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BA (Hons)

Business and Management

The BA (Hons) Business and Management course has been designed with student graduate employability at its core.

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Key Course Details

  • UCAS Code

    N201

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • Home students

    £9,000*

  • International students

    £14,950*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.

  • UCAS Code

    N202

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • Home students

    £9,000*

  • International students

    £14,950*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.

Accreditation from the Chartered Management Institute, as well as alignment to national Higher Education guidelines, means that students are developing real skills which employers value and expect a business graduate to possess.

DESIGNED FOR

Individuals who have aspirations to become the business managers and leaders of tomorrow and have a keen interest in finding out what makes a business tick.

Accredited by

  • The Chartered Management Institute

Career Paths

  • Manager
  • Business Adviser
  • Project Manager
  • Data Analyst
  • Management Consultant

Skills taught

  • Strategic thinking
  • Teamwork
  • Problem solving
  • Communication
  • Managing people

Course leader sat in front of a red backdrop smiling

Course Highlights

Dual Accreditation

In addition to their BA (Hons) Business and Management degree, students completing the course will graduate with the CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership.

Work Experience

Students get a minimum of 10 weeks of work experience in industry during their second year of study with a range of fantastic employers in the region.

South Wales Business Clinic

Through the South Wales Business Clinic we support the local community through staff and student consultancy with charities and non-profit organisations.

Industry Partnerships

We have partnerships with over 100 employers, offering embedded employment-based teaching on our courses.

This course is also available through Network75, a combined work and study route.

Module Overview

The course is structured around two 10-week blocks in each year, with immersive learning events happening at the beginning and end of each block of study at each level.  The first year of study focuses on management and looks at the different functions of business and how they inter-relate.  The first year is common across a range of business degrees at USW, allowing students to get a grounding in core concepts of business before studying more specialist modules in the following years.  For students enrolling on to this course in January, please note that you will be required to enrol for the second year of the course in September (of the same calendar year), subject to successful completion of year one. 

People, Work and Society
The module looks at historical and modern approaches to management in the workplace, including the advent of technologies which are reshaping the workplace, and the skills people require.  

Economics, Law and the Business Environment 
The module helps students consider the internal and external environment and how it impacts on the current decision making and future direction of business.

Becoming a Professional: Critical Enquiry 
This skills-based module will introduce critical thinking and crucial research skills which provide the foundation for the next 3 years of study. 

Principles of Supply Chain Management 
Understand the importance of managing and recognising the supply chain as being a key constituent of any organisations' ability to deliver value to its customers and stakeholders. 

 

Marketing and Consumer Behaviour 
This module teaches you how to understand and market to your customer. These are fundamental skills in the diverse and fast paced marketing industry. 

Becoming a Professional: Enterprise Project
Students will evaluate the key traits and skills required to manage a new enterprise and will self-reflect on their own entrepreneurial competencies.

Centre for Academic Success 
This module supports you with both the academic and professional skills you will need to succeed in both your degree and your future career. 

In the second year of study, students will be developing key skills which the CMI outlines are crucial for managers and leaders in the workplace. The year also provides the opportunity for students to complete a 10-week internship in a graduate level role or to engage in a live business case study through the South Wales Business School Business Clinic. 

Project Management 
Understand, explore, and apply key project management techniques and principles and assess the impact that they have on operations and business processes. 

The Digital Workplace 
Appreciate the capabilities of digital technologies, but also the organisational contexts in which they will be embedded.  

Business Analytics for Decision Making 
Through the analysis of financial and statistical data and information, students will be guided through the interpretation of figures to make sense of data and inform decision making.  

 

Managing People 
Having difficult conversations, negotiation skills, recruitment and managing performance are just some of the areas which the module will concentrate on to develop key employability skills.

Employment Experience 1 & 2 
These modules are delivered simultaneously and allow students to engage with a real business with the option of completing a 10-week internship or a live business case through the Business Clinic. 

Centre for Academic Success 
This module supports you with both the academic and professional skills you will need to succeed in both your degree and your future career.

In year three, students will investigate more depth business strategy, as well as themes such as globalisation, ethics, and sustainability.  Students will have the chance to specialise by completing either a critical enquiry project (dissertation) or a consultancy-based project, focussing in depth on an area of business that interests and is relevant to them. 

International Business Management  
The module facilitates a systematic, critical understanding of global business environment and enhances students’ ability to critically analyse emerging themes in international business. 

Business Ethics & Sustainability 
This module develops a critical understanding of the current ethical considerations for business which drive them towards being more socially responsible and sustainable bodies. 

