International Business Management BSc (Hons) with foundation year

Study level: Undergraduate
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This internationally-focused degree course starts in the classroom with globally experienced staff (subject to change) and aims to offer you exciting online collaborative projects2, the chance to work on live case studies and simulations, ending with you becoming an employment-ready, global graduate.

Year of entry

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time
Sandwich

Duration

4 years full-time
5 years sandwich

Course code

N120

Start date

November 2024


Course overview

Our degree with foundation year could be the stepping stone you need to achieve your goals. The foundation year aims to prepare you for degree-level study and is a great way to build the confidence, skills and knowledge needed to succeed on your degree course.

Foundation year

The foundation year will introduce you to the world of business with a strong focus on management, business communications and marketing in a global context. It creates opportunities for you to develop vital business skills, as well as preparing you for study at undergraduate level. You will put theory, both traditional and contemporary, into practice with real-world scenarios.

Degree

The degree aims to prepare you for global business careers in a variety of industries, provide you with opportunities to develop skills essential to succeeding in a global business environment and take a collaborative approach to address global challenges, for the betterment of society.

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Rated Gold Overall

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023

Five stars in a speech bubble.

5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

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Top 5 Student City in England (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2025

Why you should study this course

Foundation year

  • Supports you to gain the academic skills required for degree-level study.
  • Provides a grounding in key areas of business and management.

Degree

The degree offers you the chance to:

  • Identify, analyse and solve complex or ambiguous international business problems through active collaboration and the application of suitable methodologies to provide ethically based and culturally embedded solutions to global challenges.
  • Evidence and focus on understanding environmental forces that affect the dynamic and changing nature of international business trends, global trade, international strategy and organisational management to exhibit global citizenship attributes.
  • Critically address country and market differences to explore both emerging trends and the challenges faced by organisations that operate internationally and transnationally, in order to make strategic choices.
  • Benefit from real-world teaching and learning – with the chance to work on live case studies with access to industry speakers2 and put theory into practice.
  • International focus – not only will you study how international businesses operate, trade and expand into new markets, but you can also expect to immerse yourself in the international, business arena throughout your degree. We also aim to provide you with the chance to take part in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects with peers and professionals from around the world2.

What you'll study

This course has a common first year.

The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.

If you discover an interest in a specific subject you have studied, upon successful completion of your first year, you could swap degrees with another course in your common first year (subject to meeting progression requirements).

Common first-year courses

  • Advertising and Digital Marketing BA (Hons)
  • Business Administration BA (Hons)
  • Business and Human Resource Management BA (Hons)
  • Business and Marketing BA (Hons)
  • Business Management BA (Hons)
  • Enterprise and Entrepreneurship BA (Hons)
  • Event Management BA (Hons)
  • International Business Management BSc (Hons)
  • Marketing BA (Hons)
  • Sport Management BA (Hons)

In the first year, the curriculum is shared across related courses allowing you to gain a broad grounding in the discipline before going on, in the second and third years, to specialist modules in your chosen field.

Modules

In year two, you will continue to develop the skills and knowledge you’ve learnt. We do this by embedding the following four principles into the curriculum and developing your:

  • Technical skills – digital fluency, backed with the right academic knowledge
  • Study skills – to be an adaptive, independent and proactive learner
  • Professional skills – to have the behaviour and abilities to succeed in your career
  • Global awareness – the beliefs and abilities to be a resilient, confident and motivated global citizen

Modules

There’s no better way to find out what you love doing than trying it out for yourself, which is why a work placement2 can often be beneficial. Work placements usually occur between your second and final year of study. They’re a great way to help you explore your potential career path and gain valuable work experience, whilst developing transferable skills for the future.

If you choose to do a work placement year, you will pay a reduced tuition fee3 of £1,250. For more information, please go to the fees and funding section. During this time you will receive guidance from your employer or partner institution, along with your assigned academic mentor who will ensure you have the support you need to complete your placement.

Modules

Year three aims to prepare you for professional practice or higher education by consolidating your knowledge and skills from years one and two. You could also work on a large final project in an area of your interest, with the support of a mentor.

Modules

The foundation year offers an introduction to your chosen subject and supports you to develop the skills required for degree-level study.

Modules

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.


How you'll learn

The foundation year is focused on applied learning through a blend of lectures, tutorials and online learning. There are no end-of-year exams. Instead, learning is assessed through coursework and phase tests, which are more reflective of a working environment.

The learning outcomes of modules, assignments and projects will be clearly stated. Your work will be marked according to how well you achieve these learning outcomes and your final feedback will refer to each outcome, as well as providing an overall percentage grade.


Teaching contact hours

You can expect up to 20 hours of learning activities per week, made up of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, online classes and independent learning.

Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 30 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.


Assessment

Assessment methods vary and may include practical class and project performance, written practical reports, project thesis, oral presentations, tutorial tasks and assessments which generally take place at the end of each six-week block.

This course aims to offer a variety of teaching and learning methods to keep your experience dynamic and varied. Teaching methods may include:

  • Lectures with associated seminars
  • Workshops, incorporating case studies, problem-centred learning, practical exercises, surgeries, the use of electronic business resources and databases and ICT packages4.
  • Business simulations and interactive projects with partners around the world2.

If you choose to start this course in January it will be run as a condensed programme. You’ll start your course in January and finish your first year in August. Upon successful completion of Year 1, you will progress onto Year 2 in September and then continue to start subsequent years of your course in September, completing your degree at the same time as the September starters unless you opt to do a placement year.


Teaching contact hours

We understand that everyone learns differently, so each of our courses will consist of structured teaching sessions, which can include:

  • On campus lectures, seminars, and workshops
  • Group work
  • Self-directed learning
  • Work placement opportunities2.

