BA (Hons)
European Business
Recognised as one of the very best courses of its type in Europe
Course Overview
Why take this course?
Explore business within a wider European context whilst spending half your time in Portsmouth and the other half at a university in Spain, France or Germany. Your work placement can also be based in any country around the world, offering enormous additional opportunities to travel. All this enables you to further develop your language skills to the point of fluency by the time you finish the course.
What will I experience?
On this course you can:
- Do a one-year placement working in a paid full-time role overseas
- Take your studies abroad to one of our partner universities in Madrid, Caen or Münster
- Gain two qualifications, one from us and one from the partner institution where you choose to study
What opportunities might it lead to?
The EU now represents one of the largest and most influential markets in the world and graduating from this course means you’ll possess the right mix of skills required to succeed in this exciting and challenging business environment.
Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:
- business development and consultancy
- recruitment
- emarketing
- publicity
- financial and risk analysis
It is unique, compared to other business courses, in that you have the opportunity to live and study abroad at a partner university.
Darwin Jackson, business student
Key Facts
- UCAS Course Code:
- N111
- Duration
- 4 years sandwich with work placement
- Entry
280 points from 3 A levels, or equivalent, to include a minimum of 80 points from an A level in either French, Spanish or German.
Other qualifications- Fees
UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man full-time students: £8,750 p/a*
International full-time students: £10,500 p/a*
*Please note that all fees are subject to annual increase.- Contact
- bus.admissions@port.ac.uk
+44 (0)23 9284 8200 - Department
- Portsmouth Business School
Subject:
Business and Management
Find out what our students say about studying at Portsmouth, including:
- Insight into different aspects of the business world
- Lecturers who are experienced in their field and are passionate about sharing their knowledge
- Excellent work placement opportunities and careers support
Visit us at our open day
Wed 10 Jul
Structure & Teaching
Year one
This common first year among some of our business courses provides you with a broad understanding of how business operates.
You will specifically focus on the following core units:
- Business Accounting
- Quantitative Methods and Data Analysis
- Business Innovation Development Project
- Business Operations and Systems Management
- Economics for Business
- Managing People in Organisations
- Marketing Principles and Practice
Year two
Fully immerse in a foreign environment as you study at one at your chosen partner institution. What you study will depend on the syllabus offered by that particular university. However, you can expect to study topics such as:
- Marketing
- Human Resource Management
- Finance
- Computing
- Business Law
- Foreign Language
You will be taught in the language of the host country.
Year three
In your final year you get the chance to specialise in a particular area and tailor your studies to meet your needs. Also you will complete an independent study project on a topic of particular interest to you.
Core units you will study in this year include:
- Corporate Finance (EBP)
- Operations Strategy and The Supply Chain (EBP)
- Overseas Placement
Options to choose from in this year include:
- Business Ethics
- Cross Cultural Awareness for Business
- Financial Statement and Data Analysis
- International Banking and Financial Management
- Project Management for Enterprise
Teaching and Assessment
Our teaching approach involves a varied structure of lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops and practical sessions. We aim to provide a stimulating environment that encourages use of IT teaching methods as well as participation in group discussions and projects, alongside individual study.
How are you assessed?
You will encounter a combination of assessment methods to suit differing learning styles. Here’s how we assess your work:
- examinations
- analysis of topical case studies
- written reports and essays
- presentations
- practical artefacts such as small websites or systems
Tutor's view
Briony Boydell
Business and Management
The European Business degree is a challenging and exciting course. You will have the opportunity to study with our partner institutions in Europe, as well as Portsmouth. If you choose to join, you will be part of a strong, dynamic team of students and alumni, and experience a whole new way of life.
Visit us open day
Facilities & Features
Placements Office
Offering great placement opportunities
Erasmus
Our study/work abroad programme could be one of the best experiences of your university life
Academic Skills Unit (ASK)
ASK will help you become a successful university student
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment
Placements Office
Take advantage of our Placements Office. Providing you with a huge portfolio of employers offering great business-related placement opportunities, the experienced team is always on hand to offer advice on everything from producing high quality applications through to preparation for a company assessment day.
Erasmus
Ask anyone who has taken a study/work abroad programme, they will tell you that it was one of the best experiences of their university life. Imagine walking to University along the banks of the River Seine or doing your weekly shop in a Spanish street market.
This fun and challenging experience will not only improve your language skills and ability to communicate with a range of people, but you will become more adaptable and resilient - qualities that will undoubtedly make you stand out to future employers.
Academic Skills Unit (ASK)
ASK will help you become a successful university student. Our workshops are designed to improve a number of essential academic skills from essay writing and understanding plagiarism to revision and exam techniques. This is a great way to enhance your academic performance and make a smooth transition into university study.
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment, our library offers a wealth of information including 400,000 books, DVDs, maps and thousands of online ejournals and newspapers. Many electronic resources are available anywhere, 24/7 and our friendly staff are always on hand to help.
Careers & Opportunities
Career prospects
Once you complete this course, you’ll leave with two qualifications, speak two languages and have assimilated two cultures, giving you a clear advantage in the graduate marketplace.
Our graduates are now working for prominent companies throughout Europe and beyond. More than 40 per cent of them return to work for their placement companies and some have even started their own businesses.
Graduates from this course have been successful in finding work with these big names:
- Bosch
- IBM
- Deutsche Bank
- Citigroup
Work experience
Boost your degree with the opportunity to undertake a one-year placement working in a paid full-time role spent in industry either abroad or in an international business role in the UK. You will benefit from the contemporary business experience that employers demand, making you highly employable upon graduation.
With employers now seeking key business competencies and experience alongside a good degree, work experience is more vital than ever. Due to its very nature a placement year is the best and most involving type of work experience you can do during your time at university. As such, a placement will help ensure you are as employable as possible upon graduation.
Career planning
6.04 minutes
Finding a job is a competitive business, but the statistics show that 89 per cent of our 2011graduates went into employment, further study or training within six months of finishing their degrees.
To make sure you take the right steps on your career path, we’re here to give you help, support and advice throughout your study. Even after you’ve graduated, we continue to give you support for up to five years.
Employers tell us that they want graduates to be able to demonstrate certain skills when they come out of university. Our courses take account of this. We make sure we prepare you for employment through work-related learning, projects, placements and working in simulated environments that are designed to prepare you for the working world.
Open Day
Our next open day is Wed 10 July
VISIT US! Have a look around and get a feel for what it’s like to live and study here. We’ll be on hand to talk to you about your course interests and show you all of our amazing facilities. You’ll also get to meet tutors and other students…
Application, Fees and Funding — find out more