Course summary
This degree allows you to focus solely on general business, or to select modules in the international trade, farm management, equine management, agriculture, or climate and natural resource management to contextualise your studies in a sector of your choice. The business world is complex, fast-moving and exciting, and demands high-calibre employees with strong management, marketing and financial skills. The ability to manage change, risk and people, and to develop sustainable business strategies is crucial. If you wish to develop your own enterprise then creative and entrepreneurial skills are needed too. The MSc Business Management programme provides students with an academically rigorous and professionally relevant education that will serve your career needs. The degree combines essential management knowledge with relevant practical and professional skills to prepare you for the challenging business world. In addition to gaining a solid business foundation, you have the option of focusing on pure business management modules or embedding your studies in a rural context by drawing the our portfolio of elective modules from agricultural, environment, agri-food, land-based disciplines. Students now have the option to select three electives from a range of different electives. To indicate the scope and scale of what is available, we provide the following examples:
- Agriculture and Farm Business Management specialism using Agriculture with Farm Business Management modules
- International Trade specialism using International Trade and Export with Operations Management modules
- Small Scale Farming specialism using Small Scale Farming and Local Food Supply with Integrated Organic Systems modules
- Climate & Natural Resource Management specialism using Climate Change and Sustainability Management modules
- Wealth management
- Finance
- Marketing
- Farm management
- Equine business
- Old Mill
- Unilever
- ADM
- Millar Cameron
- Weatherbys
Modules
The course is offered full-time over 12 months, or part-time over two, three or four years and comprises lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, case studies and a group project, as well as visits to and from national and international companies. You will study eight modules in the autumn and spring terms; six core modules followed by three elective modules. The research project (dissertation) is then undertaken, to be submitted the following April. Modules are assessed through continuous assessment and final examinations. The modules available for this course are shown below. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods. Modules 4086 Financial Management (15 credits) 4260 Marketing Strategy (15 credits) 4261 Leadership & Personal Development (15 credits) 4262 Sustainable Business Strategy (15 credits) 4263 Entrepreneurship and Business Planning 4413 Research Skills (15 credits) 4414 Research Dissertation (45 credits) or 4416 Work Based Project (45 credits) Plus THREE additional modules, selected from (all modules 15 credits each): 3036 Advanced Equine Business Management 4002 Agriculture 4012 Farm Business Management 4023 Operations Management 4203 Small Scale Farming and Local Food Supply 4264 International Trade and Export 4278 Organic Systems 4722 Climate Change and Sustainability The availability of electives to individual students will be dependent on timetabling considerations and on sufficient students electing to take part.
Professional bodies
Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.
- Chartered Management Institute
How to apply
International applicants
International applicants please visit the RAU website: https://www.rau.ac.uk/study/international-students
Entry requirements
An Undergraduate Honours Degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or overseas equivalent, or a professional qualification and/or experience considered to be equivalent to the above. For information on international qualifications, please, see our country specific pages. For countries not listed please contact [email protected]. We welcome applications from applicants with non-standard qualifications who are able to demonstrate knowledge, experience (in management) and skills developed in the workplace or elsewhere and which are relevant to the programme of study. Applicants will need to use their personal statement to provide further details supported by a CV. All non-standard applications will be considered by the Programme Manager on a case-by-case basis and applicants can expect that an interview may be required as part of the admissions process. If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our English language requirements for the level of study. For postgraduate taught programmes this is IELTS Academic min. overall 6.5 with no element below 5.5 (or equivalent). English language tests usually have a validity of 2 years from the date the test is taken. Offers will typically be made in line with the academic requirements set out above. Offers can be conditional or unconditional. An unconditional offer will be made to applicants who have already met the conditions and provided evidence that conditions have been met. Where academic or language requirements have not yet been fulfilled, applicants will receive a conditional offer stating the requirements that must be met.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £10950 | Whole course |
| Northern Ireland | £10950 | Whole course |
| Scotland | £10950 | Whole course |
| Wales | £10950 | Whole course |
| Channel Islands | £10950 | Whole course |
| Republic of Ireland | £10950 | Whole course |
| EU | £18050 | Whole course |
| International | £18050 | Whole course |
Additional fee information
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Provider information
Royal Agricultural University
Stroud Road
Cirencester
GL7 6JS