International Business and Economics
UCAS Code: LNC1
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
BBB: Standard offer BBC: If the student is also presenting either Core Maths or Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) grade B BCC: Contextual offer (Please see this webpage for more details - https ://www2aston.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/contextuaIoffer) If the student is presenting Level 3 Core Maths at minimum grade B, this is acceptable in lieu of GCSE Maths B/5.
Access to HE Diploma
GCSE/National 4/National 5
A minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade C or grade 4 and above are required, including English Language. GCSE Mathematics is required at grade B/5.
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 ://www2aston.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/contextuaIoffer) 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.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
**Course description**
Our four-year BSc International Business and Economics course, with an integrated placement year, combines extensive economics with a relevant, real-world focus on international business. With the increasing globalisation of business and revolution in communications, no company can afford to ignore the international dimension.
The international business component of this course will provide you with the knowledge and skills required for assessing and developing international strategies and businesses operations. The economics component of the course provides you with the skills required to make an assessment of the economic environment of companies and their strategies within the context of national and international environments. The combination of international business and applied economics on this programme provides a strong introduction into the world of business, and a solid foundation for a career in international commerce, or as an applied/business economist.
Our recent graduates have been successful in securing roles at well-known companies such as GSK, Royal Bank of Scotland, Deloitte and Ernst & Young in roles such as Trade Fund Analyst and Finance Business Partner, Graduate Analyst, Risk Advisory Consultant and Assurance Associate.
**Key course benefits:**
• As part of your degree you’ll undertake a professional placement, gaining valuable practical experience in the field of your chosen subject area
• Five years after graduating, employed Aston business graduates earn an average of £35,900 (Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO), 2018)
• BSc International Business and Economics at Aston achieved 100% Overall Student Satisfaction in the 2018 National Student Survey
• Economics at Aston is ranked Top 20 in the UK (Guardian University Guide, 2020).
**Course details**
- Year 1 – You will study a wide range of management related subjects designed to ensure you have a broad foundation and knowledge of management. You’ll consider the economic, financial, human and legal issues managers deal with, and the tools and techniques they use.
- Year 2 - In the second year, compulsory modules develop your understanding of economics and the methods used in developing economic models to aid business decisions. Subject areas include Business Policy, International Business Environment and Economics and Markets, Games and Strategy.
- Year 3 – This is when you will undertake a professional placement or choose an international study opportunity at one of our partner institutions. This year is compulsory for all UK and EU students.
- Year 4 - In your final year, the compulsory subject areas will focus on understanding and applying strategic management in the global business environment. You will then choose from a wide range of subject areas, including Economics of Multinational Enterprise, Economics of Innovation and Competition Policy.
Modules
In the First Year, you will study a wide range of management related subjects, designed to ensure you have a broad foundation and knowledge of management. You will consider the economic, financial, human and legal issues managers deal with, and the tools and techniques they use. You will be introduced to the key areas of business as well as carrying out project work which will help draw together the subjects you have studied. In the Second Year, compulsory modules develop your understanding of economics and the methods used in developing economic models to aid business decisions. You will also study the international business environment and develop understanding of international operations of businesses. You will study a number of core and compulsory modules and two modules of your choice. For more information about the module outlines then please refer to our website.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Aston University, Birmingham
Aston Business School
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.
Economics
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)
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)
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.
Economics
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
This is a degree in demand, as business increasingly needs workers who can examine and explain complex data. And yet the number of economics graduates fell by nearly 10% last year, which means demand is even greater. As so many economic grads go into banking and finance, it's not surprising that over half of all 2015's economics graduates who did go into work were working in London. And don't think it's just the finance industry that's interested in these graduates - there's a significant number who enter the IT industry to work with data as analysts and consultants. It's quite common for economics graduates to go into jobs such as accountancy and management consultancy which may require you to take more training and gain professional qualifications - so don’t assume you won’t have to take any more exams once you leave uni. And the incentive to take them, of course, is better pay, which will be on top of an already healthy average starting salary of over £30,000 for graduates working in the capital.
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.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Economics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£28k
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.
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.
£25k
£30k
£39k
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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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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