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Business

Entry requirements


Entry to Level 5: Applicants should possess a commensurate level 4 business related equivalent to 120 credits of study at Level 4. Entry to Level 6: Applicants should possess a foundation degree or commensurate level 5 business related equivalent to 120 credits of study at Levels 4 and 5 APL Applications for the accreditation of prior experience and/or learning will be considered by the Programme Leader on a case-by-case basis in accordance with published University of Plymouth regulations. Language requirements: Candidates whose first language is not English require IELTS 6.0 (with a minimum of 5.5 in each element) or equivalent.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

1year

Full-time | 2024

Other options

2 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Business studies

Deepen your knowledge of the business environment and your understanding how organisations operate. Discover how and why businesses innovate and why enterprise is critical in the marketplace. Prepare for a career in the world of business and improve your professional and business communication skills.

Designed as a one or two year top-up programme, BA (Hons) Business provides an opportunity for students some prior higher education or relevant work experience to be employable, enterprising and well equipped for lifelong learning and the professional world through a combination of academic analysis and the development of a broad range of key personal, cognitive/intellectual, transferable, practical and employment skills.

- Study this course over two years (Level 5 and 6) or one year (Level 6 only). Providing a route for students from a range of business foundation degrees (and equivalent) to top up to Honours. The two year programme offers students the opportunity to undertake a placement between their first and second year.

- Our innovative one or two year course embraces a broad spectrum of industry relevant modules and is especially attractive to students who wish to build a career in business. We aim to provide students with the ability to exercise personal responsibility and decision-making in the competitive world of business.

- Develop an appreciation of the dynamic marketplace in which businesses operate and the implications of this for business decisions and organisational culture.

- All undergraduate modules within Plymouth Business School have integrated within them a CV building activity, for example, through micro-credentialing; real world problem-based learning; or embedded direct employer activity.

- Benefit from academic staff with strong relevant industrial and academic experience and tutors who not only provide excellent teaching but also great pastoral care.

Modules

This course offers a wide-ranging business core in Level 5 where you can focus on international trade or supply chains, through your choice module which also includes communications for non-native speakers. Level 5 entrants can undertake an optional placement year between Levels 5 and 6. Level 6 involves the study of specialist areas – HRM, managing change, enterprise, innovation and creativity, and digital marketing or experiential practice. A common Level 5 core with BA (Hons) International Business Management enables you to switch courses before the start of Level 6.

Students may take either Level 5 plus Level 6 consecutively or Level 6 only, depending on entry qualifications.

Assessment methods

For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Plymouth

Department:

Plymouth Business School

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What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

81%
Business studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Business studies

Teaching and learning

72%
Staff make the subject interesting
78%
Staff are good at explaining things
84%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
81%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

84%
Library resources
97%
IT resources
94%
Course specific equipment and facilities
59%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

45%
UK students
55%
International students
59%
Male students
41%
Female students
51%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Business studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£22,000
med
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education
62%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

28%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
17%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
8%
Business, research and administrative professionals

The number of business studies graduates fell significantly last year after a long period of increase. But there were still more than 14,000 degrees awarded and this is the third most popular subject for new graduates. Because so many graduates get business studies degrees, you can find them everywhere in the economy, and very few jobs are completely out of reach for a good business studies graduate. Around 40% go into jobs in finance, sales, recruitment, management (particularly retail) or marketing. There is also a small (but well paid) group who take their technical skills into computing and IT. Thousands of graduates from this subject go into professional jobs every year, and average starting salaries are above the average for all subjects and particularly healthy in London where they top £25k. Graduates with good degree grades in business studies are much more likely to get good jobs, so don’t be complacent, and keep a close eye on your grades.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Business studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£24k

£24k

£29k

£29k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here