A university degree in Business Management will open doors and kickstart a fantastic career. This degree is awarded by the University of Buckingham who were ranked in the top 10 for graduate prospects as of 2022. Subject to Validation.
This Business Management degree has been uniquely developed to prepare you for the modern day business environment. The curriculum and how we deliver the course will help you acquire the skills and knowledge employers need. We achieve this in several ways.
Firstly, the modules you study are separated into three categories:
(1) the organisation (internal);
(2) the outside world (external) and
(3) your own personal self-development (professional).
Each term, you will study one module from each of these three categories.
Secondly, the outcomes of the programme are particularly applied in nature. They reflect modern business practice and respect the importance of working and learning from others.
Next is our approach to teaching, learning, and assessment.We place significant emphasis on ‘doing’. What do we mean by this? Well, your future employer will almost certainly never ask you to write an essay, so it makes little sense to assess you in this way. But they are much more likely to task you with producing a Management Report. So this type of output is what we will ask of you in our assessments. Our written assessments will always be specific to a particular business scenario or case study, again helping you to prepare for your future career. We also incorporate role play exercises, presentations ,and other forms of oral assessment to both assess multiple forms of communication and ensure no single learning & assessment style is favoured over others.
Finally, in years 2 and 3 of the degree course, we provide you with optional modules that enable you to specialise in subjects you are most passionate about and closely fit with your career aspirations.
This Business Management degree has been uniquely developed to prepare you for the modern day business environment.
The degree programme has four main aims. These are to:
We do this by ensuring you will be able to demonstrate relevant knowledge and understanding of:
Organisations
This includes how they are organised; how they differ across sectors; how they are governed and regulated; functions and processes of departments and how they inter-connect; how they can change, evolve, and re-invent themselves; exemplars of successful and failing organisations; and so much more.
The modern business environment
Typically this means digital skills and knowledge of digital software. For example, modules on accounting and finance will include practical use of accounting software such as Xero, Sage etc. It also includes studying and simulating the factors that impact on modern business together with their effects at local, national, and global levels. For example, modern businesses are responsible for challenging themselves on how their strategic decisions might impact communities, future generations, and the environment.
Management and leadership of self and others
Today’s business environment requires a blend of skills and understanding that are more about how look after yourself and impact positively on others. This includes learning and putting into practice a breadth of theories and models on topics that include resilience, self-awareness, mindfulness, decision-making, effective communication, empathy, and motivation.
They ways in which we teach the course, and how you learn, are fundamental to your success. During this course you will therefore engage in a range of learning sessions that fit into the following categories:
We adhere to the VARK (visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinaesthetic, e.g., doing) model of learning and at the beginning of their studies, will encourage you to explore and identify your preferred learning style. We try to ensure that a multi-modal approach is adopted in order to give no clear preference or advantage to particular learners, whilst also endeavouring to provide all students with alternative learning methods that favour their preferred style.
In terms of assessment, the various ways you are likely to be assessed include:
Modules
Foundation Year
Public, Private and Third Sectors (10 units)
The World of Work (15 units)
English Communication Skills (15 units)
How Businesses Survive and Grow [10 units]
Business Departments [15 units]
English for Business [15 units]
The Economic Environment of Business [10 units]
Decision Making in Business [15 units]
Year 1 (Level 4)
The Modern Business Environment [15 units]
Principles of Marketing [15 units]
Academic Skills [10 units]
Data-driven Business [15 units]
Human Resource Management [15 units]
Digital Skills for Business [10 units]
Digital Communications in Business [10 units]
Principles of Accounting & Finance [15 units]
Business Communication Skills [10 units]
Year 2 (Level 5)
Competitive Intelligence [15 units]
Project Management [15 units]
Developing The Business Professional [10 units]
Customer Service Excellence [15 units]
One of:
A.Entrapreneurial Thinking
B.Organisational Behaviour [15 units]
Presentation Skills [10 units]
One of:
A.Financial Analysis
B.Supply Chain Efficiency [15 units]
Corporate Social Responsibility [15 units]
Research Skills [10 units]
Year 3 (Level 6)
One of:
A. Financial Technology
B. Successful Business Cultures [15 units]
Strategic Management [15 units]
Influencing and Negotiation Skills [10 units]
Globalisation in Business [15 units]
One of:
A. Human Factors in Business
B. Digital Marketing [15 units]
Securing Employment [10 units]
Business Analysis [15 units]
Business Simulation [15 units]
Career Development [10 units]
Foundation Year:
Direct Entry onto Degree Course (Level 4):
Flexible Entry
We operate a flexible entry process, and the AdmissionsTutor is happy to consider entrants from all backgrounds with slightly lower qualifications if they are able to demonstrate alternative eligibility for the course. This may be in the form of relevant work experience, keen aptitude, and a passion for the subject, or unlocked potential that you feel can be discovered through your studies with ABA.
If you are uncertain whether you will be eligible to apply for this course, please contact the Admissions Team.
UCAS Applications
You may apply either through the national UCAS university admissions system or at any time directly to ABA using our own online application form.
Mature Students
We find that the age range of our student body varies between those who have recently been in education, to more mature students. Age is no barrier to learning and we welcome all applications from suitably qualified students.
Selection Process
Wherever possible, you will be invited to the ABA campus to meet the Admissions Tutor for an informal interview and to have a tour of our campus. If it may not be possible for you to visit in person and the AdmissionsTutor has any queries about your application, you may be contacted by MicrosoftTeams, email, or phone. Our Admissions Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Call us on +44 (0)1280 820227 or via our contact form.
Student Contract for Prospective Students
When you are offered a place at ABA, you will be notified of the student contract between the ABA and students on our courses of study. When you accept an offer of a place on the course at the Academy, a legal contract is formed between you and ABA on the basis of the student contract in your offer letter. Your offer letter and the student contract contain important information which you should read carefully before accepting an offer.
We have developed this degree course in such a way that all our graduates become work ready, and fully prepared to embark on a career of their choosing. We recognise that people want to progress at different rates, and that certain career pathways have different levels of entry. For example, accountancy requires a professional qualification (e.g., ACCA, CIMA etc.) as well as a degree.
To support you in achieving your goals, our career development team will work with you to identify the right course of action for you. In some cases, that mean exiting our course and going straight into employment. In other cases, this might mean work with on-the-job further study(e.g. trainee accountant). And others may require study at Level 7 (Master’s),or even Level 8 (PhD or DPhil).
The type of career paths you might enter following this course include (but are not limited to):
Executive Dean
Module Leader
Programme Leader
Module Leader
You may be eligible for a student loan to cover the cost of tuition fees, or a maintenance loan. Additional funding is available to some types of students, such as those with dependants and disabled students.