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International Business with Language

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

Required subjects and grades: A Level in chosen language for Higher routes, grade 6/B in GCSE foreign language for beginners route. Mathematics at grade 5/B and English at grade 6/B. General Studies not accepted as one of three A2s, but a good performance may be taken into account if you fail to meet the conditions of the offer and have General Studies as a fourth A2.

Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

6,6,5 at Higher Level with a minimum of 32 points overall.

BTEC Extended Diploma - Only the following subjects can be considered: Applied Science, Business, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. BTEC Diploma - Only the following subjects can be considered in combination with 1 A level): Applied Science, Business, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma - Only the following subjects can be considered (in combination with 2 A Levels): Agriculture, Applied Human Biology, Applied Law, Applied Psychology, Applied Science, Business, Computing, Construction and the Built Environment, Countryside Management, Creative Digital Media Production, Creative Media Production, Engineering, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainabilty, Forensic and Criminal Investigation, Health and Social Care, Hospitality, Information Technology, Land-based Technology, Music, Music Technology, Operations and Maintenance Engineering, Performing Arts, Personal and Business Finance, Pharmaceutical Science, Production Arts, Public Services, Sport, Sport and Exercise Science, Sport and Outdoor Activities, Sports Coaching and Development, Travel and TourismSports Coaching and Development, Travel And Tourism.

Only the following subjects can be considered: Management and Administration; Accounting; Finance. You will also need at least a GCSE language (for the beginners route) or A Level (for the higher route).

Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.

UCAS Tariff

136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time with time abroad | 2024

Subjects

Business studies

Modern languages

There are enormous advantages in combining knowledge of modern business with the expressive power of a foreign language. The International Business with Language BSc will help you to develop an understanding of business on a national and global scale, preparing you for a rewarding career in international business.

**Why study this course?**
This four-year programme combines modules from our successful BSc in Business Management with the study of French, German, Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. You don’t need to have any prior knowledge in business studies but you will normally need an A2 level in your foreign language, although an AS of GCSE may sometimes be considered.

It is a broad-based degree that offers a combination of academic theory and practical teaching on topics of interest and relevance to employers in a wide range of business areas.

The BSc International Business course will appeal to students who are considering a future career in international management. Today’s business is increasingly international in scope and there are obvious advantages in combining knowledge of modern business with the experience of another culture.

-Birmingham Business School is consistently found in international ranking tables and accredited by leading bodies, AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB. The triple-crown accreditation confirms our position within an elite group.
-We are the 3rd most targeted university of top UK employers (High Fliers Research 2023).
-Our strong links with industry mean that rigorous undergraduate academic study is combined with a real practical focus, leading to excellent job opportunities for our students.

**Your programme of study**
In addition to studying your language of choice, your first year will lay the foundation for the study of business. It introduces the key areas of management, marketing, economics, finance, law, and analytical techniques and IT for business. The year complements, but does not duplicate, the content of the Business Studies A level.

In your second year, you begin to have some choice within the themed structure of the programme. The modules offered will change from time to time, as they are developed to reflect the ever-changing world of business. This ensures a breadth to your business and language education, whilst allowing a degree of specialisation in those areas in which you are particularly interested.

The third year is your year abroad and is essential for developing fluency in your language and is spent at a partner university. You study business in your chosen language and undertake project work for your degree. Please note that your year abroad is conditional upon a good performance in the first and second year exams. Your year abroad is conditional upon you achieving the requisite grades and number of credits in your first and second year.

The fourth year features modules that are increasingly focused, allowing you more choice across a range of programme themes. The year is underpinned by a compulsory dissertation, allowing you to investigate in depth an area of personal interest. Language work will build on the skills acquired overseas, and will again focus on "language for business".

Modules

Please see the course page on our website for a full list and detailed description of modules on offer: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/business/international-business-lang.aspx.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
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:

University of Birmingham

Department:

Birmingham Business School

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.

72%
Business studies
59%
Modern languages

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

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
72%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
76%
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

82%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
52%
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?

33%
UK students
67%
International students
40%
Male students
60%
Female students
75%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

Others in language and area studies

Teaching and learning

80%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
73%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
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

81%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
44%
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?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
24%
Male students
76%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

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.

£23,000
med
Average annual salary
74%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

24%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
10%
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.

Others in language and area 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.

£21,000
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
68%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

25%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
19%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
14%
Teaching and educational professionals

This is a broad subject for a variety of European languages. No matter which you take, the general theme is that some graduates go to that country to work, often as English language teachers, some go into further study, often to train as teachers or translators, but most get jobs in the UK in education - most often as language tutors, unsurprisingly, or translators. Modern language grads can also be in demand in business roles where communication and language skills are particularly useful, such as marketing and PR, and in finance or law. But remember — whilst employers say they rate graduates who have graduates who have more than one language, you need to have them as part of a whole package of good skills.

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.

£24k

£24k

£33k

£33k

£37k

£37k

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.

Others in language and area 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

£26k

£26k

£32k

£32k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Reading | Reading
Modern Languages (French/German/Italian/Spanish) and Business
BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time with time abroad 2024
UCAS Points: 120-141
Lower entry requirements
University of Southampton | Southampton
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BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time with time abroad 2024
UCAS Points: 128
Nearby University
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Same University
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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