Students on this course will receive between 15-18 contact hours at level four, 12-15 at level five and 9-12 at level six. The course hours will be timetabled weekly with additional timetabled sessions for course induction and support. These additional sessions will bring students together, create a sense of community and provide a range of support and activities as well as provide an opportunity for students to raise any concerns relating to the course.

Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study, depending on the demands of individual modules.

Normally, a 20-credit module will consist of two one-hour long interactive lectures weekly, delivered synchronously online or on campus, followed by a range of active learning sessions such as seminars and workshops, typically two hours long.

Part of university life is undertaking self-directed learning. During a typical week, you will have time that allows you to work independently to apply the skills and knowledge you have learnt in taught or facilitated sessions to your projects or assignment briefs. This self-directed learning allows you to use your research skills, consolidate your knowledge or undertake collaborative group work.

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.


Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods include:

  • Phase tests
  • Essays
  • Group work
  • Presentations
  • Reports
  • Projects
  • Coursework
  • Exams
  • Individual assignments

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.


International experience opportunities

Once you have completed your second year, you have the option to apply for a work placement2 year or to spend 12 months studying abroad to broaden your international perspective.

This course aims to offer you a wide variety of field trip opportunities, both UK and abroad2. These trips are designed to provide opportunities to understand business within different cultural environments and the chance to develop networks with a wider range of students and organisations. Past trips have been to destinations such as New York, Peru, China and Belgium.

Please note that all UK and international experience opportunities may be subject to additional costs, competitive application, availability and meeting applicable visa and travel requirements are therefore not guaranteed.


Entry requirements

Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.

72 UCAS tariff points. All foundation courses require 5 GCSEs at A-C/9-4 including Maths and English, and at least one A2 level or a BTEC equivalent qualification.

If you don’t fulfil the entry criteria your application may be considered on an individual basis, taking into account any work experience, other qualifications and/or any training you have completed. Speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

Contextual offers and Fair Access Scheme

If you meet the criteria for our Fair Access Scheme, you could automatically receive a contextual offer that may be up to 24 UCAS points lower than our standard entry requirements. View the criteria for our Fair Access Scheme.


Fees and funding

2024/25 tuition fees.

Foundation year

Student Full-time Part-time
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man £7,950 Not available
International/EU Not currently available*** Not available

Degree

Student Full-time Part-time
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man £9,250 per year Not available
International/EU Not currently available*** Not available

Please note: UK (home) tuition fees for the degree course years will be charged at the current Coventry University UK (home) degree fee level. This was set at £9,250 for the 23/24 academic year.

If you choose to do a work placement2, you should consider travel and living costs to cover this. There is also a tuition fee3 of £1,250 that will cover your academic support throughout your placement year.

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.

The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:

  • Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
  • Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).

Foundation year funding

In order to receive funding for degree with foundation year courses, you will need to complete a four-year degree programme which includes the integrated foundation year, otherwise you may be responsible for your foundation year fees. For further information, please refer to the 'Tuition Fee Loan' details in the 'Funding your undergraduate course' section of our 'Fees and finance' page.

*Irish student fees

The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.

**This course with foundation year is not currently available to international students. If you do not meet the entry requirements to directly join year 1 of the degree, please take a look at our International Pathways Programme for additional options.


Facilities

Our foundation years are taught at CU Coventry’s Mile Lane building, a short walk from the city centre. You’re part of the university from day one, so during your foundation year you’ll have access to the wider facilities at Coventry University. Once you successfully complete your foundation year, you'll transfer over to studying your chosen degree at Coventry University, where you'll be taught on campus in the relevant academic buildings.

Located on our Mile Lane campus, you will have access to our Library and Learning Services (LLS), fully equipped seminar rooms and IT suites4. You can also take advantage of reading rights in Coventry University’s Lanchester Library, make use of sport centre facilities and receive full membership to Your Students' Union.

Two students walking outside with the CU Coventry building behind them.

Mile Lane

The campus is home to an on-site library with bookable one-to-one academic writing service and library support sessions, fully equipped seminar rooms, open-access study areas, a café and an IT suite. Our labs contain industry-standard equipment so that you learn using the same equipment as many industry professionals.

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The Hub

At The Hub you'll find the Health and Wellbeing Centre, the Students’ Union and Square One (which provides entertainment from quiz nights to live music), the Spirituality and Faith Centre, Tank Studio, Careers Office and a fantastic food court.

External view of the Lanchester Library.

Lanchester Library

Coventry University’s Lanchester Library is open 24/7, 364 days a year and has 1,400 study spaces, including group and silent areas. It also currently offers more than 550 computers and an additional 120 free-to-loan laptops.

 

Our facilities and technology aim to replicate what you would expect in real-world business environments4.

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Business Simulation Suite

You can use the Business Simulation Suite on specific courses. It aims to provide you with some of the hands-on skills needed to succeed and stand out in business.
 

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The Library

You will benefit from our support designed to help you succeed and our industry-relevant teaching and resources. These include our modern library facilities.

 

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The Talent Team

With employability at the forefront of all of our courses, you will have access to our dedicated employability service, the Talent Team, from day one.
 


Careers and opportunities

Extensive support is in place from the Talent Team for students wanting to undertake a work placement as part of their degree and in finding suitable graduate-level jobs upon completion2.

The university's Talent Team also provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your potential future career options4.

Where our graduates work

Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work for companies such as CISCO, NHS, Leoni, Hyatt, Jaguar Landover, HSBC, Enterprise Car and eBay.

Further study

You can choose to continue your studies at Coventry University with our International Business Management MSc or Business Analytics MSc. You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study.

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