Course summary
What responsibilities do businesses owe to society? How do national law and international law interact and what is their role in Corporate Responsibility? How do companies ensure they operate ethically? How well do organisations understand and address the urgency of sustainable development? Corporate Responsibility is a key global concern and these are all questions of necessity for businesses all over the world. Corporate Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsibility are concepts which businesses – no matter their size or purpose – must value and adhere to. Our course gives you the tools to identify, analyse and evaluate the main legal rules, principles, models and dimensions of Corporate Responsibility and issues relating to ethical business, corporate and business law, corporate governance, sustainability and human rights. You’ll study topics including but not limited to:
- Legal Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility
- Environmental law and policy
- Human rights within business
- Ethically oriented-practices such as consumer protection and labour standards
- Responsibility in global value chains and institutionally challenging environments
- Not only will you understand Corporate Responsibility, you’ll be able to develop suitable responses and create action plans to tackle complex issues around this. Graduates will be suited to a broad range of corporate, legal, business and environmental protection roles across national and transnational non-profit and public organisations.
Modules
You can tailor your learning experience with a choice of optional modules. More information and these can be found on the University of Essex website.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for this course can be found on the course finder on the University of Essex website – www.essex.ac.uk
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £10500 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £10500 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £10500 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £10500 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £10500 | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £10500 | Year 1 |
| EU | £22750 | Year 1 |
| International | £22750 | 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
Fees displayed are for 2025-26 entry. Fees for part-time courses are calculated pro-rata to the relevant full-time fee.
Tuition fees may be subject to annual increases in each year of study in line with inflation.
Provider information
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester
CO4 3SQ