Why choose the School of Business Management
Take up the option of a placement, building your hands-on experience; developing professional networks; and boosting your employability.
Our lecturers have corporate work experience internationally; you also benefit from visiting international business speakers and relevant field trips.
We are 1st in the UK for successful graduate social-enterprise start-ups still trading after three years; 3rd in the UK for all business start-ups (HESA, 2025).
About the course
This innovative BSc International Business is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively manage and lead in the global marketplace. The course offers a distinctive global perspective through specialised units on international trade and investment; international business negotiations; and cross-culture management in business. These components prepare you to navigate the complexities of global markets, making you an invaluable asset to businesses operating on an international scale.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Our Reuters trading room gives you the chance to experience what it’s like to be on the trading-room floor, reacting to live ‘stock-market’ data and building investment portfolios using data on listed companies from around the world.
- Access to Harvard Business Publishing’s international learning resources, providing immersive simulation software to aid your learning, including Semrush (Marketing), Sage, Refinitiv Eikon and the econometrics software STATA.
- You gain competencies in key digital skills such as Excel through SIMnet, our Microsoft Office training platform.
Industry links
Students can join our International Business Club, giving them a lively platform to share ideas and opportunities in the global business world. It’s more than an extracurricular activity; it's a pathway to learning and growth for future IB leaders.
Your student experience
Gain a theoretical and practical understanding of global business operations, on a highly vocational course that combines 21st-century management skills with an international business perspective.
Develop skill sets much in demand by employers, including communication, analysis, problem-solving, interpersonal and collaborative.
Benefit from a recognisably high level of professionalism, enabling you to fit in and be effective from day one when working across cultures in international teams.
Undertake a supervised final-year dissertation involving an individually conducted research element.
Get involved in research projects at our Centre for International Business and Marketing (CIBAM), as well as short-term consultancy projects and competitions within the School.
Attend talks from business professionals across the world. Recent speakers include international business expert Ahmed El Bassyouni; Rajendra S Shirolé, talking on developing business models in emerging markets; expert strategist Ben Chai; and Colin Jolly, an expert in
cryptocurrencies.
Join our International Business Club and benefit from a lively platform to share ideas and opportunities in the global business world.
Fields trips include to TUI headquarters; Qualtrics XM Fair; World Travel Market; and the Property Investor Show.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
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with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
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Year 1
Accounting for business – An introduction to financial and managerial accounting. Applied numeracy for business – Develop key numeracy skills vital for your future employability. Principles of marketing – Use market analysis and data to create plans for products and branding that meet specific briefs. Intercultural competence in business – Gain the skills needed to manage differences in culture and communication when working in international contexts. International business – Explore how international business theory and management strategies apply across different political, cultural, legal and economic environments. Beginning your professional business journey – Take on business challenges and collaborate with peers in a professional environment.
Year 2
Economics for business – How firms, consumers and governments interact in markets, and how business decisions are shaped by costs and market conditions. Career in practice – Build your skills and business insight by taking on a live business project to meet both client and agency expectations. International business negotiations – Examine the international negotiation process and the challenges it faces. International new ventures (INV) and innovation – Compare traditional, gradual approaches to entry into foreign markets with INV, which offers rapid entry to start-ups. International trade and investment relations – Address trade and investment issues, particularly improving international competitiveness and performance. Cross-cultural management in business – Explore the changing face of management across cultures, identifying culture-specific preferences. Data and research methods for business – Investigate research and data-analysis methods to support you in applying research findings to business issues.
Year 3
Strategic leadership – Extend your capacity for strategic leadership in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) business environment. Marketing in a global context – Understand global marketing issues through reviewing current research, globalisation theories and communication strategies. Continuing professional development – Learn to reflect on your own abilities and develop these further through self-assessment techniques. Ethics and corporate social responsibility for business – Examine an organisation’s social responsibilities to investors, employees, customers, the environment and society. International supply chain management and logistics – Gain a strong understanding of this complex, fast-changing field, including current issues, trends and best practices. Business project – Independently design, plan, manage and execute a research project.
For an at-a-glance list of modules for this course, download the course specification.
This course uses a range of assessment types and methods including essays and reports, portfolios, research proposals and exams. Assessment focuses on tasks that develop vocational skills, underpinned by subject knowledge, requiring higher levels of cognition in the later years of the course. Some group work is included at each level since being able to function as part of a team is a critical skill for international business, and assessments are used to develop your employability as a graduate going into the international market place.
Support to enable you to submit your best work is provided in a variety of ways including briefings in class, supporting materials provided through the virtual learning environment, drop in sessions with the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Hub team, subject-specific Academic Librarians and individual tutors. In addition, extensive online supporting materials are available.
Careers
This course will provide you with the skills and knowledge to follow a rewarding career in business, across a number of areas and wide range of sectors, including positions in a medium or large organisation with an international orientation. It also opens the door to further postgraduate and professional study.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2026/27 is £9,790 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2026/27 is £9,790 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2026/27 is £9,790 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Virtual Tour
