Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Business

Entry requirements


A level

E,E,D-E,E,E

48-56 points to include a minimum of 1 A level, in any subject.

Pass the Access to HE Diploma.

Cambridge Pre-U score of 32-36.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

5 GCSEs at grade C/4 or higher including English Language or Literature

48-56 UCAS tariff points to include a Higher Level subject.

48-56 points to include a Higher Level subject.

OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma

MM-MP

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

MPP-PPP

Pearson BTEC Diploma (QCF)

MM-MP

Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)

MPP-PPP

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MM-MP

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

D*-D

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MPP-PPP

48-56 Tariff points.

T Level

P

Pass (D or E in the core)

UCAS Tariff

48-56

48-56 points to include a minimum of 1 A level, in any subject.

48-56 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 1 A level, plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.

About this course


Course option

2years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Business studies

**Overview**
Do you want to learn the all-round business skills that employers are looking for, while working on your personal development and setting yourself up to get a degree in the future?

This HND Business course kick-starts your business career by providing a valuable introduction to topics including business strategy, finance, ecommerce and marketing.

It’ll give you an edge when starting your career and give you a solid foundation for further study.

After the course you can top up to a full degree by joining the final year of one of our selected Business, Finance or Marketing courses at our main campus in Portsmouth.

**What you'll experience**
On this course, you'll

* Develop the skills and knowledge you need to excel in business

* Learn from experienced tutors, lecturers and business leaders

* Build knowledge in subjects such as marketing, business finance, business law, data management, business strategy, organisational theories and human resource management

* Work on a research project and put your knowledge into practice to demonstrate what you’ve learned

You can study this course at Havant & South Downs College in Waterlooville or Isle of Wight College in Newport.

After the course you can top up to a full degree by joining the final year of the BA (Hons) Business Management degree course at our main campus in Portsmouth.

**Careers and Opportunities**
What can you do with a Business HND?

After completing this course, you’ll have the knowledge and skills to begin a career in areas such as:

* marketing

* sales

* publicity

* administration

* ecommerce

* accounting

* financial and risk analysis

* HR

You can also top up your qualification to a degree.

**What jobs can you do with a Business HND?**
Roles our graduates have taken on include:

* business development officer

* recruitment consultant

* publicity officer

* graduate food buyer

* financial analyst

* risk analyst

After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.

Modules

**Year 1**

Core modules in this year include:

- Business Environment
- Business Finance
- Marketing
- Organisational Theories
- Business Law: Basic Principles

Options to choose from in this year currently include:

- Applied Marketing
- Management Accounting
- Human Resource Management
- Purchasing and Supply Chain Principles

**Year 2**

Core modules in this year include:

- Business Strategy
- Data Management
- Research Project

Options to choose from in this year currently include:

- Working With and Leading People
- Event Management
- Business Psychology
- Project Management
- Human Resource Development
- Business Law: Further Principles
- Employee Relations
- Business Excellence
- Small Business Enterprise

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through: individual and group coursework examinations online tests practical exercises. You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:

- Year 1 students: roughly 50% by written exams and 50% by coursework
- Year 2 students: roughly 70% by written exams and 30% by coursework

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£6,165
per year
England
£6,165
per year
EU
£6,165
per year
International
£17,200
per year
Northern Ireland
£6,165
per year
Republic of Ireland
£6,165
per year
Scotland
£6,165
per year
Wales
£6,165
per year

The Uni


Course locations:

Isle of Wight College

Havant and South Downs College - South Downs Campus

Department:

Faculty of Business and Law

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.

83%
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

91%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
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
91%
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?

74%
UK students
26%
International students
68%
Male students
32%
Female students
70%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
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.

£23,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
81%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

36%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
15%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
9%
Public services and other associate 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.

£22k

£22k

£27k

£27k

£34k

£34k

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...

Share this page

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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