Contemporary Global Leadership
This module will provide any student who aspires towards management in any industry with a critical insight into contemporary discourses on leadership in a global context. 

 

Strategic Management 
This module allows students to reflect on their learnings throughout the course before taking part in a simulation exercise that allows students to put theory into practice.

Critical Enquiry Project or Consultancy Project 
Throughout the final year of study, students have the option to undertake a critical enquiry (dissertation) project or a consultancy-based project. 

Centre for Academic Success
This module supports you with both the academic and professional skills you will need to succeed in both your degree and your future career.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

UCAS points: 96 (or above)

Typical qualification requirements:

  • A Level: CCC 
  • Welsh BACC: Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and CC at A Level
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Merit Merit Merit 
  • Access to HE: Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 96 UCAS tariff points.

Additional requirements include:

The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances

International applications welcomed:

We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence please view our dedicated country pages.

English language requirements

International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.

Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.

If you have previously studied through the medium of English IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.

If you do not meet the English entry criteria please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.

Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.

USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.

 

We're here to help

Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch and we'd to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.

 

Fees and Funding

UK Full-time Fee

£9,000

per year*
UK Full-time Fee

£9,000

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£14,950

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£14,950

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£14,950

per year*

Further Information

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.  We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

 

Fees and Funding Scholarships and Bursaries Cost of Living Support

ADDITIONAL COSTS

As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment. 

*Obligatory.

Students are offered the opportunity to complete an internship during their second year of study. Students undertaking an internship may incur costs associated with travel and expected workplace attire and this will vary according to the placement.

Cost: £0 - £300

Cost may be incurred while completing a "study abroad option."

Cost: £0 - £2000

Text books are provided via the USW library but students may wish to purchase their own private copies.

Cost: £300 - £400

Should students choose to sit exams abroad (in their home country for example) there will be a £50 admin fee and a cost of £20 per exam. Students are also responsible for any additional charges made by an overseas exam venue.

Cost: £50-£500

Costs may be incurred while completing sandwich year if chosen . Costs associated with travel and expected workplace attire will vary according to the placement. Year 3 only.

Cost: £0 - £1000

Course Highlights

Delivery and assessment

Modules are delivered over 12-week blocks. One block between September and December, the other from January to May. A range of assessment tools are utilised to prepare students for the external world of employment including business reports, the planning and management of simulated situations, and consultancy projects. In addition, student assessment also takes the form of a variety of digital alternatives to traditional presentations, essays, and reports. 

Teaching staff

All staff are experienced qualified academics from a number of subject specialisms such as retail, marketing, accounting and finance, logistics and supply chain, strategy, leadership and management. The academic team have industry experience and are research active. 

Placements

The course offers all students a minimum of 10-weeks in industry as a core part of your study where you will be embedded in an organisation during your second year of study with a range of fantastic employers in the region, maximising your employability. If you decide to undertake a sandwich year, we’ll support you with any internship applications to help you get your foot in the door and we’ll monitor you during your placement – liaising with your employer and visiting you at your place of work.

Facilities

Our on-campus Business Clinic gives students the opportunity to engage with other students, providing consultancy advice on live projects and briefs with industry. Students have access to the USW Exchange, a hub for business engagement, which allows students to connect with local businesses. The USW Exchange also puts on regular events, such as careers fairs and talks from business leaders. 

A student smiles at the camera while sitting down and leaning on a table in a meeting room at the Treforest Postgraduate Centre

97% of our BA (Hons) Business and Management students were satisfied with their course (NSS 2023)

Careers and Employability

Graduate careers

The BA (Hons) Business and Management course has been designed with student graduate employability at its core. 

Accreditation from the Chartered Management Institute, as well a national Higher Education guidelines, means that students are developing real skills which employers value and expect a business graduate to possess. 

Possible career paths

Students who study the BA (Hons) Business and Management go on to a range of careers in the field of business, such as management, marketing, consulting, finances, and human resources.  Past students have gone on to roles such as Events Managers, Data Analysts, Business Development Managers, consultants and advisors, and management in a range of different fields.

Careers support

The University’s Career Services offers a range of advice and guidance to students, and references to the services available to all listed at southwales.ac.uk/careers will be added to the course website by default. However, if there are other important course or subject specific initiatives run at local a level, there is an opportunity to add further details here. Whether this includes connecting with professionals, industry experts or mentors, or strategies to enhance their competitiveness and aspirations in the job market, further details will provide prospects with the confidence, encouragement, and motivation to commit to applying. 

Next Steps

Apply Through UCAS
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