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Business Management and Entrepreneurship (with Placement Year) with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths with at least grade 4/C or an acceptable alternative

UCAS Tariff

96-104

GCSE Maths grade 4/C or equivalent is also a requirement

About this course


Course option

5years

Sandwich including foundation year | 2024

Subject

Business studies

Our undergraduate degrees with a foundation year are an alternative entry route into university for those without more traditional qualifications or grades, or are entering university after a notable period of time out of education.

The programme offers support and guidance in developing the skills required for degree-level study.

The foundation year will focus specifically on communication (oral and written), critical thinking, research, independent study, digital and employability skills.

The modules are designed to embed the development of these skills within the broad areas of business, communications, humanities and social sciences.

Students will study and research the fundamental principles of the business environment, and the functioning of global cities and the economics of globalisation. Successful completion of the foundation year will allow progression onto our Business Management programme.

New businesses are the lifeblood of most developed or developing economies. They’re needed by established companies, whether as a supplier offering exciting new inputs or as new ventures within the company.

Governments are very keen to stimulate the creation of new businesses and support them, as they are often key to developing regions or creating jobs in areas with high unemployment. Perhaps most importantly, you might want to start a business because you have a passion for creating something new.

To start and make a success out of your own business it’s not enough just to have a great idea, you need to manage it well. If this is your ambition, you’ll need to learn a wide range of entrepreneurial concepts and skills. Our Business Management and Entrepreneurship course will prepare you to become innovative, teach you how to manage new ideas and how to apply learning to creating a new business. We aim to give you practical experience through our extensive placement and mentoring programmes, which will equip you with hands-on skills and guidance from industry professionals.

A placement year enables students to undertake a year of experience in an organisation between their second and final year. It is a substantial piece of paid experience where you can make a real contribution to your employer and it can really make you stand out from the crowd!

Securing a placement can really help you develop your job search skills and the Employability Service placement and careers teams can support you to find and apply for available opportunities. You will need to attend some preparatory workshops which will explain all aspects of the placement year and give you the skills to find the placement of your choice. With access to our jobs board, careers events and employer contacts you will be able to approach companies confidently and find the right opportunity for you.

Please note: in the event that you cannot secure a placement you will be able to transfer onto the 3 year version of your degree programme.

Modules

Students will take four core modules as part of the foundation year: Personal Learning Competencies, Taking a professional Approach; Thinking Critically, Creatively and Ethically, The Individual Project, London: A Global City and Fundamentals of Business Management

Assessment methods

You will be assessed in a variety of ways to test knowledge, understanding and skills development throughout your degree.

The programme uses a broad range of assessments including business reports, essays, practical exercises, presentations, case studies, examinations, seminar performance and simulation exercises.

As well as traditional exam-based assessments and coursework, the programme makes use of online technology, such as building wikis and online seminar discussion.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,320
per year
International
£16,320
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

St Mary's University, Twickenham

Department:

School of Business and Communication

Read full university profile

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.

73%
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

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
87%
Staff are good at explaining things
87%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
75%
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

67%
Library resources
70%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
76%
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?

58%
UK students
42%
International students
65%
Male students
35%
Female students
62%
2:1 or above
53%
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.

£20,082
med
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education
57%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
14%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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

£25k

£25k

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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Lower entry requirements
St Mary's University, Twickenham | Twickenham
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UCAS Points: 48

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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:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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