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International Business at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Choose an international business degree that gives you experience living and studying abroad as you build your business knowledge and employable skills. This degree covers vital business topics and gives you the chance to use your new knowledge as you study, including by collaborating with students overseas in our virtual exchange project. And if you choose to study with a specific partner and complete an industrial placement year before your third year, you’ll earn two undergraduate degrees in 4 years as a dual degree. In your first year you’ll explore business subjects such as marketing, operations and accounting, and choose where to study during your second year. Our Global Engagement Team will help you choose and prepare for your year abroad. You’ll spend your second year studying at one of our partner universities in Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, South Korea, Thailand or the USA. You’ll explore business from a non-UK viewpoint and deepen your understanding of global business. You could even divide your time away and study at two institutions in two different countries. After your year abroad you could complete an optional paid industry placement where you’ll work with a company before your final year of study, with support from our Placement Team. You’ll return to Portsmouth for your final year and explore business leadership with a focus on subjects like strategic management, sustainability and globalisation. You’ll choose specialisms to study in more detail, such as Equality and Diversity, or Business Improvement. If you returned to your studies straight after your year aboard, you could take your industrial placement after your final year and work for a company for a year before you graduate. You’ll graduate with a broad understanding of modern business, the confidence to work internationally, and the skills and experience you need to begin your career across a range of global business sectors. Course highlights

  • Live and study abroad in one or two countries, with all teaching in English
  • Gain a second degree in international business from the University of Applied Sciences in FH Münster, or IDRAC Business School in France (details on our website)
  • Get practical experience offering advice to local small businesses
  • Get support for setting up your own business from our Entrepreneurs in Residence
  • Learn a foreign language as part of your studies
Careers and opportunities This degree will open doors to a wide variety of careers in the business world. Being able to talk about your international experience and global business learning will give you an advantage when applying to multinational companies in particular. Previous graduates of this course have got jobs as:
  • business development manager
  • customer accounts manager
  • marketing and sales executive
  • product manager
  • content curator
  • merchandiser
  • events coordinator
  • recruitment consultant
  • start-up programme manager
Graduates of this course have gone on to work for companies such as:
  • Virgin Media
  • IBM
  • NATS (air traffic control)
  • Asia Pacific Inspection
  • BAE Systems
  • Liquid Hub (drinks marketing)
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Kitchen Cut (software)
  • Prospect Capital (finance)
  • GSMA (worldwide mobile)
  • Microsoft
(Data sourced from HESA Graduate Outcome Surveys) After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Business Accounting (20 credits)
  • Business Operations and Systems Management (20 credits)
  • Discovering the Business Professional (20 credits)
  • Global Business and Cultural Intelligence (20 credits)
  • Managing People in Organisations (20 credits)
  • Marketing Principles and Practice (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 You'll spend your second year studying abroad at one of our partner universities. Year 3 Core modules in this year include:
  • Global Business Sustainability and Responsibility (20 credits)
  • Strategic and International Management (20 credits)
Options to choose from in this year currently include:
  • Business Consultancy Project (20 credits)
  • Business Forecasting and Data Analysis (20 credits)
  • Business Improvement & Creativity (20 credits)
  • Business Intelligence (20 credits)
  • Business to Business Marketing (20 credits)
  • Contemporary Issues in Product and Service Development (20 credits)
  • Critical Leadership: Theory and Practice (20 credits)
  • Cross Cultural Awareness for Business (20 credits)
  • Dissertation - Accounting, Economics and Finance (40 credits)
  • Dissertation - Organisations Systems and People (40 credits)
  • Dissertation - Strategy, Enterprise and Innovation (40 credits)
  • Dissertation (Marketing) (40 credits)
  • Financial Statement & Data Analysis (20 credits)
  • International Financial Management (20 credits)
  • Management & Information Systems (20 credits)
  • Managing Equality & Diversity at Work (20 credits)
  • Negotiation for Entrepreneurs (20 credits)
  • Operations Strategy and the Supply Chain (20 credits)
  • People Resourcing and Talent Management (20 credits)
  • Project Management for Enterprise (20 credits)
  • Public Sector Economics (20 credits)
  • Transformative Marketing (20 credits)
Placement year (optional) On this course, you can do an optional work placement year after your 2nd or 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year. We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through:

  • examinations
  • analysis of topical case studies
  • written reports and essays
  • presentations
  • practical projects, such as small websites or systems
The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
  • Year 1 students: 58% by written exams and 42% by coursework
  • Year 2 students: 17% by written exams, 8% by practical exams and 75% by coursework
- Year 3 students: 17% by written exams and 83% by coursework

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

How to apply

Application codes

Course code:
N123
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

This course may be available at alternative locations, please check if other course options are available

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements


English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
PTE Academic54An overall score of 54 with a minimum of 51 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
70%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
85%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2024/25): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,385 EU – £1,385 (including Transition Scholarship) International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
International Business at University of Portsmouth - UCAS