and Management BSc
• Economics and Management with Professional Development BSc
• International Business BSc

Special Features

• Management study offers a wide choice of job opportunities after graduation.
• Includes a module on Management Enquiry to help you adapt to university study through active learning sessions on topics such as working in groups, report writing and time management.
• Employability focused initiatives through the Business School’s unique Business LifeEmployability Programme (see Employability).
• Student Pastoral Care that goes beyond the assignment of a Personal Tutor, to offer continuous help and assistance on non-academic and social issues.
• High quality teaching from lecturers with 'hands-on' experience in consultancy and training.
• Tutors that are active researchers in one of the School’s six centres of business research – who bring up-to-the minute findings to course content.
• Brunel graduates enjoy the 13th highest graduate starting salaries in the UK.

For those who undertake a work placement

• A year’s paid work placement.
• The opportunity to gain paid professional experience working in prominent companies or organisations. Many students get offered full-time graduate posts at the companies where they carried out their work placements.

Accreditation

Brunel Business School is in the top 7 best Business Schools in London

• The Complete University Guide ranked Brunel Business School 3rd in London for student satisfaction and 5th in London for business studies
• Sunday Times University Guide 2013 ranked Brunel Business School 4th in London and 21st in UK for business and management studies
• The Times Good University Guide 2013 ranked Brunel Business School 6th in London and 45th in UK for business and management studies
• Financial Times ranked Brunel Business School 6th in London, top 20 in UK and in the top 75 in Europe in 2011
• Guardian University Guide 2013 ranked Brunel Business School 7th in London and 45th in UK for business and management studies

Roneal Fernando graduated with a 1st class honours degree in Business and Management in 2011

I looked at a number of other universities before deciding on Brunel for my degree course. I’d always seen going into business as the end game so business and management was the natural subject for me. I chose Brunel partly because I really liked the look of the campus: I liked the fact that it’s self-contained, attractively laid out and being close to Uxbridge makes it very convenient too. But I was also looking for a degree programme that was well established and Brunel’s BSc Business and Management is just that. 
I greatly enjoyed my time at Brunel and I got involved in lots of activities whilst I was here. In particular, I am delighted to have been able to join the University of London Officers Training Corp (ULOTC), part of the Territorial Army (an opportunity that’s open to all Brunel students), serve as a student ambassador for the Business School’s new Business Life initiative as well as lead teams in the IBM Business challenge over the last three years. This greatly helped my confidence and improved my presentation, team working and leadership skills. For my project in my final year, I looked at how businesses prepare to ensure continuity in the face of the continuing threat from terrorism and disruption. My research involved contacting a large number of organisations including store owners in Oxford Street and Regents Street. Ensuring continuity is an area of business that particularly interests me and I would like eventually to work for a consultancy specialising in this.

Course Content

All Business School undergraduates study a common first year. All level 2 modules are core and specific to the marketing. At Level 3 you will study additional core modules, plus your choice of two elective modules from a selection. You will also study a particular area of business in depth by way of a final year project.

Level 1 modules

• Introduction to Management Enquiry
• Organisational Behaviour and Analysis
• Managing Information with Technology
• Introduction to Accounting
• Principles and Practices of Marketing
• International Business Environment

Level 2 modules

• International Business in Emerging Markets
• International Relations
• Marketing Communications
• Economics for Business and Management
• Human Resource Management and its International Dimensions
• Quantitative Methods in Business and Management

Level 3 modules

• Issues and Controversies in Management Project
• International Marketing
• International Business Strategy
• Work Placement in Context (for those who undertake a work placement)
  

Level 3 optional modules

• International Technology Management
• Globalisation and Governance
• Business Ethics, Environmental Sustainability and Governance
• European Union Politics: Problems and Prospects

Teaching and Learning

Staff expertise

Many of our lecturers are:

• Internationally or nationally recognised for their innovative work and research;
• Work as consultants for major companies worldwide;
• Have practical and personal experience in business/have run their own companies.

Lectures

These provide a broad overview of key concepts and ideas. They provide a framework from which to carry out more in-depth study. For each module there will be one lecture per week.

Seminars

Small seminar groups allow students to make individual contributions. You will undertake in-depth analysis of issues as you exchange and explore ideas with other students.

Workshops

Workshops in the Business School labs give students the opportunity to obtain valuable hands-on experience of industry software, computing equipment, business design and multi-media packages.

One-to-one Sessions with Tutors

In your first year you will assigned a personal tutor who will be available to help with academic or personal issues. In your second year this support will be continued through the Business School’s Pastoral Care programme – BBS Student Support – a team of specially chosen personal tutors who are available throughout the working week. Additionally, if you choose a four-year sandwich course, you will also be allocated an industrial tutor who will provide support during your work placement. In your final year you will receive one‑to‑one supervision for your major project.

Availability of Tutors

Academic staff must be available for a number of hours each week for students who need to get advice. Their availability will be displayed on their office doors so that students can make an appointment or drop by to see them if they have any concerns about their studies.

Web-learning and Support

eLearning and knowledge management are now standard ways in which companies communicate with their employees. Students will be expected to participate in email discussion groups and engage with online material using the university’s web‑based learning facility, u-Link.

Other

There will be email discussion groups, research talks on key management issues and presentations by outside speakers. Throughout the course, you will also be expected to undertake group work and individual projects and presentations.

