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Studying Business and Management at Kent gives you an understanding of the modern business world, together with practical industry experience, equipping you with a solid skill set and excellent career prospects.
Overview
Kent Business School has been ranked among the top 30 in the UK for the quality of its research (REF 2014). Within this community you can learn how to challenge assumptions and think creatively.
Our degree programme
On this degree programme, you learn about the theories, methodologies and applications of academic knowledge relevant to the business world.
Taught by leading experts from business and the professions, management principles are brought to life through practical case studies as well as live research and consultancy projects. In addition, you have many opportunities to develop your business skills, and learn how to analyse a wide range of business problems and policies and identify solutions.
Our degree is flexible: the wide range of options allow you to tailor your degree to your interests – whether that’s marketing, operations, human resource management or running your own business. There is also a specialist pathway in retail for students interested in building a career in the sector.
Study facilities
Facilities to support the study of Business and Management include:
- a newly converted teaching space, based in an unusual historic setting
- an extensive library collection of books and journals, including online resources
- the Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS), which provides advice on effective learning and study skills.
Practical experience
The programme also includes a compulsory year in industry, which reflects the applied nature of the course. You spend a year working in full-time employment, earning a salary and gaining invaluable experience of business management in practice. Recent participating organisations include:
- The Walt Disney Company
- Marks & Spencer
- Sainsbury’s
- IBM
- HSBC
- Nissan
- Ernst & Young
- PwC
- Morgan Stanley
- Unilever
- Microsoft
- Nike
- Porsche.
Inspiring community
Kent Business School provides a friendly, student-focused environment, which helps you to make the most of your studies.
Alongside your lectures and seminars, you have many opportunities to interact directly with the business community. Special events and schemes within the School include:
- workshops and seminars
- business challenges
- enterprise initiatives, including the Business Start-Up Journey programme
- networking events.
You can also get involved with the student-run Kent Business and Kent Enterprise societies, which organise regular events with guest speakers from industry and support budding entrepreneurs with their ventures.
Professional network
At Kent Business School, we pride ourselves on the strength of our global connections. These include:
- Bank of England
- BBC
- Barclays
- Cummins
- IBM
- KPMG
- Kent County Council
The School also has excellent links with business schools globally, including in China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Spain, Finland and Italy.
Your options
At Kent, you can enhance your degree studies by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language, volunteering or by taking a Study Plus course in an area that interests you.
Independent rankings
In the National Student Survey 2016, Management Studies at Kent was ranked 9th for overall satisfaction. Business, Management and Marketing at Kent was ranked 18th in The Guardian University Guide 2017.
Management Studies students who graduated from Kent in 2015 were the most successful in the UK at finding work or further study opportunities (DLHE). Business Studies at Kent was ranked 16th for graduate prospects in The Times Good University Guide 2017.
Course structure
The course structure provides a sample of the modules available for 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 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 explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
Based on sector research and curriculum developments, we intend to offer the following innovative new modules on this programme from 2016/17, subject to availability:
CB718 - Consumer Insight
CB726 - Corporate Strategy and Leadership
CB724 - Critical Thinking for Contemporary Business Issues
CB741 - E-Commerce
CB743 - Human Resources and Organisational Behaviour
CB727 - Marketing and the Value Chain
CB719 - Sales Forecasting
The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation:
Year in industry
All students spend a year in industry, supported by a dedicated placement team and a programme designed to ensure that students gain experience in the functional areas and industries of their choice.
The placement allows you to experience, first hand, many of the issues addressed in the taught programme and to use the tools, techniques and applications in a real business setting. It will become a vital component of your CV and will give you a distinct advantage over other business graduates.
Teaching and assessment
We use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, case-study analysis, group projects and presentations, and computer-based packages. You have approximately 12 hours of class time per week, and regular access to a personal tutor for advice on any matter concerning your studies or your performance on the course.
Assessment is by a mixture of coursework and end-of-module examinations, with the examinations normally counting for up to 60-70% of the marks for each module.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- develop understanding of a broad range of management functions and their integration, and the critical examination of management practice
- prepare students for a career in business and management
- bring critical insights from the social sciences to bear on management issues
- provide a sound academic base from which students may continue to benefit from formal and informal management education and experiential learning
- provide a curriculum that enhances further study opportunities and student employability
- develop and maintain contacts with local employers via the work placement and other programmes
- provide teaching and learning opportunities that are responsive to, and supportive of, the needs of our individual students
- develop an understanding of key concepts, skills and techniques within the field of business and management, and appreciate how these are applied in the world of work
- provide a highly supportive environment for students
- maintain high standards of academic rigour, currency and innovation
- develop key skills in numeracy, communication, financial and computer literacy.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- organisations, their environments and their management, including of people, operations, finance, marketing and organisational strategy
- social science concepts and theories and the ability to apply them to business and management contexts
- contemporary and pervasive issues, deepening and/or integrating core knowledge
- European and international developments relevant to management
- the processes, procedures and practices for effective management of organisations, including theories, models, frameworks, tasks and roles, together with rational analysis and processes of decision making within organisations and in relation to the external environment
- markets, customers, finance, people, operations, information systems, communication and IT, business policy and strategy, and contemporary and pervasive issues.
Intellectual skills
You develop the ability to:
- critically evaluate arguments and evidence
- analyse and draw reasoned conclusions concerning structured and unstructured problems
- apply core numeracy and IT skills to problems.
Subject-specific skills
You develop the ability to:
- identify, formulate and solve business/decision-making problems using appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools
- create, evaluate and assess options, in a range of business situations, applying concepts and knowledge appropriately
- communicate effectively, orally and in writing, about business issues
- apply core numeracy and IT skills to business problems
- conduct research into business/management issues for project work, using a variety of sources and appropriate methodologies that inform the learning process.
Transferable skills
You develop the ability to:
- identify and make effective use of information from various sources to assess ideas
- be an effective self manager of time, so as to plan and deliver required outputs productively
- communicate effectively, orally and in writing, using appropriate media
- work in groups and apply other interpersonal skills
- apply numeracy and IT skills appropriately.
Careers
Management Studies students who graduated from Kent in 2015 were the most successful in the UK at finding work or further study opportunities (DLHE). You graduate with a solid grounding in core business management concepts, theories and skills, together with valuable industry experience.
To help you appeal to employers, you also learn key transferable skills that are essential for all graduates. These include the ability to:
- think critically
- communicate your ideas and opinions
- manage your time effectively
- work independently or as part of a team.
As a student at Kent Business School, you have the opportunity to gain the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) Level 5 Professional Diploma in Management and Leadership alongside your degree.
Graduate destinations
Recent graduates have taken up management positions with a wide range of companies, including:
- Deloitte UK
- Deutsche Bank
- Hewlett-Packard
- Tesco
- Vodafone.
Help finding a job
Kent Business School has an excellent international reputation and good links with businesses globally. This network is very useful to students when looking for work in industry.
The University also has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can you give you advice on how to:
- apply for jobs
- write a good CV
- perform well in interviews.
Independent rankings
Business Studies at Kent was ranked 16th for graduate prospects in The Times Good University Guide 2017.
The average starting salary for graduates of this degree is £22,000, according to Which? University.
What our graduates say
“The year in industry was the most important aspect of my course, enabling me to put my learning into practice.”
Joey Hosier
Business Studies with a Year in Industry graduate
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 | BBB |
| 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 15 at HL including Mathematics 4 at HL or 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
UK/EU/International students on an approved Year Abroad for the full 2016/17 academic year pay an annual fee of £1,350 to Kent for that year. Those on an approved Year in Industry pay an annual fee of £865 to Kent for that year. Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
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.