Course overview

All business degrees at the University of Portsmouth include the development of appropriate skills such as communication, teamwork, career planning and time management. They have a strong contemporary feel and relate the theoretical explanation of business to the practical issues facing managers in the twenty-first century.

The BA (Hons) Business Studies requires you to undertake a one-year placement working in a paid, full-time role consisting of continuous progression and a suitable level of responsibility. The placement carries 20 additional credits, as well as the externally awarded City & Guilds Licentiateship (employability) award.

A placement enables you to return to your studies for the fourth year with contemporary business experience, enabling you to engage in debate and develop your strategic thinking – the indirect effect of which is a boost to your degree classification.

With employers now requiring graduates to have the 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 insure you are as employable as possible upon graduation.

The PBS Placements Office will support you not only during your placement search and the subsequent recruitment processes, but also once you secure your placement and are working away from the university.

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You do not need to have studied business in the past to join this course, although previous business study options will demonstrate your interest. More importantly, you will need to have an interest in the world of business and an ability to work with numbers and people. If you have studied business before, you’ll appreciate our fresh approach, but your academic potential and willingness to make a positive contribution are more important to us than your previous choice of study area.

Accreditation

This course is EPAS-accredited. EPAS is an international programme accreditation system operated by EFMD – the network to promote and enhance excellence in management development internationally. EPAS aims to evaluate the quality of any business and/or management programme that has an international perspective and, where of an appropriately high quality, to accredit it.

Course content

Year one

This year will introduce the main functions of business. Units studied will include:

• Organisations and Organising
• Business Operations
• Business Accounting
• Principles of Marketing
• Business Law
• IT and Academic Skills
• Statistics for Business
• Economics

You will also take an optional unit in the second semester, which will give you the opportunity to study a foreign language (e.g. French, German, Italian, Spanish or Mandarin), develop your IT skills or undertake something completely different.

Year two

The second year is designed to develop your understanding of business and builds on the learning from year one. You will study units in:

• Human Resource Management
• Managing Business Relationships
• The Global Context
• Innovation Management
• Contract and Employment Law
• Financial Management

You will also study an additional two units (Business Research Methods and Career Management) to help you get ready for your work placement and your final-year project.

You will also take an optional unit in the second semester, which will give you the opportunity to study a foreign language (e.g. French, German, Italian, Spanish or Mandarin), develop your IT skills or undertake something completely different.

Placement year

The BA (Hons) Business Studies requires you to undertake a one-year placement working in a paid, full-time job at an appropriate level. This placement is an integral part of the course carrying 20 additional credits outside the standard 360 credits. It enables you to return to your studies in the fourth year with contemporary business experience, ready to engage in debate and develop your strategic thinking.

To be awarded the BA (Hons) Business Studies you must successfully complete this placement by keeping a self-evaluation logbook and submitting this along with further reports from your company and University supervisors.

Work experience will also help you find suitable employment later and there are many examples of students who following graduation have secured full-time employment with their placement organisation. Our Placements Office will support you in maintaining and developing business contacts, advise you of vacancies and help you prepare for interviews and other selection methods.

Final year

In the final year, you will be required to undertake a piece of independent research in the form of a dissertation or an independent study project. You will also study units in strategic management and management futures.

With your option choices you may extend your coverage of a particular area of study (e.g. human resource management), add an international dimension with units such as international marketing or look at more specific aspects of a number of subjects (e.g. business ethics, management information systems, and the virtual society).

Teaching and assessment

Here at Portsmouth we place a lot of emphasis on student support. At the start of each academic year you will be assigned a personal tutor, who will be available for regular meetings to discuss your progress, as well as help resolve any problems or questions that you may encounter along the way.

Teaching and learning are usually undertaken in lectures supported by smaller group seminars, workshops and tutorials. Extensive use is made of information technology and other teaching innovations. Staff research and consultancy expertise also actively contribute to the relevance of our programmes.

You will encounter a range of assessment methods in this course. There are end of semester examinations in most subjects, while some count only coursework for your assessed mark. The majority of subjects contain both examinations and course-assessed work.

The assessed work you complete from the start of your second year onwards can count towards the class of degree you will be awarded. Our assessment regulations give some opportunity to retake assessments and subjects, should this be necessary.

Career prospects

Our excellent reputation and the quality of our graduates provides a springboard for a rewarding and challenging career. We have a demonstrable record of achievement in terms of graduate employment, which enables our graduates to go onto a wide range of occupations in a variety of sectors. Many of our graduates now hold senior management positions.

Are you looking for a four-year degree that allows you to study whilst gaining valuable work experience? Portsmouth Business School students leave ready for the world of global business. You may find careers as management graduate trainees, financial analysts, commercial managers, trainee traders and technical business consultants, or you may want to start your own business. Our past graduates have gone on to jobs as:

• Market Researcher
• Business Development Officer
• Recruitment Consultant
• Sales and Marketing Coordinator
• Account Manager

Facilities and features

You will attend lectures in the purpose-built Richmond Building, where the Business School is located. It offers a computer drop-in and resource centre containing a wireless network access area, as well as printing and photocopying facilities.

The University Library is at the centre of academic life and is only a short walk away. Open from 8am until midnight every day during term-time, it provides a variety of information to help with study and research.

The Library has also invested heavily in the purchase of electronic resources. There are thousands of electronic journals and thousands of ebooks that can be accessed across campus, from home or wherever there is an internet connection.

For international students we have a dedicated team of advisors to support you as you settle into life in Portsmouth and at the University. One of the team almost certainly has direct experience of your culture and may even speak your language.

Entry requirements

View all the entry requirements for BA (Hons) Business Studies for the academic year 2012/13 (opens in new window).