Whats courses? Business and management is a massive umbrella term covering a wide range of degrees, including those in: business studies; management studies; business and management; business management; entrepreneurship; enterprise; business IT; international business; human resources; administration. Joint honours combinations are seemingly limitless. Some degrees specialise in the management of particular industries, such as hospitality, leisure and sports.
What do you come out with? Most likely a BA or BSc, depending on university and course title. If studied alongside an engineering subject, you could get a MEng, or a LLB if joint with a law course.
Why do it? “Because it’s about being creative, with real people and real money. Whether you become an entrepreneur who turns an idea into a new product or service, or the CEO of a major company that’s shaping the market, you will be solving problems and showing leadership. If you’ve ever wondered how all that stuff gets into the shops, who designs it, who makes it, who gets it there when customers need it, be it cars, clothes, cabbages or cat-food, this is the degree that will answer those questions.” — Janet Smart, director of undergraduate programmes, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
What’s it all about? Learning all you need to know to become a manager and surviving in the tough world of business. Depending on the title of your specific degree, you’re likely to touch on economics, accounting and finance, industrial relations, marketing and information systems. Some courses focus specifically on one area of business, such as E-commerce or human resources, while others are broader in their scope. Most universities offer some kind of business studies course now, showing that students are increasingly keen to get ahead of the game and land themselves a decent graduate job.
Study options: Most courses involve three years full-time study, although some last for four years, including those at Abertay, Dundee. Aberdeen and St Andrews also offer four-year MAs that can be studied straight from school. If studying international business, or a joint honours with a language, expect to spend a year abroad. More and more universities are offering business degrees with a sandwich year, in which students complete an industrial placement to put their knowledge into practice. Though assessment and teaching methods vary, you’re likely to be taking exams and submitting coursework in the form of essays and reports, and learning through a combination of lectures, seminars and small group work.
What will I need to do it? Business courses are generally quite flexible when it comes to A-level subjects. If you’re looking at a course with a heavy finance content, then a maths A-level probably wouldn’t go a miss. With nearly every university offering some kind of business or management degree, reputation dictates grade requirements.
Related degrees: Accounting and finance; marketing and advertising; economics.