Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Business with Business Communication (Top-up)

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include Mathematics/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include Mathematics or equivalent

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

1year

Full-time | 2024

Other options

2 years | Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Business studies

English language

**Overview**
Improve your English and learn valuable business communication skills while you study core subjects such as global business, leadership and strategic management.

With this top-up degree you can build on your previous higher education studies in business to gain a full BA (Hons) degree in just 1 or 2 years.

This degree combines English language improvement with the study of business. You can do this undergraduate degree in a single year or in 2 years, depending on your level of previous study and your ability to write and speak English.

**Eligibility**
This course is open to international, EU and UK students whose first language is not English. A key part of the course is improving your written and spoken business English.

**Course highlights**
- Learn in a Business School that's ranked 3rd in the UK for teaching power (Financial Times 2021)

- Improve your English in 3 ways: dedicated English language classes to improve your vocabulary and grammar; business communications classes where you'll practise presentations, interviews and writing for business; living and working with both UK and international students and experiencing life in a welcoming UK city

- Understand the global business environment through study that explores cross cultural awareness for business, international business and ethics and sustainability in business

- Research an independent study project in an area that interests you

- Experience excellent support from both your tutors and our dedicated global team

**Careers and opportunities**
Graduates of this course have gone into careers such as:
- business development and consultancy

- recruitment

- digital marketing

- publicity

- financial and risk analysis

Postgraduate study
Many graduates of this course go on to postgraduate study on master's courses such as MSc International Business or MA Business Communication for International Leadership. As a graduate of Portsmouth you may be able to get a scholarship or a reduction on your postgraduate tuition fees if you continue your studies with us.

Set up your own business
We're an endorsing institution for UK start-up visas, so we can offer you lots of help and support if you want to stay in the UK after you graduate and set up your own business.

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 Communication 2
- General Language Grade 5 (English)
- International Business
- Leadership, Ethics, Governance and Sustainability
- Services Marketing
- Studying in the UK Business Environment
- Business Analysis and Decision Making

There are no optional modules in this year.

Year 2

Core modules in this year include:

- Business Communication 3
- Business Improvement and Creativity
- Cross Cultural Awareness For Business
- General Language Grade 6 (English)
- Independent Study Project
- Strategic Management

There are no optional modules in this year.

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 activities
- practical exercises
- your choice of independent research

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.

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
£9,250
per year
International
£16,200
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 Portsmouth

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
86%
English language

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

English language

Teaching and learning

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
75%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
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

85%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
86%
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?

59%
UK students
41%
International students
24%
Male students
76%
Female students
70%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
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.

English language

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
16%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Artistic, literary and media occupations

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.

English language

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£22k

£22k

£26k

£26k

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.

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