Business Management and Social Policy
Entry requirements
A level
BBB: Standard offer // BBC: If student is also presenting either Core Maths or Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) grade B // BBC: Contextual offer (more details https://www.aston.ac.uk/undergraduate/contextual-offer-aston-ready)
Access to HE Diploma
We accept the QAA-recognised Access Diploma which must consist of 45 credits at Level 3. You must obtain a minimum of 30 distinction and the rest must be at merit or distinction. Please note that we do not accept the English and Maths components within the Access qualification and you must meet the GCSE entry requirement.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
A minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade C or grade 4 and above are required, including English Language/Literature and Mathematics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
5,5,5 in 3 Higher level subjects
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
DDD: standard offer // DDM: If the student is also presenting either Core Maths or Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) grade B OR if the student is eligible for a Contextual offer (Please see this webpage for more details - https://www.aston.ac.uk/undergraduate/contextual-offer-aston-ready) // The University also accepts the BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate/BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma and BTEC Level 3 National Diploma/BTEC Level 3 Diploma for entry onto degree programmes, provided that they are studied in combination with other qualifications that are equivalent to three full A2 Levels.
T Level
The following T levels are accepted qualifications for this course: - Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction; - Digital Production, Design and Development; - Education and Childcare.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**Course outline**
Our BSc (Hons) Business Management and Social Policy course gives you a comprehensive understanding of business and management alongside an in-depth knowledge of social policy.
As a business student at Aston, you’ll study the theories, principles and underlying concepts of the main functions of management and develop a strong understanding of business models and processes. You’ll examine how strategic decision-making within organisations takes place, and develop the ability to recognise and analyse the economic, technical, financial, social and organisational parameters within which modern managers make decisions.
On the Social policy strand of the course, you will investigate the economic, social and political forces which influence government decision-making, and which give rise to conflicts between the achievement of economic, environmental and social objectives. The course examines why governments take particular decisions in key policy areas (such as the economy, health, and the environment) and develop a detailed understanding of processes of policy making at global, national and local level of government. You will also study the nature of policy delivery and management by various organisations, such as healthcare organisations, local government, schools and businesses.
**Key benefits**
- As part of your degree you’ll undertake a professional placement year, gaining valuable practical experience that employers demand. Aston University’s Careers and Placements team was recognised as the ‘Best University Placement Service’ at the National Undergraduate Employability (NUE) Awards 2022.
- Aston Business School is part of an elite group of business schools who hold the gold standard ‘triple crown’ accreditation from AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), AMBA (Association of MBA's) and EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System).
- Employed Aston University business graduates earn £9,300 (33 per cent) more than the UK average, five years after graduation (Longitudinal Education Outcomes, 2021).
- Social Policy at Aston University was ranked second in the UK for ‘value added’ (Guardian, 2022).
- Social Policy at Aston University was ranked 7th in the UK for ‘graduate prospects’ (Complete University Guide, 2021).
Modules
For more information on this course and a full list of modules, visit the course page:
https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/business-management-and-public-policy-bsc
Assessment methods
For more information on the methods of assessment on this course, visit the course page:
https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/business-management-and-public-policy-bsc
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Aston University, Birmingham
School of Social Sciences and Humanities
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Social policy
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
Social policy
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Just over 1,600 students graduated in social policy in 2015, which makes it one of the smaller social studies subjects. This is a popular subject at Masters level — 750 Masters in social policy were awarded last year - and so a lot of the more sought-after jobs in management and research tend to go to social policy graduates with postgraduate degrees. For those who leave university after their first degree, then jobs in social care (especially community and youth work) and education, the police, marketing and human resources and recruitment are popular — along with local government, although there are fewer of those jobs around than in the past. This degree is a bit less reliant on London for jobs than other similar subjects, so if you'd like to work outside the capital, it might be worth considering - although the jobs still tend to be in big cities.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Business and management
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£24k
£32k
£38k
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.
Sociology, social policy and anthropology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£23k
£33k
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.
- What's it like studying a degree in Social sciences
- What's it like studying a degree in Sociology, social policy and anthropology
- What's it like studying a degree in Social policy
- What's it like studying a degree in Business and management
- What's it like studying a degree in Business studies
- What's it like studying a degree in Business and management studies
- What's it like studying a degree in Policy
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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?
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