Business Management BA (Hons)
Subject to validation.
Course start date 2025.
Length:
3 years
Explore contemporary business practices, contexts and debates through a hands-on, practical approach designed to deepen your understanding of today’s business landscape.
Our course combines real-world applications with core business knowledge, equipping you to develop effective solutions for complex scenarios. You’ll learn how to apply practical and realistic solutions to complex business scenarios, studying areas including decision-making, contemporary business environments and strategies. You will become an innovative leader, team player, articulate presenter, and problem solver, gaining invaluable experience working on real client projects, enhancing your CV, and preparing you for graduate employability with practical skills and insights that align with latest industry demands.
Why study with us
- Enhance your knowledge of the key business principles and learn how to apply them to real-life situations and collaborative opportunities.
- Benefit from small class sizes through lectures, seminars and interactive workshops. Enhance your understanding through group projects, presentations, and case study analysis, giving you a practical grasp of complex business concepts.
- Develop sought-after entrepreneurial and transferable skills in problem-solving, creative thinking, pitches and presentations, and effective communication.
- Connect with business leaders from well-known brands, expanding your professional network and gaining valuable insights from experts in the industry.
Course Content
Year 1
This unit provides a comprehensive foundation in business and management, covering essential theories, the latest industry developments, and an in-depth understanding of the contemporary business environment. You’ll explore core concepts through engaging lectures, including business models and structures, market analysis tools like the 4 Ps, strategic planning frameworks such as SWOT, and key motivational drivers. You will also gain insights into crucial business functions, including operations, finance, human resource management, and leadership. Guest lectures from industry professionals offer valuable perspectives on real-world practices, while one-on-one tutorials provide tailored feedback to support your progress. Writing workshops will enhance your critical analysis and reflective skills, while discussions and pitching exercises develop verbal communication. Additionally, goal setting and time-management strategies will equip you with essential tools for success in your future business management career.
(40 credits)
Understanding the role of research and the power of evidence in supporting arguments is fundamental to business management. This unit provides a comprehensive foundation in consumer behaviour and business analysis, guiding students through key concepts like demographics, buyer influences, decision-making processes, consumer trends, and data protection (GDPR). Students will develop practical skills with analytical tools, including SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, scenario planning, cost-benefit analysis, and digital data techniques, building a strategic toolkit for informed decision-making. With an emphasis on data analytics, this unit will equip students to collect, analyse, and apply data effectively to improve operational performance and customer satisfaction. Verbal communication and project management skills are developed through presentation workshops and time management seminars, ensuring students are prepared for their academic journey and future careers in business management.
(40 credits)
In this unit, you will explore some key contemporary business management concepts. You will be introduced to key themes and challenges in entrepreneurial thinking, including the role of the entrepreneur, strategic mindset, innovation and creativity, risk-taking, adaptability, funding, and the processes of start-ups, scaling, and growth. Lectures cover critical issues and debates shaping the business landscape, with guest speakers offering insights into real-world practices. You will develop research skills to identify market opportunities and deliver innovative products and services through market analysis, consumer research, differentiation strategies, and operations and cost evaluation, all while considering ethical and sustainable business practices. Interactive sessions will emphasise best practices in consumer data gathering, such as focus groups, questionnaires, and interviews while exploring legal, ethical, and socially responsible business commitments.
(40 credits)
Year 2
This unit explores fundamental Business Models and strategies, equipping students with the knowledge and understanding to define and drive organisational goals, structure, and decision-making processes. Through lectures, seminars, and workshops, students will examine key business components, including ownership types, industry classifications, market structures (B2C, B2B, C2C), and purposes (profit or non-profit). Emphasis is placed on digital innovation in business, covering e-commerce strategies and AI. Workshops will enhance practical skills in business planning, execution, and performance evaluation, while practical sessions introduce techniques for professional presentations, pitch decks, and case studies, preparing students for the demands of the business world.
(40 credits)
This unit explores strategic development for international business, examining factors such as cultural and economic conditions, legal frameworks, political and social contexts, technological infrastructure, logistical challenges, and environmental considerations. Through lectures, seminars, and group discussions, students will analyse sustainable and ethical business practices, develop industry awareness, and apply these approaches to their projects. Research Practice and Critical Thinking sessions introduce strategic research methods and data visualisation techniques. The industry guest lecture series provides career insights, while group sessions emphasise teamwork skills and professional presentation standards for reports.