Assessment

Each subject is assessed either by a combination of continuous appraisal and examination or by coursework or examination alone. As a rough guide, the split is approximately 50:50 exam to coursework but the exact ratio varies depending on the modules you select. Your results from Level 1 do not count towards your final degree classification, but you have to pass the first year to continue with the degree. Level 2 is worth a third of your final mark and Level 3 the rest. In your final year you will undertake an assessed project of around 8,000 words worth a third of your Level 3 marks.

Employability

International Business pathway will prepare students for a wide range of jobs and opportunities within or associated with multi-national organisations such as banks, NGOs, charities and international brands.

On average 72.5% of our graduates were working or combining work with further study six months after graduating. This figure was substantially higher for students who opted for the Placement option as part of their course (4 year thick-sandwich).

International Business graduates, particularly those with additional language skills, are recruited into all areas of business but particularly multinationals or those companies working with international clients.

In 2010/11 International Business graduates were employed in the following positions:

• Project Solutions Manager/Pensions Consultant
• Events Assistant
• International Admissions Officer
• Accountant
• HR Administrator
• Recruitment Consultant
• Employment Coach
• International Merchandising Assistant
• International Product Manager
• HR Analyst
• International Coordinator
• Logistics Coordinator
• Environmental Product Manager

Read more about International Business.

Business Life

Business Life is a unique employability programme offered free of charge to all of our students alongside their academic study. It was conceived, developed and is delivered in association with leading employers from business, industry and the public sector. The programme begins the moment you join us and lasts throughout your degree. By the time you graduate you will have an impressive portfolio of work experience, certificates, industry contacts and skills.

• High quality personal, technology, language and business skill training courses and workshops
• Career development and planning services, including mentoring, industry taster sessions and guest speaker series
• Sector leading work experience programme covering placements, volunteering, internships and vacation work
• Help with marketing your capabilities, through networking events, CV development, employer exhibitions and student showcases
• Lifelong continuous professional development, including short courses and Masters programmes at preferential rates 

As part of the Business Life Employability Programme you will be invited to participate in events and training that will help you obtain job-ready skills, recognised certificates and to build up and valuable examples of your work that will give you a real employability advantage.

Read more about employability.

Placement & Careers Centre (PCC)

Brunel’s award-winning Placement & Careers Centre (PCC) is your one-stop-shop when it comes to employment and career planning and is based at the heart of the university on the first floor of the Bannerman Centre. Business School students are supported by dedicated Placement Officers and Careers Consultants that work with you from the day you start until two years after you graduate.

Within the PCC is the Job Shop, which is visited by most students on arrival at the University. The Job Shop helps students find temporary or part-time work whilst studying for their degree which enables you to develop the transferable skills sought after by employers.

The Work Placement Year

One of Brunel’s most distinctive features is a commitment to include periods of work experience within ‘sandwich’ degrees – degree study that includes a year’s paid work placement as part of the course. Four-year sandwich degrees help students to develop the practical knowledge and skills required to succeed in the competitive graduate job market.

Placements are on offer at different sized organisations across the public and private sector, providing the opportunity to choose the type of experience most suited to you. In addition to providing a valuable opportunity to put what you’ve learnt in your degree into practice and to earn some much appreciated money, students find their work placement experience significantly enhances their employability when they come to graduate. In fact many students are offered employment with their work placement company upon graduation.

How the placement scheme works

Students undertaking a work placement spend at least 44 weeks in an organisation working for a particular department, performing a role relevant to their studies. Work placements are carried out at the end of a student’s second year at Brunel.

Whilst a student is out on placement, an academic member of Brunel Business School keeps in touch and all placement students and their employers are invited to attend a tutorial day at Brunel. Most work placements are organised with companies based in the UK, but where a student has contacts overseas, it is possible to organise a placement outside the UK, subject to certain conditions being met.

Features

• A sandwich placement is totally different from the kind of work experience you may have had whilst at school;
• A work placement is a proper job with a proper organisation – quite often the organisation is a household name;
• Work placement students earn proper salaries: currently students are generally being paid between £13,000 and £17,000 per annum, depending on the market sector and location – some have been known to earn considerably more than this.

Employers of placement students from Brunel include:

• IBM
• Adidas
• Lloyds TSB
• British Airways
• Orange
• Microsoft
• Warner Bros
• Morgan Stanley
• Air France
• Walt Disney
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• United Biscuits
• Nissan

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £9,000 full-time; £1,000 placement year

International students: £13,500 full-time

We are introducing over 700 scholarships for 2013, meaning that one in five applicants who join Brunel next year will receive financial support from the University. See our fees and funding page for full details

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

Entry Requirements for 2013 Entry

• GCE A-level Typical offer AAB (General Studies or Critical Thinking accepted as one of three A-levels). Applicants who have already achieved at least BBB at A-level and have Personal Statements showing a strong interest in the course and transferable skills will also be considered. Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants within this range.
  
• Irish Leaving Certificate AAABB.
• Scottish Advanced Highers AAB.
• Advanced Diploma Progression Diploma grade A in Business, Administration & Finance or Public Services, plus one A level at grade B in an academic subject. For applicants undertaking the Public Services diploma the A level must be in a business related or science subject
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma D*D*D in Business or a Business related subject.
  
• BTEC Level 3 Diploma D*D in Business or a Business related subject, with an A Level at grade A.
• IBDP 35 points.
• Access Complete and pass Access to Business or related subject course with 45 credits at Level 3 Distinction and 15 credits at level 2. Applicants should also have some relevant work experience.

For all of the above, 5 GCSEs or equivalent at Grade C or above are also required, to include English and Maths (please note that minimum grades must be achieved by the time you submit your UCAS application).

English Language Requirements

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.