This is an archived page and for reference purposes only
You can choose to do a Year in Industry. This gives you work experience, a salary and the possibility of a job with the same company after graduation.
Overview
Studying Business Administration you gain the skills and knowledge essential for managing key areas of organisations: accounting, human resource management, quantitative methods, marketing, strategy, and operations management. In addition, it gives you the choice of following specialist options, such as entrepreneurship, or spending a year working in industry.
Graduates who can combine this knowledge with a thorough understanding of the application of computing to business situations are in great demand. We ensure our students are equipped with the skills and knowledge that make them highly attractive to potential employers. The employability levels and starting salaries of our graduates are testament to our success in achieving this.
The School of Computing is an internationally recognised Centre of Excellence for programming education, with 95% of our research judged to be of international quality. The School is also home to two National Teaching Fellows, authors of widely used textbooks and award-winning Java teaching systems such as BlueJ and Greenfoot.
Independent rankings
In the National Student Survey 2015, 87% of School of Computing students were satisfied with the overall quality of their course.
The School of Computing at Kent is ranked 3rd in the UK for graduate prospects in The Guardian University Guide 2016, and, in the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey*, 96% of students had found employment or gone on to further study within six months of graduating in 2014.
Business Studies was ranked 5th in the UK for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2015. In The Complete University Guide 2016, business and management was ranked 2nd in the south-east for overall performance.
*conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
Teaching and assessment
Computing
Most modules run for a single 12-week term, and usually include a combination of lectures, seminars, private study and practical sessions. Assessment is by a combination of coursework and end-of-year examination and details are shown in the module outlines on the web. Project modules are assessed wholly by coursework.
Business Administration
Most modules are taught by a combination of lectures and seminars and you have regular access to a personal tutor for advice on matters concerning your studies. Modules also involve individual study and sessions in the computer laboratories. In your final year, you take at least one project module, including the possibility of a 30-credit business/management project on a topic of your choice. Modules are assessed by a combination of coursework and exams.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- provide a programme which will attract and meet the needs of those contemplating a career involving a significant element of computing and those motivated primarily by intellectual interest in applied computing and business administration
- provide a sound knowledge and understanding of computing and business administration
- provide skills which will be of lasting value in a constantly changing field
- offer a range of options to enable students to study selected areas of computing and/or of business administration in depth
- provide teaching that is informed by current research and scholarship, which requires students to engage with work at the frontiers of knowledge
- develop students' critical, analytical and problem-solving skills, which can be applied to business, computing and other settings.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- hardware – the major functional components of a computer system
- software – programming languages and practice, tools and packages, computer applications, structuring of data and information
- communications and interaction – basic computer communication network concepts, communication between computers and people, the control and operation of computers
- practice – problem identification and analysis, design development, testing and evaluation.
- organisations, their environment and their management, including the management of people, operations management, finance, marketing and organisational strategy
- social science concepts and theories and their application in business and management contexts.
Intellectual skills
You develop intellectual skills in:
- modelling – knowledge and understanding of the modelling and design of computer-based systems and of the trade-off involved in design choices
- reflection and communication – the ability to present succinctly, rational and reasoned arguments, to a range of audiences
- requirements – identifying and analysing criteria and specifications appropriate to specific problems and planing strategies for their solution
- criteria evaluation and testing – analysing the extent to which a computer-based system meets the criteria defined for its current use and future development
- methods and tools – deploying appropriate theory, practices and tools for the specification, design, implementation, and evaluation of computer-based systems
- professional responsibility – recognize and be guided by the professional economic, social, environmental, moral and ethical issues involved in the sustainable exploitation of computer technology
- computational thinking – demonstrate analytical ability and show its relevance to everyday life
- the critical evaluation of arguments and evidence
- analyse and draw reasoned conclusions concerning structured and, to a more limited extent, unstructured problems.
Subject-specific skills
You develop subject-specific skills in:
- design and implementation – specifying, designing and implementing computer-based systems
- evaluation – evaluating systems in terms of attributes and possible trade-offs
- information management – applying the principles of effective information management, information organisation, and information retrieval skills to information of various kinds.
- tools – deploying the tools used for the construction and documentation of software, to understand the process involved in using computers to solve practical problems
- identifying, formulating and solving business/decision-making problems using appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools
- creating, evaluating and assessing options in a range of business situations and applying concepts and knowledge appropriately.
- effective communication about business issues, orally and in writing.
Transferable skills
You gain transferable skills in:
- teamwork – working effectively as a member of a development team
- communication – making succinct presentations to a range of audiences about technical problems and their solutions
- information technology – effective information-retrieval skills (including the use of browsers, search engines and catalogues), and effective use of general IT facilities
- numeracy – understanding and presenting cases involving a quantitative dimension
- self-management – managing your learning and development including time management and organisational skills.
Careers
Computing
The Kent IT Clinic gives you the opportunity to take on consultancy work for local companies, giving you real-world experience alongside your academic studies.
Our high graduate employment rate speaks for itself, with recent graduates going on to work at Accenture, BT, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Intel, KCC, Lilly, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Oracle, Thomson Reuters and T-Mobile.
Business Administration
Kent Business School equips you with the skills you need to build a successful career. Through your studies, you acquire communication skills, the ability to work in a team and independently, and the ability to express your opinions persuasively and with passion. Through modules on entrepreneurship such as our New Enterprise Start-up module, we give you the confidence and the expertise you need to start your own business and, through our varied contacts in the business world, we give you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience as part of your degree.
Graduates work in a variety of careers in management, business analytics, marketing, website management, recruitment and business development for companies such as Hays Consulting, Juniper Networks, Hewlett-Packard, IBM or Microsoft.
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | ABB |
| GCSE | Mathematics grade C |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 16 points at HL including Mathematics 5 at HL or SL (Mathematics Studies 6 at SL) |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.