(40 credits)
This unit focuses on the importance and value of collaboration in business management and operations. You will explore the live events industry through a collaborative project encompassing event business essentials, market analysis, audience targeting, budget planning, marketing strategy, operations, and logistics. You’ll gain hands-on experience in multidisciplinary techniques and event evaluation. Workshops focus on creative idea generation, decision-making, and collaborative planning, while lectures cover project management, time management, and key responsibilities in event planning. Careers-focused seminars and workshops will enhance your professional networking, risk assessment, budgeting, digital presentation skills, and team-building techniques for effective collaboration.
(40 credits)
Diploma Year (optional)
Students have the opportunity to spend a year after the second of their degree (or the third year if studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year) enhancing their employability options through a Level 5 Diploma. They can choose from courses designed to provide:
- opportunities to gain industry insight, developing employability skills through a series of supported experiences, expanding professional networks and building confidence in the workplace, or
- an introduction to creative computing, building an understanding of how coding skills can be used to advance and complement creative practice.
Final year
This is the first of three units that make up your final year of undergraduate study. This unit focuses on your career development, guiding students in setting personal career goals, creating action plans, and building resilience and adaptability. Lectures, seminars, and workshops cover crucial career preparation skills, including interview techniques, networking strategies, and self-promotion. Insights into business management roles, career paths, and professional organisations are provided through guest lectures, networking workshops, and industry case studies, addressing emerging industry trends and challenges. You’ll analyse case studies, explore company cultures, and examine market insights. Careers and Personal Development sessions deepen your understanding of the business landscape, exploring job roles, business startups, and post-graduate opportunities.
(40 credits)
This unit examines sustainable and ethical practices within business management, encouraging students to apply these principles to their projects. Through lectures and group discussions, students will explore core theories, contextual analysis, and the latest industry developments. Research-focused workshops provide practical training in methodologies, data collection, and proposal writing, ensuring students can confidently design and present research with ethical considerations. Lectures on research proposals will guide students in structuring professional documents with clear objectives, literature reviews, methodologies, and proper referencing, laying a strong foundation for conducting and communicating impactful marketing research to support business cases.
(40 credits)
This is the third and final unit which completes your final year of undergraduate study. The unit is a culmination of your study at degree level and builds on everything you’ve learnt so far and provides a comprehensive understanding of effective business strategies. Lectures and case study reviews will explore key areas of investigation, including ethical awareness, social advocacy and corporate responsibility. You will undertake a purposeful, individual, in-depth study of a relevant topic, developing your independent learning, critical thinking and knowledge of relevant research techniques. The project will develop your ability to and deliver a robust business plan that includes Market Analysis, Organisation and Management, Products and Services, Marketing Strategy, Operational Plan and Funding and financial forecasting. You will learn to utilise and improve your time management and communication skills and test your initiative and resourcefulness. By the end of the unit, you should feel well equipped to apply what you have learned in a professional context and have a clear trajectory towards launching your professional career as a graduate of Norwich.
(40 credits)
Careers Information
Our Business Management degree will help you develop essential transferrable skills, such as teamwork, critical thinking, and time management. Or if your goal is to be your own boss, we will help you understand the process of planning and setting up your own business.
Typical career paths include
- Business adviser
- Business analyst
- Business development manager
- Data analyst
- Management consultant
- Project manager
- Recruitment consultant
- Civil servant
- Marketing executive
- Sales executive
You’ll also get specialist creative careers advice from our Business and Employability Team to help support you as you plan your career.
Tabbed Section
Typical UK offers
A / AS Levels – GCE
GCE A/AS Levels 3 A-level qualifications at grades BCC (104 UCAS Tariff points) or above. Where candidates are not taking 3 A-levels, Norwich University of the Arts will consider combinations of A-level/AS-level and other Level 3 qualifications.
BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject
BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction*, Distinction* in an art, design or media related subject
T Levels
A T Level in any subject with overall grade Merit or above
UAL Extended Diploma
Merit
UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass
UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass
Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass
Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass
International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 26 points
Norwich University of the Arts welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through your responses to questions asked and personal statement, so even if you have no formal qualifications or do not meet our typical offers it can still be worth applying.
If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.
If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications. Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.
International applications
We accept qualifications from all over the world. To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.
Most international students are required to hold an English language qualification. Applicants are required to have a minimum UKVI approved IELTS exam score of 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each section. Equivalent English language qualifications are acceptable such as, IB English language syllabus A or B/English Literature (Grade 4).
We also accept some alternative English qualifications. Learn more about our English entry requirements.
You can email us on international@norwichuni.ac.uk if you’d like to discuss your application individually.
2024/25 University fees for new entrants
Norwich University of the Arts will assess students’ tuition fee status using the guidance provided by the UK Council for International Student Affairs
Students from the UK or Ireland and EU students with ‘Settled’ or ‘Pre-Settled’ status will be charged ‘Home’ fees if they meet the relevant residency requirements. They will usually be eligible for a tuition fee loan from the UK government, meaning that they won’t have to pay Norwich University of the Arts’ tuition fees upfront.
Students who do not meet the necessary residency requirements will usually be charged ‘Overseas’ fees and will not be eligible for the UK government tuition fee loan. Since 2021/22, this includes new entrants from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who do not have ‘Settled’ or ‘Pre-Settled’ status, because the UK has now formally left the EU.
| Fee status | Course | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree) | £9,250 |
| Overseas | Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree) | £18,000 |
Inflation in subsequent years
The rules for inflation on fees in subsequent years depend on the type of fee status and level.
- For Home undergraduate students starting in 2024, inflation may be applied to your fees in later years, if the UK government were to increase the fee cap beyond the current limit of £9,250 per year. If such an increase were to apply, we would confirm this in advance to you of each academic year, and we would limit the increase to the maximum allowed by the Office for Students.
- For Overseas undergraduate students starting in 2024, inflation will be applied to your fees in later years. We will confirm this in advance to you of each academic year, and we will limit the increase to no more than the Office for Students’ recommended inflationary measure, which is RPI-X. RPI-X is calculated by the Office for Budget Responsibility. In setting fees for the following year, we will use the Office for Budget Responsibility’s RPI-X forecast for quarter 3 of the relevant year.
For Home and overseas postgraduate degree students starting in 2024, fees will remain the same for each year of your course.
Financial support for UK students in 2024
Tuition fee loans and loans for living costs are usually available to UK and some EU students, as well as non-repayable Norwich University of the Arts bursaries based on family income. Find out more about applying for funding.
International students
We offer a range of scholarships for international students to support your studies with us.
Learning and Teaching
Learning and teaching at Norwich combines on-campus, practical sessions in our state-of-the-art lecture theatres with pre-recorded, on-demand digital resources, providing you with flexible learning options to fit your schedule.
We emphasise learning and discovery through critical thinking, collaboration, and real-world problem solving. This hybrid model of in-person and digital interaction mirrors the modern business environment, helping prepare you for the dynamic and connected world of professional work. You’ll also have ample opportunities to expand your knowledge and network through guest lectures, industry talks, and events.
The course is taught through a mixture of learning and teaching methods including (but are not limited to):
- Group briefings
- Academic tutorials
- Group tutorials
- Lectures
- Workshops
- Seminars
Assessment
Assessment at Norwich is 100% coursework. Formal exams are not used on this programme.
Assessment is the process of evaluating or assessing your learning. Sometimes it will involve consideration of work in progress, while at others it concentrates on work which you have completed and submitted as assessment requirements for each unit of study. It consists of both formative and summative assessment.
Formative assessment is the process whereby your work and progress are assessed at regular intervals with accompanying feedback from staff to help to improve your performance. Staff feedback provides students with guidance on their performance during each unit. Summative assessment occurs at the end of each unit. A summative mark is awarded based on the evaluation of your work and given a mark. Summative assessment formally records your achievement of the unit’s learning outcomes.
The University assesses you through the coursework that you produce as you complete each unit. Each unit will require that you present a portfolio of work which may include:
- Report
- Plans
- Presentations
- Written work
- Your research
- A reflective journal
News
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