Course summary

Our broad-based business management programme gives you the expertise to understand the changing world of business on national and global levels. Your integrated industry placement puts your new skills into practice in preparation for your future career. Whether you want to work in large private organisations, the public sector or start up your own business, you can personalise your degree to acquire the analytical, quantitative, presentation and other transferable skills needed to succeed and stand out. Compulsory modules in your first year cover the broad foundations of management, developing your understanding of the functions and processes involved in managing complex organisations and establishing your leadership skills. You will study across our full-spectrum management school, learning from world-leading researchers and experts to develop fundamental skills in areas including management theory and organisational behaviour, accounting and finance, marketing strategies, business analytics, entrepreneurial thinking, and economic environments. At the end of your first year, you can choose to follow a general management programme or follow a specialist pathway in entrepreneurship. In your second year, diverse optional modules allow you to tailor your course to best match your interests and career aspirations. You can either pursue a broad understanding of topics, or specialise in your chosen field, choosing from subjects such as operations and risk management, business start-up, entrepreneurial mindset, human resources, finance, marketing, and economics. Your third year consists of a supervised placement in industry, with previous students joining companies such as IBM, Renault, Santander, PWC and Aldi. Roles allow you to see how your new theoretical skills and processes are used, and the experience provides valuable insight for your final year academic studies. Your final year allows you to further customise your studies, taking in areas such as organisational change, international management, strategy and leadership, organisational ethics, and social contexts of entrepreneurship. Our careers team, including a dedicated departmental careers coach, will work with you from day one to help with internships, placements and graduate employment. We will supply training in CV writing, interview assessment centres and telephone interviews, helping you with your future career ambitions. The University will use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all placement roles offer the valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills. If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and would continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year. The University offers a range of shorter placement and internship opportunities for which you would be welcome to apply.