BSc (Hons) Business Management (top-up)
Course Overview
Business management qualifications open doors and are considered essential whether you are looking to pursue a career in business or achieve higher levels of responsibility in your current work. We'll support you to enhance your existing foundation degree or HND-level knowledge and skills, ready to achieve the status of BSc (Hons) Business Management (top-up) graduate. You can study advanced aspects of business and management, enhance your professional skills, and boost your employability.Building on your prior studies, our expert team will guide you as you gain knowledge of strategic management and develop critical inquiry and research skills that support your work and enhance its quality. Our flexible honours-level programme allows you to focus on aspects of the subject that interest you and support your career or further study goals. We offer a wide choice of modules from our Enterprise, Finance, Supply Chain Management, People Management, Marketing and Retail specialisms. As a graduate, you'll also receive the CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management. Some of the modules you choose may offer exemptions from further professional qualifications from institutes such as ACCA and CIM.
Developing your employability is a key focus of this dynamic and flexible programme. Real-life case studies, guest speakers and industry visits help you to understand the business environment and the needs of employers in local, national and international contexts. We'll support you in developing sought-after skills such as communication, data analysis, time management, teamwork, and problem-solving.
We also aim to help you develop lifelong learning skills, empowering you to take ownership of your professional development for the future and maximise your potential for success.
From September 2024, you'll also be able to choose modules from our Information Systems pathway.
Highlights
- Our Business, Management and Marketing courses are ranked second in the UK and top in the North West of England for course and teaching satisfaction by the Guardian University Guide 2022.
- The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022 also ranks our Business, Management and Marketing courses second in the UK and top in the North West of England for student experience.
- The Institute of Management Greater Manchester, and the wider University, provide a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
- When you successfully complete this dual award course, you'll receive both an academic degree and a professionally-recognised management qualification – the CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management. You don't need to take extra exams or coursework to achieve the Award – we combine our degree module and CMI assessments streamlining your route to both qualifications.
- We'll introduce you to your course and new study environment through a bespoke induction programme focused on helping you transition smoothly and effectively to honours-level study.
- Face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support are offered by our highly experienced and enthusiastic lecturers who have worked in a wide range of businesses ranging from multinational organisations to SMEs.
- The University offers excellent 24/7 library and IT facilities, WiFi, and well-appointed learning areas.
Key Features
- You'll study in our vibrant Institute of Management environment in Bolton town centre.
- We use small group and tutorial teaching, so you can benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
- We regularly invite guest speakers who hold senior positions in industry and practice, enabling you to benefit from their knowledge and advice.
- Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
- We weave contemporary research findings into our teaching, ensuring a robust academic base underpins your business management studies.
- Our dedicated team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research skills and apply these during your final year dissertation or work-based project (if you’re in suitable employment).
Entry Requirements
- Normally, you should possess a relevant Level HE5 qualification, such as a foundation degree or HND; for example, FdA/FdSc or HND Business Management. Alternatively, you may have a relevant professional qualification at an equivalent level.
- You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
Our dual award BSc (Hons) Business Management (top-up) course is designed to consolidate and extend your understanding of business functions in the business and commercial world to the honours level. It provides opportunities to pursue knowledge of specific areas of business.
The course offers you a route into general management and specialist areas. With modules covering areas such as business accounting and finance, enterprise, human resource management, company law, marketing, retail or supply chain management, you can tailor your skills and knowledge to pursue your chosen career. The dual qualification gained on successfully completing this course is designed to enhance your employability in your preferred field of management.
In addition to nurturing academic and sector-specific knowledge, the programme supports your development of key employability skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving and data analysis. Overall, the course aims to give you an essential appreciation of the skills needed to thrive and adapt in the changing world of work.
Completing your honours-level studies should prove valuable in helping you achieve your career goals.
What can I do with this qualification?
You may also choose to undertake further study in subjects such as marketing, finance, human resources, data analysis, and international business management to develop your expertise in a particular area of business. Studying for an MBA is also another option.
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping stone into a range of other careers, bearing in mind that some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some possibilities include:
- Hotel and leisure management
- Public relations
- Financial management
- Information systems
- Market research analysis
- Product management
- Health policy and information
- Purchasing
- Teaching and education
- Media (TV, film, online, newspaper, magazine)
- Self-employment
- Banking
- Auditing and quality assurance
- Project management
- Risk and insurance
Professional Recognition
Graduates of the University of Bolton's BSc (Hons) Business Management (top-up) course will receive a Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management from the CMI (Chartered Management Institute).
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £6,000 for the academic year 2024/25.
International Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
Bursaries
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2024-25 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
Course application details are unavailable at present
International Applicants
Course application details are unavailable at present
Partner Organisation Applicants
Course application details are unavailable at present
Teaching & Assessment
Lectures introduce the core course content, while seminars explore subjects in greater detail. Tutorials allow you to ask questions, ensuring you understand the topics covered in the lectures and seminars. We use case studies and practical scenarios to help you learn to apply academic theory to real-life practical scenarios, allowing you to gain insights into contemporary practice in a working business environment. We'll also expect you to undertake considerable guided independent study; for instance, library research and background reading, preparing for seminar and tutorial activities, and working on assignments.
Guest lectures and presentations by various visiting speakers from relevant employment areas offer you the chance to further develop your knowledge and understanding.
Regarding assessment, you can expect time-constrained exams, essays, reports, presentations, portfolios, and others. These contribute to your final module mark and allow you to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes. We also use other assessment forms to help you learn, provide feedback, and inform your development. These do not, however, count towards your final module mark.
Please note that the following HE6 modules will not be available to study until the September 2024 intake:
- Advanced Data Analytics
- Information Security and Risk Management
- Strategic Information Management
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Academic Language and Skills 5
- Business Project
- Dissertation
- Strategic Management
- International HRM
- Learning and Development
- Work and the Employment Relationship
- E Commerce and Contemporary Marketing Practice
- Global Consumer Behaviour
- Integrated Digital Marketing Strategy
- Retail Management
- Strategic Information Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Logistics and Operations Management
- Corporate Governance
- Financial Reporting for Management
- Professionals in Practice
- Financial Accounting and the Regulatory Framework
- Advanced Data Analytics
- Information Security and Risk Management
- Company Law
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 66% Practical exams 15% Written exams 19% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 77% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 23% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.
