Overview
How do you start out in business and oversee a project successfully? What skills do you need to be an effective manager or leader?
BBA Business Administration is a broad business and management degree, where you gain comprehensive knowledge of the main functional areas of an organisation. You study a wide range of subjects and develop your practical managerial skills to prepare you for a successful career in any aspect of business.
You are encouraged to undertake a paid placement year to further develop your business connections and practical skills whilst working for real-world organisation.
Study areas include:
- business strategy
- business creation and growth
- organisational behaviour and management
- supply chain management
- marketing and marketing communications
- accounting and finance
- management and entrepreneurial theory
Group work tasks develop your team working skills and our business simulation project puts you in charge of your own virtual venture. In competition with other students, you develop your skills in problem solving, analysis and creativity as you make decisions to optimise your business’ performance.
In your final year, you’ll put your knowledge into practice by producing a business plan, industry report or dissertation in an area of your choice. As well as developing the research and analytical skills needed for the workplace, you can benefit from the opportunity to make valuable business connections by gathering case studies and interviews.
This course also gives you the option to follow a specialised pathway in Applied Quantitative Methods (AQM).
With employers looking for graduates with data analysis skills, The University of Essex is one of just three UK universities to have received Q-Step Affiliate status. By completing necessary AQM modules, your quantitative skills are evidenced on your transcript to give you the competitive edge in the jobs market. We can also provide work placement bursaries to develop your skills in evaluating numerical evidence, analysing data and designing research.
This course is taught at Essex Business School. We’re an international school which places a strong emphasis on responsible management, ethics and sustainable business practice. We encourage our students to think strategically, act responsibly and have the confidence to innovate to make positive change in turbulent economic environments.
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 prefer to take on a placement during your third year to gain relevant work experience within an external organisation. A placement can provide you with valuable experience to add to your CV.
The Student Development Team can offer bespoke support throughout the process of researching, applying and interviewing for placements. 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
You are taught by a highly qualified, enthusiastic team of academics and practitioners with wide-ranging research interests. Their research is used in lectures and seminars so you learn about the latest issues impacting the business world.
Our staff specialise in areas including:
- internationalisation
- innovation
- new product development
- human resource management
- microfinance
- ethics
- social responsibility
- sustainability
At Essex Business School we are home to academic staff who are on the cutting edge of their research areas. Dr Debashree De, one of our undergraduate tutors, is a Lecturer in Supply Chain Management and is passionate about solving sustainability related issues. Her research encompasses green supply chain management, sustainability, low carbon strategies and operations management, 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 BBA Business Administration 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 business study. Essex has the highest number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, meaning you are ideally located to work with a local firm or gain inspiration for your future career in business.
We are just an hour’s train journey from London. Here employers expect a diverse talent pool and the financial capital is also a magnet for international entrepreneurs.
Our campus is conveniently located in the heart of Southend. Enjoy a host of restaurants, bars and shops on your doorstep..
You have access to our excellent, dedicated facilities, including:
- Learning hub with computer suites and study pods, open 24/7
- integrated public and academic library in the iconic modern Forum building
- employability support, events and initiatives
- study skills advice
- dedicated student services team
- dental practice
- faith centre
- our cosy SU Lounge, with pool tables and large-screen TV for socialising and relaxation!
The Hive Enterprise Centre is located close to Campus, providing access to networking events and business meetups that offer finance and marketing support for startups.
Your future
Business administration skills are critical to successful business operations and developing these skills will prepare you for a career in business and management.
Many of our graduates go on to roles in business consultancy and analyst roles as well as graduate management training schemes straight after graduation as Essex Business School prepares you for the world of work from day one.
The BBA Business Administration curriculum taught here embeds transferable employability skills in analysis, critical thinking, presentation and communication across all modules.
The Study Skills module in year one will develop your academic skills, while the Student Success modules in year two will build on what you learned in year one and so that you can easily step up to meet the growing academic demands of your second and final years. The Successful Futures module in year two will foster your professionalism and introduce you to the graduate recruitment process, including practical advice to excel at interviews and assessment centres.
Recent graduate destinations include:
- 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
The School will support you with a range of skills and careers opportunities, including: skills development workshops; employer talks; skills events and careers conferences.
BBA Business Administration students can also take advantage of the services offered by the Student Development Team, including: careers advice; work experience; internships; placements; and voluntary opportunities.
Why we’re great
- Study a range of business subjects and develop managerial skills.
- Use real-world case problems, group work and poster presentations.
- 93% of our Essex Business School students are in employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2020)
Structure
Course structure
The course structure is designed to reflect the broad nature of a degree in business administration, meaning you study a wide range of modules in all areas of 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 course content is therefore reviewed on an annual basis to ensure our courses remain up-to-date so modules listed are subject to change.
Teaching and learning disclaimer
Following the impact of the pandemic, we made changes to our teaching and assessment to ensure our current students could continue with their studies uninterrupted and safely. These changes included courses being taught through blended delivery, normally including some face-to-face teaching, online provision, or a combination of both across the year.
The teaching and assessment methods listed show what is currently planned for 2022 entry; changes may be necessary if, by the beginning of this course, we need to adapt the way we’re delivering them due to the external environment, and to allow you to continue to receive the best education possible safely and seamlessly.
